Key Takeaways
- Nexo has relaunched in the United States after exiting in 2022 amid intense SEC and state-level regulatory pressure.
- The company paid $45 million in combined settlements in 2023 and discontinued its interest-bearing Earn Interest Product (EIP) for U.S. users.
- Its return leverages licensed U.S. partnerships, redesigns its products, and operates within a clearer regulatory framework.
Crypto lending platform Nexo officially relaunched in the United States on Feb. 16, 2026, marking a high-profile comeback after withdrawing from the market in late 2022.
The company, which reports managing approximately $11 billion in assets and processing more than $371 billion in transactions globally since 2018, is re-entering the U.S. through partnerships with regulated domestic entities.
Nexo Returns With Restructured, Compliant Offerings
Nexo’s relaunch centers on restructured versions of its core products for U.S. users.
These include:
- Flexible and fixed-term yield programs on digital assets.
- An integrated crypto exchange.
- A tiered loyalty program.
- Crypto-backed credit lines designed to provide liquidity without triggering asset sales.
Additional features include fiat on- and off-ramps via ACH and wire transfers.
According to the company, these products are delivered through licensed U.S. partners, including — where applicable — SEC-registered investment advisers.
The emphasis is squarely on compliance, risk management, and institutional-grade operational standards.
Importantly, Nexo states that its new yield and lending products are structured differently from the discontinued Earn Interest Product that triggered regulatory action.
The firm describes the relaunch as a “deliberate recalibration,” prioritizing regulatory alignment and long-term durability over aggressive expansion.
The U.S. return follows several years of global growth initiatives, including acquisitions such as Argentina-based Buenbit and high-profile sponsorships like the ATP 500 Nexo Dallas Open, as well as partnerships with the Audi F1 Team and the Australian Open.
Still, executives now frame the U.S. strategy as compliance-first rather than growth-first.
What Forced the Three-Year Exit?
Nexo’s departure from the U.S. stemmed from a prolonged regulatory confrontation centered on its Earn Interest Product (EIP), launched around June 2020.
Under the EIP structure, users transferred digital assets to Nexo in exchange for promised interest payments.
Nexo retained discretion over how those assets were deployed to generate yield.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) determined that the product met the criteria of an unregistered security under the Howey test for investment contracts.
Several state regulators — including New York and California — also initiated enforcement actions, primarily focusing on the lack of registration.
After roughly 18 months of negotiations, Nexo announced its U.S. withdrawal in December 2022, describing the regulatory environment as untenable.
The company agreed to cease offering the EIP to U.S. investors and fully phased it out by April 2023.
In January 2023, Nexo settled with the SEC for $22.5 million and simultaneously resolved parallel state-level charges for another $22.5 million, totaling $45 million.
The settlement was reached on a no-admit, no-deny basis.
While the agreement closed multi-year investigations without requiring an admission of wrongdoing, it effectively forced Nexo to shutter its U.S. interest-bearing product and exit the market.
Co-founder Antoni Trenchev later characterized the pre-2023 enforcement environment under then-SEC Chair Gary Gensler as hostile to crypto innovation.
The firm subsequently shifted its focus to more than 150 other jurisdictions where its products remained operational.
What Changed in 2026?
Nexo first signaled its intent to return in April 2025 during a “Trump Business Vision 2025” event in Sofia, Bulgaria.
At the event, Trenchev declared, “America is back — and so is Nexo.”
The company credits a broader shift in the U.S. policy climate for enabling its return.
According to Nexo, the current regulatory environment offers clearer frameworks for digital assets, more defined institutional standards, and reduced uncertainty around enforcement.
The Trump administration’s pivot toward a more crypto-supportive stance — including the elevation of pro-innovation voices at regulatory agencies and discussions around a national strategic crypto reserve — has contributed to renewed market confidence.
That said, Nexo maintains that its return is grounded primarily in structural compliance improvements rather than political alignment.
Crucially, the relaunch leverages licensed U.S. entities such as Bakkt, which provides institutional-grade trading infrastructure with a compliance-first architecture.
By embedding its services within regulated frameworks and relying on approved partners, Nexo aims to avoid the registration pitfalls that derailed its previous interest product.
A company spokesperson emphasized that the relaunch “was based on our ability to offer products in a compliant structure.”
They emphasized that the relaunch is not linked to interactions with members of the Trump family.
Those interactions — including Trenchev’s July 2025 meeting with President Trump at a Nexo-sponsored golf event and the hosting of Donald Trump Jr. in Sofia — are described by the company as unrelated to operational decision-making.
A Broader Signal for Crypto Markets
Nexo’s three-year exile and structured return highlight the volatile intersection of crypto innovation and U.S. securities law.
The episode underscores a broader industry reality: yield-bearing crypto products must be carefully engineered within regulatory guardrails, particularly in the United States.
Post-crackdown, global crypto firms are adapting by restructuring offerings, prioritizing licensed partnerships, and adopting more transparent product frameworks.
For Nexo, the 2026 relaunch is less about reclaiming lost ground.
It’s more about re-entering the world’s largest capital market with a compliance-native strategy.
The development also signals growing confidence among international crypto firms that the U.S. is once again navigable.
This depends on companies designing products with regulatory architecture embedded from day one.
Whether this development marks a sustained thaw in U.S. crypto policy or simply establishes a new compliance equilibrium remains uncertain.
But for now, Nexo is back, and this time, the structure appears built for survival.
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Prashant Jha is a seasoned crypto journalist based in Delhi, India, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science Engineering. Passionate about the evolving world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, he has been a dedicated voice in the industry since 2018. Prashant’s expertise lies in regulatory reporting, where he unravels complex legal and financial developments with clarity and precision. Before joining CCN in 2024, he honed his craft at Cointelegraph, establishing himself as a trusted name in crypto journalism.
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