OneCoin ICO (2014): Sale History, Figure & Outcome
OneCoin was a fraudulent multi-level marketing scheme falsely marketed as a cryptocurrency in 2014. The project claimed to offer a digital currency but had no actual blockchain technology.
| Token | OneCoin (ONE) |
|---|---|
| Sale year | 2014 |
| Category | MLM 'cryptocurrency' (fraud) |
| Chain | none (no real blockchain existed) |
| Documented figure | $4,000,000,000 |
| Outcome | failed |
| Data tier | 1 — hand-verified |
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What the record shows
The record states OneCoin raised USD 4 billion globally between 2014 and 2017 through deceptive practices. Founder Ruja Ignatova, later dubbed the 'Cryptoqueen,' vanished in 2017 and remains on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, while co-founder Sebastian Greenwood received a 20-year prison sentence. The project ultimately failed as investigations revealed it operated as a pyramid scheme with no real blockchain product.
Era context: the genesis years (2013–2016)
This sale occurred during the Genesis Years when early token sales demonstrated the fundraising potential of blockchain projects. While legitimate projects like Ethereum used funds to develop working platforms, OneCoin exploited the emerging space's lack of oversight. The era's lessons about product integrity were overshadowed by this massive fraud case.
This sale is one of the 20 entries in our The Genesis Years (2013–2016) era archive, part of the complete history of crypto presales — a sourced dataset where every figure links to the page that shows it.
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More from this era
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Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OneCoin
- https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/co-founder-multi-billion-dollar-cryptocurrency-pyramid-scheme-onecoin-pleads-guilty
- https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/12/cryptoqueen-partner-gets-20-years-prison-in-4-billion-ponzi-fraud.html
This page is historical research built from a sourced dataset — not a recommendation to buy anything. Token sales are high-risk. Money figures appear only where the cited source shows one. Corrections with sources: support@bmic.ai.