WASHINGTON, D.C. — Unicoin’s CEO, Alex Konanykhin, has reached out to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requesting that it end its investigation into the cryptocurrency venture and has yet to hear back.
Unicoin represented a last attempt from former Chair Gary Gensler’s SEC, which in an official notice late last year indicated plans to charge the firm with fraud, misleading practices, and engaging in the sale of unregistered securities. The inquiry was initiated in the waning days of President Joe Biden’s administration, just before leadership at the SEC shifted to individuals appointed by pro-crypto President Donald Trump.
The CEO, who has seen numerous other crypto firms escape enforcement actions under the new SEC leadership, shared with CoinDesk that he sent a letter on March 17 to the agency’s new Crypto Task Force inquiring about the ongoing investigation.
“I am seeking your counsel on how to best address this misuse of authority and bring it to a conclusion,” Konanykhin mentioned in his letter, a copy of which has been reviewed by CoinDesk. He requested that the investigation be closed and that the behavior of the enforcement officer handling his case be scrutinized due to his “readiness to utilize the SEC’s power for political reasons.”
An SEC representative chose not to provide comments regarding Unicoin’s situation on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Unicoin stated on Tuesday that the company “is in the concluding phases of the SEC review process. At this moment, we have not received any new updates or formal responses from the SEC concerning our registration. We are dedicated to compliance and transparency and are continuing our efforts to attain the necessary approvals for our upcoming offerings.”
The CEO believes that his firm, which indicates potential returns of up to 8,000% for investors, faced harassment from the SEC last year, as he disclosed in an interview in Washington.
“They insisted that we commit to not going public in the U.S., not conducting an ICO, and not raising funds,” he stated. “So, I packed my things and relocated to Europe to continue business.”
He explained that Trump’s election and the president’s commitment to position the U.S. as the global hub for cryptocurrency prompted him to return to New York from Switzerland with plans to go public there.
“We believed the conflict was resolved, and we notified the SEC, ‘Hey, we’re resuming our activities,'” Konanykhin recounted. At that juncture, the agency announced its intentions to pursue civil charges against the company.
Konanykhin pointed out that the regulator accused them of breaching securities laws through an airdrop. He argued that this tactic is a standard marketing approach seen across various crypto assets and is “similar to what the president is doing with his memecoin.”
“It’s unfortunate that the crusade against cryptocurrency persists,” he commented. If the agency continues its campaign against crypto by pursuing Unicoin, “many observers will be surprised.”
Unicoin began as an initiative to provide a “more transparent and reliable alternative” to Bitcoin in the U.S. (which, according to the Unicoin website, has yielded 9 million percent returns to investors over the last decade). He said some analysts even theorize that Bitcoin was “developed by Chinese intelligence, though the true origin remains unknown.”
“I am thrilled by the opportunity to contribute to making America the global crypto capital, as promised by the president, despite the ongoing legacy of SEC persecution being quite frustrating,” Konanykhin stated.
In the meantime, he revealed that “we are actively preparing to go public.”