The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a compensation process for victims of the OneCoin crypto Ponzi scheme, drawing from forfeited assets seized from the operation’s principals. The department announced that more than $40 million in recovered assets is available to reimburse individuals who bought OneCoin between 2014 and 2019 and recorded a net loss.

US Attorney for Manhattan Jay Clayton called the program “an important step toward returning funds to those harmed.” The case highlights how large-scale crypto fraud can unfold and how authorities are attempting to recoup proceeds for victims, even years after a scheme collapses.

OneCoin, launched in 2014 with the ambition of rivaling Bitcoin, rapidly gained attention before revelations of its lack of real utility led to a global crackdown. The project rose to prominence in the crypto market, only to fall as authorities worldwide launched investigations into its operations.

“Between 2014 and 2019, OneCoin’s founders sold a lie disguised as cryptocurrency, costing victims more than $4 billion worldwide,” Clayton said. “While no recovery can fully undo the damage, our Office will continue working to seize criminal proceeds and prioritize getting money back into the hands of victims.”

Key takeaways

• The Department of Justice has established a compensation process for OneCoin victims, drawing on more than $40 million in forfeited assets.
• Eligible claimants are individuals who purchased OneCoin between 2014 and 2019 and sustained a net loss.
• OneCoin’s co-founders were Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood; Greenwood has since been sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Ignatova remains at large despite ongoing efforts to locate her.
• Authorities estimate that the scheme stole more than $4 billion from about 3.5 million victims between 2014 and 2016, with some broader estimates suggesting global losses could reach as high as $19 billion.
• Before its collapse, several central banks warned investors about OneCoin, and Bulgarian police later raided the company’s headquarters in 2018, resulting in Greenwood’s arrest.

The OneCoin arc: from promise to collapse

OneCoin launched in Bulgaria in 2014, spearheaded by Ruja Ignatova and Karl Greenwood, and quickly spread to the United States around 2015. The DOJ notes that the operation quickly attracted millions of participants, convincing many that they were investing in a legitimate alternative to established cryptocurrencies.

Despite its spectacular rise, investigators uncovered that the coin did not possess real value or functional utility beyond the marketing and pyramid-like incentives that fueled its expansion. By the time authorities moved in, the scheme had already exhausted substantial sums from a wide global base of investors.

According to the DOJ, between 2014 and the end of 2016, the scheme stole more than $4 billion from roughly 3.5 million victims. Some external estimates have placed global losses significantly higher, underscoring the scale and reach of the fraud as it unfolded across borders.

Prior to its collapse, several national central banks publicly warned investors about OneCoin, labeling it as a potential Ponzi scheme. The investigation culminated in Bulgarian police raids on the company’s headquarters in 2018, and Greenwood was subsequently arrested.

Greenwood’s prosecution culminated in a 20-year prison sentence handed down in September 2023 for his role in the scheme. Ignatova’s whereabouts remain unknown since 2017 when she was last seen boarding a flight to Athens. The FBI lists Ignatova on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, and authorities have offered a $5 million reward for information leading to her capture and conviction.

The OneCoin case remains a stark reminder of how quickly crypto investment narratives can diverge from real utility, and how enforcement authorities pursue asset recovery even after schemes collapse.

Implications for victims and the broader crypto landscape

The new compensation process represents a tangible step by the U.S. government to translate enforcement outcomes into restitution for ordinary investors who were harmed by a high-profile crypto fraud. While the $40 million pool cannot fully compensate billions in alleged losses, it signals a channel for victims to recover at least a portion of their losses, funded from confiscated assets rather than taxpayer money.

For investors and practitioners, the OneCoin episode underscores several enduring lessons about risk in crypto markets. First, the presence of rapid wealth narratives around “cryptocurrency” does not guarantee legitimate value creation. Second, cross-border enforcement can eventually converge on asset recovery, even when the underlying assets prove illiquid or non-existent in utility terms. Finally, the case adds to the growing jurisprudence around what constitutes a legitimate crypto asset and how regulators differentiate between genuine innovation and deceptive schemes.

As authorities continue to unwind the remaining legal and financial tail of OneCoin, observers will be looking for updates on additional forfeitures, the effectiveness of the compensation framework, and how such processes could influence future cases involving mass-market crypto schemes.

For readers tracking this story, the next milestones to watch include the administration of the compensation process, any further asset seizures tied to the case, and ongoing efforts to locate Ignatova or recover further proceeds linked to the scheme.

Former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo is leaving the legal profession to commit himself fully to the digital asset space as a strategic adviser for fintech and cryptocurrency startups.

The announcement came via a social media post on Sunday, where Giancarlo confirmed his departure from the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher and his official retirement from legal practice. 

By moving into a full-time advisory role, he plans to provide guidance to executives and boards navigating the evolving digital economy.

“From here on, I’ll devote my time to advising founders & builders of FinTech & Digital Assets and their CEOs and boards, research & writing on public policy issues, and continuing work with non-profit programs,” Giancarlo stated.

Known throughout the industry as “Crypto Dad,” Giancarlo earned his reputation during his tenure at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. 

He joined the agency as a commissioner in 2014 under the Obama administration and later served as chairman from 2017 to 2018 following a nomination by Donald Trump. 

His leadership was defined by the pivotal decision to greenlight the first Bitcoin futures markets in the United States, a move that helped bridge the gap between traditional finance and nascent digital markets.

Giancarlo has remained a prominent figure in regulatory circles since leaving public office, recently working with the crypto-focused bank Sygnum on global strategy and compliance. 

During a recent appearance on “The Wolf of All Streets” podcast, he addressed the slow pace of legislative efforts like the CLARITY Act. 

He suggested that even without immediate action from Congress, the CFTC and the SEC possess the necessary tools to establish a functional framework for the industry.

Modernizing the financial system remains a priority for the former regulator. He warned that while regulatory uncertainty might cause traditional banks to hesitate, the underlying tech is too important to ignore.

“I think there’s a recognition that this is the new architecture of finance and America, our financial institutions are the world’s dominant financial institutions. We need to modernize that. We need to adopt this technology,” he said.

The transition follows a similar path taken by other high-ranking regulators. Caroline Pham, who previously served as the acting chair of the CFTC, moved into the private sector last December to take on the role of chief legal officer at MoonPay.

Key Takeaways

• BTC reached a four-week peak approaching $75,000 before settling around $74,290
• Approximately $530 million in cryptocurrency liquidations occurred, predominantly affecting short sellers at 80%
• Optimism surrounding potential US-Iran diplomatic progress is viewed as the primary catalyst
• Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $833 million in net capital inflows over the previous week
• Large wallet addresses accumulated 30,000 BTC throughout March, representing approximately $2.1 billion

Bitcoin successfully breached the $73,000 threshold on Monday after three previous rejection attempts over the preceding eight days, climbing to $74,484 — marking its strongest performance since the Iran tensions escalated in late February.

This price movement resulted in $534 million worth of forced liquidations affecting approximately 180,000 market participants. Short positions accounted for $430 million of these liquidations, representing the second substantial short squeeze within a six-day period.

Ethereum demonstrated stronger performance than Bitcoin, climbing 7.7% to $2,366 — reaching levels not seen in approximately ten weeks. Solana advanced 4.6%, while BNB increased 3.3%. All top-10 cryptocurrency assets by market capitalization recorded positive movements across both 24-hour and seven-day timeframes.

The most significant individual liquidation involved a $12.4 million BTC-USDT short position on the Aster exchange. Bitcoin represented $229 million in aggregate liquidations, with Ethereum following at $136 million.

Market participants are attributing the upward movement to indications from President Trump suggesting potential willingness to re-engage in diplomatic discussions with Iran. Despite a US military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz commencing Monday, financial markets appear to interpret this as a negotiating tactic rather than military escalation.

Jeff Mei, COO at BTSE, shared with Cointelegraph: “Market participants believe the US and Iran are progressing toward an agreement. Iran is urgently seeking to negotiate a settlement, and equity and cryptocurrency markets are responding positively.”

The S&P 500 has completely recovered all declines stemming from the Iran conflict, while the MSCI All Country World Index extended its winning streak to eight consecutive sessions.

Institutional Investment and Large Holder Behavior

Bitcoin ETFs captured $833 million in net positive flows throughout the past week. James Butterfill from CoinShares indicated this “demonstrates renewed risk appetite following preliminary ceasefire progress regarding Iran, combined with support from weaker-than-anticipated US consumer spending and inflation figures.”

Blockchain analytics from Santiment reveal that addresses containing between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC increased their holdings by 30,000 tokens during March — valued at roughly $2.1 billion. Approximately 20,000 BTC of this accumulation occurred within a 24-hour window.

The Santiment analytics account highlighted on X that these large holders now possess over 4.25 million BTC, representing 21.3% of circulating supply — their highest concentration since mid-February.

Technical Outlook and Key Levels

Trading organization Valerius Labs observed: “This movement doesn’t constitute a genuine breakout. It’s a short squeeze encountering resistance zones. Authentic demand emerges above the 200-period simple moving average, not 15% beneath it.”

CryptoQuant has identified critical resistance approaching $79,000 — corresponding to the Traders’ Realized Price, where recent participants who entered during the downturn reach their cost basis and may consider profit-taking.

The 4-hour Relative Strength Index has advanced to 62, surpassing its 14-period moving average, which technical analysts interpret as strengthening bullish momentum. The current ceasefire arrangement between the US and Iran is scheduled to conclude next week, with additional diplomatic sessions under consideration.

The American Bankers Association (ABA) has criticized a White House report that claimed banning stablecoin yields would only have a negligible impact on banks, arguing that the conclusion was reached by asking the “wrong question.”

The White House’s Council of Economic Advisers claimed in a research paper on Wednesday, on the “Effects of Stablecoin Yield Prohibition on Bank Lending,” that under a baseline scenario, banning stablecoin yield may only increase bank lending by $2.1 billion, representing a marginal net increase of about 0.02%.

ABA chief economist Sayee Srinivasan and vice president for banking and economic research Yikai Wang said in a statement on Monday that the “live policy concern” is not whether prohibiting yield on stablecoins would impact bank lending but whether allowing yield on stablecoins would encourage deposit outflows, particularly from community banks.

Srinivasan and Wang said that even if total deposits in the banking system remain unchanged, more funds would likely move from smaller banks to large institutions, which would raise the funding costs of community banks and reduce local lending.

Some of these smaller banks may not have enough balance sheet flexibility to absorb these outflows without resorting to higher-cost wholesale borrowing, the pair said.

Members of the crypto and banking industries have met to negotiate provisions in a Senate bill that will outline how crypto is policed ahead of a potential markup this month, with a key sticking point being language around banning stablecoin yield payments.

Related: CFTC chair says agency is ready to oversee entire crypto market

The ABA’s concerns reflect a Treasury paper in April 2025 that estimated widespread stablecoin adoption could lead to $6.6 trillion worth of deposit outflows from the US banking system.

ABA admits stablecoin rewards are more attractive

Despite the fears, the ABA economic researchers acknowledged that households and businesses would be financially incentivized to move funds out of banks in pursuit of higher-paying stablecoins.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is among the crypto industry leaders who have criticized banks for paying near-zero interest on deposits for decades, arguing that stablecoin yield would force banks to compete on a more level playing field.

The ABA represents some of the banking industry’s biggest names, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.

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