Solana co-founder sued for alleged theft of crypto rewards

Solana co-founder Stephen Akridge is being sued by his ex-wife, Elisa Rossi. The lawsuit alleges that he embezzled “many millions of dollars” from the cryptocur...

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Solana co-founder Stephen Akridge is being sued by his ex-wife, Elisa Rossi. The lawsuit alleges that he embezzled “many millions of dollars” from the cryptocurrency income in her e-wallet.

Ms. Rossi filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court, accusing Akridge of taking advantage of her lack of technical knowledge to misappropriate staking rewards.

Solana Co-Founder Accused of Stealing Ex-Wife’s SOL Staking Rewards

According to complaintAkridge allegedly redirected all staking commissions from Rossi’s Solana shares for personal gain between March and May 2023. Staking is the commitment of cryptocurrency to validate blockchain transactions, receiving Tokens supplement in return.

Meanwhile, the legal dispute follows the couple’s divorce filing in February 2023 after a decade of marriage. Rossi is seeking compensation for breach of contract, unjust enrichment and fraud.

Previously, Akridge worked at Qualcomm Inc. before co-founding Solana. He holds the position of chief engineer for this blockchain platform along with Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal.

“DIVORCE IN THE WORLD OF CRYPTOCURRENCY: Sensational news! Elisa Rossi said her ex-husband Stephen Akridge withheld millions in Solana staking rewards. The fun part? He allegedly laughed and said, ‘Just try to get those rewards!’ She is now suing him in court,” Mario Nawfal write on X (formerly Twitter).

This is not the first time cryptocurrency staking has been at the center of a legal battle. In October, an investor named Joshua Jarrett filed a lawsuit against the IRS. The complaint argues that Tokens earned from cryptocurrency staking should not be considered taxable income but as new assets.

Meanwhile, Solana has seen solid growth despite setbacks related to its ties to collapsed exchange FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried’s trading firm, Alameda Research. Solana price fell below $10 during the FTX crisis but has recovered strongly.

Overall in 2024, the altcoin is up more than 70% and reached an all-time high of $263 in November. Its growth is driven by an increase in transactions and activity, especially is around the Coin Coin Memes. This growth has made Solana the 2nd largest blockchain according to TVL after Ethereum.

solana price — Six-month SOL price chart. Source: TinTucBitcoin

Legal disputes related to cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly common. Earlier this year, a former Binance employee filed a whistleblower lawsuit in the United Kingdom, alleging bribery and improper dismissal.

In another case, Dogecoin investors withdrew a class action lawsuit against Elon Musk, accusing him of market manipulation. These developments highlight the legal complexities and disputes emerging in the cryptocurrency space.