Regulator Alleges False Claims About Real-World Asset-Backed Tokens Misled Thousands of Investors
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged crypto platform Unicoin and three of its top executives for allegedly misleading investors and raising $100 million through false claims about its token offerings.
In a May 20 announcement, the SEC alleged that Unicoin CEO Alex Konanykhin, board member Silvina Moschini, and former investment chief Alex Dominguez lured thousands of investors by falsely promising that Unicoin tokens would be backed by a global portfolio of real estate assets.
“The real estate assets were worth a mere fraction of what the company claimed,” said Mark Cave, associate director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.
“The majority of the company’s sales of rights certificates were illusory.”
Certificates Promised Future Tokens and Stock
The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court in Manhattan, claims that the defendants marketed and sold certificates that offered future rights to Unicoin tokens and company stock, misleadingly suggesting the assets would be fully collateralized by high-value real estate.
However, regulators found that the actual real estate holdings were minimal or nonexistent, and the supposed asset backing was largely fabricated to give investors a false sense of security.
The SEC alleges violations of several provisions of U.S. securities laws and is seeking:
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Permanent injunctions
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Disgorgement of ill-gotten gains
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Civil penalties
SEC: “Fictitious Promises” Used to Lure Investors
According to the SEC, the Unicoin team “exploited investor trust” by promoting a false narrative around asset-backed crypto, a tactic designed to attract conservative investors looking for a safer entry into digital assets.
“This is a textbook case of using buzzwords like ‘asset-backed’ and ‘real estate’ to create a false sense of legitimacy,” Cave added.
Final Thoughts: Asset-Backed Tokens Under Scrutiny
The Unicoin case underscores growing regulatory scrutiny around crypto tokens that claim to be backed by real-world assets (RWAs) such as real estate, commodities, or corporate equity.
With interest surging in tokenized assets, the SEC is signaling it will aggressively pursue deceptive practices that misrepresent the true nature of such backing — especially when unregistered securities are being marketed to the public.
As the SEC continues its enforcement shift under the Trump administration, cases like Unicoin serve as reminders that transparency and verifiable collateral remain central to any token offering claiming to be “real-world asset-backed.”
