The cryptocurrency lending firm Nexo was fined $45 million for violating federal securities law, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Thursday, the latest in a string of enforcement actions that U.S. regulators have taken to crack down on misconduct in the crypto industry. Starting in 2020, Nexo allowed customers in the United States to hand over their cryptocurrency savings and earn interest on those funds, the S.E.C. said. The agency found that the interest program qualified as a security, and that Nexo had failed to properly register. Nexo settled the charges without admitting wrongdoing. The company agreed to pay a $22.5 million fine to the S.E.C. and an additional $22.5 million to settle charges by state regulators. “We charged Nexo with failing to register its retail crypto lending product before offering it to the public, bypassing essential disclosure requirements designed to protect investors,” Gary Gensler, the S.E.C. chair, said in a statement. “Compliance with our time-tested public policies isn’t a choice.”
Full story : Crypto Lender Nexo Is Fined $45 Million as Crackdown Widens.
