U.S. securities regulators on Thursday charged Nexo Capital Inc. with failing to register the offer and sale of its retail crypto asset lending product. To settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges, Nexo agreed to pay a $22.5 million penalty and stop its unregistered offer and sale of its Earn Interest Product to U.S. investors. Nexo also agreed to pay an extra $22.5 million in fines to settle similar charges by state authorities, the SEC said in a news release. Nexo, without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, agreed to a cease-and-desist order prohibiting it from breaking registration rules under U.S. securities law. “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,” said SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. “Compliance with our time-tested public policies isn’t a choice,” he said.
