Crypto lender Nexo returns to US two years after $45m settlement with SEC

Crypto lender Nexo is resuming operations in the United States, two years after settling a $45 million fine with the SEC.

Cryptocurrency lending firm Nexo is re-entering operations in the United States, nearly two years after settling a $45 million fine with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its unregistered lending product.

In an X announcement on Monday, Nexo revealed that retail and institutional clients in the U.S. will now have access to Nexo’s products, including “high-yield crypto savings accounts, asset-backed credit lines, advanced trading, and institutional-grade liquidity solutions.”

Nexo’s return follows its settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2023, after the Commission charged the company with failing to register its Earn Interest Product, a crypto lending offering marketed to U.S. investors. Nexo did not admit or deny wrongdoing in the settlement.

The company had faced additional legal challenges. In early 2024, Reuters reported that Nexo aimed to recover $3 billion tied to a stalled criminal investigation, which disrupted its plans for a U.S. stock market listing and a soccer sponsorship deal. Nexo representatives claimed the investigation damaged the company’s reputation and destroyed shareholder value.

In January 2023, Nexo’s offices were raided by prosecutors who accused the platform of money laundering, tax crimes, and computer fraud between 2018 and January 2023. Nexo’s management denied all charges.

In December 2023, the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office closed the criminal case, stating that investigators had found no evidence of money laundering, tax evasion, or other crimes.