OneCoin was founded in 2014 by Bulgarian entrepreneur Ruja Ignatova, who was dubbed the "Crypto Queen" by the media.
OneCoin was marketed as a new cryptocurrency that could rival Bitcoin, but it lacked a real blockchain or decentralized payment network.
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From 2014 to 2016, OneCoin is estimated to have defrauded investors of between $4-$15 billion, making it one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history.
OneCoin operated as a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme, with members incentivized to recruit new investors in exchange for bonuses and commissions.
Despite the lack of a functioning cryptocurrency, OneCoin "tokens" were sold to investors at inflated prices, with the promise that they would rapidly increase in value.
Ruja Ignatova disappeared in 2017, just as authorities around the world were closing in on the OneCoin scheme.
Her current whereabouts remain unknown.
In 2019, Ignatova's co-founder, Sebastian Greenwood, was arrested in Thailand and extradited to the United States, where he later pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges.
OneCoin operated offices in over 175 countries, with the largest concentration in China, where it was particularly popular among the country's growing middle class.
The scheme's downfall was precipitated by growing scrutiny from regulators and media investigations, which exposed the lack of a real blockchain and the pyramid-like structure of the business.
OneCoin's collapse has been compared to the notorious Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, as both involved the promise of unrealistic returns to lure in unsuspecting investors.
In the aftermath, many OneCoin investors lost their life savings, with some individuals reporting losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Law enforcement agencies from around the world, including Interpol and Europol, have been investigating the OneCoin scheme and its various affiliated entities.
The OneCoin saga has been the subject of several podcasts, books, and documentaries, highlighting the human impact of the massive fraud and the challenges of combating such sophisticated financial crimes.
The collapse of OneCoin has raised broader questions about the need for greater regulation and oversight in the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency and blockchain industries.
Despite the notoriety of the OneCoin scheme, the "Crypto Queen" Ruja Ignatova remains at large, with law enforcement actively searching for her and offering a substantial reward for information leading to her capture.