The Queen of Crypto

A documentary by Rudolph Herzog

The definitive story of Dr Ruja Ignatova, the founder of a multi-billion-dollar cryptocurrency company called OneCoin who suddenly disappeared, leaving millions of people high and dry in her wake.

Dr Ruja Ignatova is glamorous, highly intelligent and fabulously wealthy; she captivates everyone around her. With impeccable credentials such as an Oxford University PhD and a stint at McKinsey, she creates OneCoin in 2014. By selling cryptocurrency to the masses she aims to become the Facebook of cryptocurrency and take down the market leader Bitcoin in the process. She immediately inspires and charms millions of people across the globe to invest, convinced that OneCoin is their golden ticket to prosperity. Their OneCoins are set to make them millions in the future and right now they can make money by convincing their family and friends to invest too.

By 2017, Dr Ruja and her senior team are making billions and unashamedly parading their lavish lifestyles on social media, but their investors are beginning to get nervous. Why aren’t they seeing any profit yet? Is this cryptocurrency legit? With tensions rising and rumours gathering pace that OneCoin may be a very well marketed but illegal Pyramid scheme, Dr Ruja disappears without a trace later that year. With her whereabouts unknown, Dr Ruja finds herself the only woman on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted List as they and others try to work out where she is and where the billions of dollars OneCoin made may be.

Dr Ruja Ignatova is glamorous, highly intelligent and fabulously wealthy; she captivates everyone around her. With impeccable credentials such as an Oxford University PhD and a stint at McKinsey, she creates OneCoin in 2014. By selling cryptocurrency to the masses she aims to become the Facebook of cryptocurrency and take down the market leader Bitcoin in the process. She immediately inspires and charms millions of people across the globe to invest, convinced that OneCoin is their golden ticket to prosperity. Their OneCoins are set to make them millions in the future and right now they can make money by convincing their family and friends to invest too.

By 2017, Dr Ruja and her senior team are making billions and unashamedly parading their lavish lifestyles on social media, but their investors are beginning to get nervous. Why aren’t they seeing any profit yet? Is this cryptocurrency legit? With tensions rising and rumours gathering pace that OneCoin may be a very well marketed but illegal Pyramid scheme, Dr Ruja disappears without a trace later that year. With her whereabouts unknown, Dr Ruja finds herself the only woman on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted List as they and others try to work out where she is and where the billions of dollars OneCoin made may be.

Voice over: German
Subtitle: English, German
Length: 3 episodes á 47 min
German release: Sky/Wow on 27.06.24 

Trailer

Cast & Crew

Director: Rudolph Herzog Showrunner: Sam Miller Writer: Raid Sabbah, Rudolph Herzog, Ira Tondowski Production: Tondowski Films and DARE Pictures in collaboration with Lone Wolf Studios Executive Producer: Alex Tondowski, Ira Tondowski (Tondowski Films) and Derren Lawford (DARE Pictures), Christian Asanger and Felix Kempter (Sky), Jonah Weston (Channel 4) Co-Executive Producer: Stephen Morse and Max Peltz (Lone Wolf Studios) DoP: Henning Brümmer, Brendan McGinty Location Sound: Sam Malik Etiang, Jonny Horne, Robert Sandow, Jörh Theiß Music: Universal Music Group

Broadcasters: Sky, Channel 4 Distributor: Fremantle Supported by Creative Europe MEDIA 

Episodes

EP 1: The Queen of Crypto – The Rise of the Cryptoqueen

EP 2: The Queen of Crypto – Smoke and Mirrors

EP 3: The Queen of Crypto – The Hunt