Solana co-founder Stephen Akridge is being sued by his ex-wife, Elisa Rossi, alleging that he embezzled “multiple millions of dollars” from her cryptocurrency earnings in her digital 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 the complaint, Akridge allegedly diverted all staking commissions from Rossi's Solana stake for personal gain from March to May 2023. Staking is committing cryptocurrency to validate blockchain transactions, receiving additional tokens in return.
Meanwhile, the legal dispute follows the couple's divorce filing in February 2023 after a decade of marriage. Rossi is seeking damages for breach of contract, unjust enrichment and fraud.
Akridge previously worked at Qualcomm Inc. before co-founding Solana. He serves as chief engineer for the blockchain platform alongside Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal.
“DIVORCE IN THE CRYPTOCURRENCY WORLD: Breaking News! Elisa Rossi says ex-husband Stephen Akridge kept millions in Solana staking rewards. The fun part? He allegedly laughed and said, ‘Go ahead and take those rewards!’ She’s now suing him,” Mario Nawfal wrote 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 argued that tokens earned from staking cryptocurrencies should not be considered taxable income but rather new property.
Meanwhile, Solana has seen solid growth despite facing headwinds related to its ties to the now-defunct FTX exchange and Sam Bankman-Fried’s trading firm, Alameda Research. Solana’s price fell below $10 during the FTX crisis but has since rebounded strongly.
Overall in 2024, the altcoin increased by more than 70% and reached an all-time high of $263 in November. Its growth was fueled by increased transactions and activity, especially around Meme Coins. This growth made Solana the 2nd largest blockchain by TVL after Ethereum.
SOL six month price chart.
Cryptocurrency-related legal battles are becoming increasingly common. Earlier this year, a former Binance employee filed a whistleblower lawsuit in the United Kingdom, alleging bribery and wrongful dismissal.
In another case, Dogecoin investors have withdrawn a class-action lawsuit against Elon Musk, accusing him of market manipulation. These developments underscore the legal complexities and disputes that are arising in the cryptocurrency space.
