Cryptocurrency services platform Nexo announced that it is reentering the US market after facing previous regulatory challenges.
According to an April 28 announcement, Nexo’s reentry event featured Donald Trump Jr., who said that he thinks “crypto is the future of finance,” adding:
“We see the opportunity for the financial sector and want to ensure we bring that back to the US.”
Trump Jr. also emphasized the need for a regulatory environment that supports the cryptocurrency industry. He said that “the key to everything crypto is going to be the regulatory framework.”
Related: Coinbase presses to axe rule banning SEC staff from holding crypto
Nexo is back to fight where it lost
Nexo left the US at the end of 2022, citing a lack of regulatory clarity as the reason behind the decision. At the beginning of 2023, the firm agreed to pay a $45 million settlement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its failure to register the offer and sale of securities of its interest-earning product.
A month after settling with US regulators, Nexo also decided to shut down its interest-earning product to US-based customers. The product allowed users to earn daily compounding yields on certain cryptocurrencies by loaning them to Nexo.
In late 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation also filed a desist and refrain order against the same interest-earning product managed by Nexo. The regulator claimed that the product was an unqualified security, meaning a security that the government has not approved for sale in the form of an investment contract.
Related: US crypto rules like 'floor is lava' game without lights — Hester Peirce
US SEC dances to a different tune now
The US SEC, once viewed as the crypto industry’s primary regulatory obstacle, recently appointed Paul Atkins as chair.
The change was positively commented on by crypto entrepreneurs, with Michael Saylor, the CEO of top corporate Bitcoin holder Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), saying:
“SEC Chairman Paul Atkins will be good for Bitcoin.”
James Gernetzke, chief financial officer of Bitcoin and crypto wallet Exodus, said that “the promise of being able to engage with a regulator on a reasonable basis is going to be very helpful.”
Nexo declined to comment further on its return to the US market.
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