Investors sued Nexo, which blocked $126 million in funding in March 2021. A family of fintech entrepreneurs claims that the cryptocurrency lender has frozen their accounts. He also claims that he forced them to sell their holdings back at a 60% discount. After the news, NEXO price quickly headed south.
An interesting case shock to the cryptocurrency credit institution Nexo!
The family says they did not allow Nexo to withdraw up to £107m ($126m) of their assets. He then claims he scared them into selling them all to a crypto lender at a 60% discount. The cryptocurrency millionaire family filed a lawsuit against Nexo with these allegations. After the news, the altcoin turned south with the effect of the negative mood of the market.
According to a report by City AM, brothers Jason and Owen and cousin Shane Morton together owned tens of millions of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, as well as millions of Nexo’s NEXO tokens. They say they first raised their concerns about Nexo’s compliance and transparency in December 2020. After receiving no response from Nexo, they began withdrawing some of their $126 million stash the following March. They sold it in slices so as not to affect their NEXO in the process.
Claim: Cryptocurrency withdrawal blocked and discounted sale requested
But on March 22, 2021, Nexo placed a cap of $150,000 on daily withdrawals. The next day, the Mortons claim their ‘retract’ buttons are greyed out. They were also unable to convert their NEXOs to other cryptocurrencies as the ‘Convert’ button was similarly frozen. When they reached out to the Nexo account manager dealing with them, they claim to have said that measures were being taken to “support the price of Nexo tokens.” He then allegedly offered them a deal they couldn’t refuse: they could sell their NEXO back to the exchange at a 60% discount.
The lawsuit alleges that Nexo violated contract by imposing ‘bespoke’ withdrawal limits. He also argues that the lender’s subsequent negotiation tactics constitute ‘intimidation’. Nexo, on the other hand, responded to the case before it went public. Ten days ago, he made a statement calling it ‘opportunistic’. The company released a statement arguing that “all transactions, including the sale of Nexo tokens, were completed in good faith, documented and deemed final by the plaintiffs at the time of execution.”
Nexo’s water getting hot?
Nexo is no stranger to controversy. After Terra’s collapse caused a chain-link wave of liquidity problems among crypto lenders in the industry by acquiring Celsius, Voyager, Vauld, Hodlnaut and more, a chorus said Nexo would be next.
The loan company took a hit in September with enforcement lawsuits from eight states alleging that the company ‘misrepresented’ the extent of its compliance with state securities regulations. Vermont, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Kentucky and Maryland followed California. So, they decided to stop it against the company. Meanwhile, Washington State filed a criminal complaint against Nexo. He also announced that he himself had issued a cease and desist order. New York has announced that it is suing Nexo for making “misrepresentation that it complies with applicable regulations and licensing requirements.”
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