Crypto lender Nexo fined $45 million for violating securities law
The cryptocurrency lending firm Nexo has been sanctioned by the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) for offering and selling unregistered securities, as part of the latest efforts by regulators to crack down on the crypto industry. Announced via an SEC press release on January 19th, Nexo has been fined $45 million for failing to register the offer and sale of a cryptocurrency lending product, Earn Interest Product (EIP), which promised returns on deposited crypto.
According to the SEC’s order, Nexo started offering the EIP around June 2020 and marketed the product as a means for investors to earn interest on their crypto assets. The agency alleges that Nexo used its investors’ crypto assets in a variety of ways, including to fund...