Key takeaways
– After a $45 million settlement in 2023 and a temporary US exit, Nexo has resumed US operations with a redesigned approach that emphasizes regulatory alignment instead of directly issuing retail yield.
– The 2023 enforcement focused on unregistered securities claims: regulators alleged Nexo’s Earn Interest Product effectively operated as an investment contract, raising questions about retail marketing of yield, custody and counterparty risks.
– Nexo’s new model routes services through licensed US partners and, where applicable, SEC-registered advisers rather than offering the prior product directly.
– A strategic partnership with Bakkt — a publicly traded, regulated US crypto firm — is central to Nexo’s compliance-first architecture.
Three years after settling with federal and state regulators and withdrawing from the US retail market, Nexo has returned. This is not a simple relaunch; it reflects a structural pivot in how the company delivers crypto lending and yield services to US users.
What happened in 2023
Nexo’s US presence had been driven largely by its Earn Interest Product (EIP), which allowed customers to deposit crypto and earn advertised returns. In January 2023 the SEC alleged the EIP was an unregistered securities offering, asserting it met the criteria for an investment contract. Nexo resolved the matter with a $45 million settlement, without admitting or denying the allegations, and stopped offering the product to US retail investors. The company then paused its US retail operations.
Why regulators targeted “earn” products
The action against Nexo came amid broader scrutiny of centralized yield and lending platforms after 2022 industry collapses exposed liquidity mismatches, rehypothecation risk and unclear counterparty exposure. Regulators concentrated on several themes:
– Retail promotion of yield-bearing products.
– Opaqueness about how returns were generated.
– Custody arrangements and counterparty credit risk.
– Whether offerings behaved as investment contracts subject to securities laws.
Those concerns led to enforcement against multiple centralized yield platforms and signaled tougher oversight of retail-focused crypto lending.
What’s different in 2026
Nexo’s reentry is built on a claim of structural change: instead of directly issuing the kind of earn product targeted in 2023, Nexo now delivers services through regulated US intermediaries. Key elements include:
– Partnering with properly licensed US entities.
– Engaging SEC-registered investment advisers where required.
– Phasing out the specific product named in the 2023 order.
Under this approach, Nexo says it will offer crypto-backed loans and yield-generating options via licensed partners and regulated infrastructure. Crypto-backed loans are collateralized: users post digital assets as collateral, borrow against them, and face liquidation if collateral falls below agreed loan-to-value (LTV) thresholds. That structure contrasts with some pre-2023 models that relied on pooled, unsecured, or otherwise opaque funding sources.
The Bakkt partnership: embedding compliance
A centerpiece of Nexo’s relaunch is its partnership with Bakkt, a US-listed crypto firm with regulatory licenses and trading infrastructure. Routing US-facing activity through an established, licensed partner shifts Nexo from a direct-issuer model to a partner-delivered framework operating inside regulated systems.
In practice, that means trading, custody or advisory functions may be handled by regulated entities; product responsibilities can be split across licensed intermediaries; and multiple layers of supervision can apply. That architecture is designed to respond to the custody, disclosure and counterparty concerns that drove the 2023 enforcement.
A still-evolving regulatory picture
The enforcement environment has changed since early 2023. Some high-profile cases were scaled back or resolved, and regulators’ tactics have varied. That does not mean crypto lending questions are settled: federal statutes, state securities regulators, money transmitter laws and consumer-lending rules all remain potentially relevant depending on a product’s structure. Fragmentation across jurisdictions means partner-led models are often used to navigate state-by-state licensing requirements.
What US users should watch
Even when a product is offered through a licensed intermediary, users should evaluate the mechanics and legal exposures:
1. Who is the legal counterparty? Is the agreement with Nexo, a US-licensed partner, or a combination?
2. Where are assets held? Are they with a qualified custodian and under what regulatory regime?
3. How are returns produced? Are yields coming from lending, staking, market-making or other sources?
4. What are the loan liquidation terms? What LTV triggers liquidation, how fast can it occur, and what fees apply?
5. What disclosures exist? Look for rehypothecation clauses, conflict-of-interest statements, and clear jurisdictional language.
A “compliant” wrapper does not eliminate market, counterparty or liquidation risk. Money transmitter and other licensing regimes remain state-based, which helps explain the appeal of partner-led models for international firms seeking US access.
Why this matters for the industry
Nexo’s return could signal the next phase for cross-border crypto lenders: rather than direct-to-consumer yield programs that pushed legal boundaries, more firms may reenter the US via licensed, partner-led architectures. That suggests an evolution in three stages:
– Pre-2023: Direct consumer yield products with limited registration.
– 2023–2025: Enforcement, withdrawals and organizational change.
– 2026 onward: Reentry through licensed intermediaries and segmented, regulated functions.
The substance of the services — earning yield on digital assets or borrowing against crypto collateral — remains intact. The real change is in the wrapper: activities are now placed inside regulated, multi-layered infrastructure intended to meet securities, custody and consumer-protection expectations.
Whether that approach satisfies regulators long term will depend on meaningful disclosures, transparent revenue models, robust risk controls and ongoing coordination between federal and state authorities. For now, Nexo’s comeback highlights a compliance-first route for companies aiming to operate in the US.
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