Unicoin CEO Questions Ongoing SEC Scrutiny

Despite numerous crypto firms being cleared from regulatory scrutiny, Unicoin continues to face unresolved enforcement actions.

Unicoin CEO Alex Konanykhin stated that he has requested the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to drop its investigation into the company but has yet to receive a response.

Unicoin was among the final targets of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s regulatory crackdown, with the agency notifying the firm late last year of planned accusations involving fraud, deceptive practices, and handling unregistered securities. The investigation was launched in December, during the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration, before new leadership under crypto-friendly President Donald Trump took over.

CEO Alex Konanykhin, noting that several other crypto firms have since been freed from enforcement actions under the SEC’s new leadership, told reporters he sent a letter on March 17 to the agency’s Crypto Task Force inquiring about the status of the investigation.

In his letter to the SEC, Konanykhin sought guidance on how to put an end to what he described as an abuse of power. He urged the agency to drop the case and review the actions of the enforcement official involved, accusing him of "weaponizing the SEC's authority for political purposes."

An SEC spokesperson declined to comment on Unicoin’s status, while a company representative stated that Unicoin remains in the final stages of the SEC’s review process. "As of now, we have not received any new updates or formal feedback from the SEC regarding our registration. We are fully committed to compliance and transparency, and we continue to work toward securing the necessary approvals for our planned offerings," the spokesperson said.

Konanykhin, whose company claims investors could see returns of up to 8,000%, believes Unicoin was unfairly targeted by regulators last year. He claimed the SEC pressured the company to abandon plans for an initial coin offering (ICO) and public listing in the U.S., forcing him to relocate operations to Europe.

Following President Trump’s election and his pledge to position the U.S. as a global crypto leader, Konanykhin decided to return to New York from Switzerland to pursue a public listing. "We thought the war was over, and we said to the SEC, 'Hey, we're resuming our activity,'" he said. Instead, the agency responded by announcing its intent to pursue civil charges against Unicoin.

Konanykhin pointed out that the SEC accused Unicoin of violating securities laws through an airdrop, a marketing tactic widely used in the crypto industry. He argued that this practice is common among digital assets and even likened it to what the U.S. president is doing with his own memecoin.

"It's embarrassing that the war on crypto still continues," he said, adding that if the SEC persists in pursuing Unicoin, "so many observers are going to be astonished."

Unicoin was founded with the goal of creating a "more transparent and reliable alternative" to Bitcoin in the U.S., according to the company’s website, which notes that Bitcoin has delivered a 9 million percent return over the past decade. Konanykhin also referenced speculation that Bitcoin may have been "created by Chinese intelligence, but nobody really knows by whom."

Despite the regulatory hurdles, he expressed optimism about contributing to the U.S. becoming a global crypto hub, in line with the president’s vision. "I'm elated by the opportunity to participate in making America the crypto capital of the planet, as the president pledged he wants to do, even though it's highly annoying to still have the legacy persecution from the SEC," he said.

In the meantime, he confirmed that Unicoin is actively preparing to go public.