Ohio Joins $22.5M Multistate Settlement Against Crypto Lender Nexo

The Ohio Division of Securities has joined a $22.5 million settlement against crypto lender Nexo, it said Tuesday.

The North American Securities Administrators Association and the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in January the settlement reached with the Cayman Islands-based company.

The agreement was the result of a working group of state securities regulators that investigated Nexo's Earn Interest Product (EIP), where the company had told investors they can passively earn interest on digital assets.

Nexo allegedly failed to comply with state securities registration requirements and deprived investors of the important information necessary to "understand and evaluate the risks of investing in the EIP," according to the Ohio regulator’s press release.

“All financial services companies, including those offering services for crypto assets, must comply with Ohio’s securities laws,” said Securities Commissioner Andrea Seidt.

Nexo has agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle allegations with Ohio and other U.S. states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It will stop offering the EIP in Ohio until that product is "properly qualified for sale," the press release said.

In total Nexo owes state regulators and the SEC $45 million.

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Camomile Shumba

Camomile Shumba is a CoinDesk regulatory reporter based in the UK. She previously worked as an intern for Business Insider and Bloomberg News. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.

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