Unicoin Sponsors Event with SEC Chairman-Despite Being at Legal War with Him

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News Analysis

What to know:

  • Unicoin has accused the SEC of waging a war against it, but the company also stepped up as lead sponsor for a Washington policy summit at which the SEC chair will be headlining.
  • Unicoin’s CEO told CoinDesk that he thinks SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has been conned by holdover enforcement “henchmen” who helped previous SEC Chair Gary Gensler legally hammer crypto businesses.

Well, this is a plot twist worthy of a spy novel-Unicoin, the company that’s currently battling the SEC in court, has decided to sponsor a summit where the SEC Chairman himself, Paul Atkins, will be the star attraction. Maybe they figured if they can’t talk to him directly, they might as well foot the bill for a good old-fashioned policy powwow.

The SEC’s latest adversary, Unicoin, has long since been banned from chatting with the agency’s higher-ups due to an ongoing lawsuit. You know, just a small legal squabble over whether or not Unicoin’s $100 million token sale was backed by real estate as they promised. If only these crypto executives spent as much time reading fine print as they do sponsoring summits, maybe they’d avoid a lawsuit or two.

Unicoin’s CEO, Alexander Konanykhin, has quite the theory on why things have gone sour. He claims that Atkins, poor man, has been hoodwinked by a bunch of “henchmen”-a delightful term he reserves for the SEC’s enforcement staff, who apparently inherited Gary Gensler’s War on Crypto. They’re like a mafia, but with briefcases instead of baseball bats. According to Konanykhin, these enforcers are the true masterminds, pushing forward a lawsuit that even Gensler’s SEC probably wouldn’t have bothered with.

Despite being legally prohibited from speaking to Atkins, Unicoin still finds itself proudly sponsoring the summit. Ah, the irony! You can almost hear the sarcasm drip from their platinum sponsorship-“We’re going to give you money to attend an event where you’ll tell us we’re wrong, but hey, it’s a chance to educate.” The SEC Chairman and Commissioner Hester Peirce are both keynotes, and yet, there’s the CEO of Unicoin, standing just a few metaphorical feet away, hoping to pass a message to Atkins-who remains blissfully unaware of the conspiracy to ruin his good name.

The irony isn’t lost on the summit organizers, either, who put a positive spin on this crossover of crypto foes and allies. They put out a statement that companies come to the Digital Chamber’s DC Summit “to educate and build bridges.” Sure, because nothing says ‘building bridges’ like putting an enemy under the same roof. Maybe next year, they’ll host a debate between the president of McDonald’s and a vegan food chain. A recipe for harmony.

Meanwhile, Konanykhin’s company has been running trucks through Washington, draped in snarky messages like “The War on Crypto is NOT over.” Because, why not add a little extra drama? It’s not like legal battles are all-consuming enough, right?

Konanykhin, ever the sharp critic, praises SEC Chairman Atkins for “steadily repairing the damage” done by his predecessor, but don’t get him wrong-he’s still blaming the “dirty cops” in the enforcement division for keeping up Gensler’s fight. They should be ashamed of themselves, he says, but alas, the legal rules prevent him from delivering this critique directly to Atkins. So, they’ll have to settle for passive-aggressive sponsorship. The future of diplomacy, indeed.

As for the legal backdrop, it’s all fun and games until you realize that the current charges against Unicoin were approved by a commission that, at the time, included two Republicans and a Democrat. The poor SEC just can’t seem to get away from these pesky crypto lawsuits, no matter who’s in charge. The only thing that’s certain? Rejection of a staff recommendation is apparently as rare as a unicorn (pun fully intended).

Oh, and let’s not forget the code of conduct for the summit, which ensures a “safe and welcoming environment.” Too bad for Konanykhin, who would love to tell Atkins that his enforcement crew is fabricating charges, but those pesky legal constraints are still hanging over him like a cloud of missed opportunities.

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2026-02-25 17:18