Nexo says it will no longer accept new registrations, and operations for existing customers will eventually be die down.
According to a blog post published on Dec. 5, the cryptocurrency lending and borrowing platform Nexo intends to gradually end operations in the United States “over the coming months.” The decision to leave the United States is “regrettable but necessary,” according to Nexo.
Nexo claimed in the post that it has been in discussions with American regulators for 18 months in an effort to figure out how to abide by American financial laws. However, the company and American officials have not reached an agreement as a result of these negotiations.
“Our decision comes after more than 18 months of good-faith dialogue with U.S state and federal regulators which has come to a dead end,” the company said. “It is now unfortunately clear to us that despite rhetoric to the contrary, the U.S refuses to provide a path forward for enabling blockchain businesses and we cannot give our customers confidence that regulators are focused on their best interests.”
The crypto lending platform announced that it had terminated its relationships with customers from Vermont and New York and had put a stop to new registrations for the platform’s Earn Interest service in the United States.
Additionally, after December 6, 2022, current customers in eight other states will no longer have access to the Earn Interest product. For the time being, existing customers from other states will still have access to the product.
Following the demise of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, U.S. regulators have come under fire recently. Some American legislators have argued that regulators need to be given more authority to oversee cryptocurrency exchanges. On the other hand, some business leaders assert that excessive regulation is pushing American investors onto riskier offshore exchanges.
The year has been difficult for crypto lenders in general in the US, with many of Nexo’s biggest rivals, such as BlockFi, Celsius Network, and Voyager Digital, all applying for bankruptcy protection recently.
