Bogus 'bitcoin killer' cryptocurrency founder pleads guilty

Greenwood pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. — Image by Racool_studio on Freepik

NEW YORK: A co-founder of the fraudulent cryptocurrency OneCoin, a pyramid scheme that conned billions of dollars from investors worldwide, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges, US prosecutors said Friday.

Touted as a "Bitcoin killer,” prosecutors said the purported cryptocurrency co-founded by Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood in 2014 in Bulgaria was actually worthless. Though marketed as a cryptocurrency, it was never mined using computers and there was no public and verifiable blockchain. The value of OneCoin was not set by supply and demand, but by its operators, they said.