• The major crypto lender Nexo has been hit by a tsunami of customer withdrawals after the company’s office in Bulgaria was raided by police.
• The raid was conducted by more than 300 investigators, police and security officers and is being investigated for fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.
• On-chain tracking firms have reported large Nexo withdrawals and movements from its wallets following the raid.
The crypto lending and borrowing platform Nexo has recently been hit by a wave of customer withdrawals following a raid at its offices in Bulgaria. On Thursday, more than 300 investigators, police and security officers raided multiple sites across Sofia, Bulgaria in an operation that was aimed at investigating Nexo for fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. According to the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office, the operation was part of an effort to “neutralize an illegal criminal activity of crypto lender Nexo.”
In the wake of the raid, blockchain intelligence firm Arkham reported that it had seen “floods of outflows” from Nexo’s on-chain wallets. Cielo, another on-chain tracking firm, also reported that several large transactions worth hundreds of thousands of dollars each had been sent from Nexo-controlled wallets.
In response to the raid and customer withdrawals, Nexo released a statement on Twitter stressing that it had always done its utmost to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. The statement added that the firm was in contact with the relevant law enforcement authorities and was committed to providing them with all the necessary assistance.
The raid and customer withdrawals come as a major setback to Nexo, which has become one of the largest crypto lenders in the world. The platform has experienced tremendous growth over the past year, with its user base increasing from 2 million to 3 million in the first quarter of 2021.
With the investigation into Nexo’s operations still ongoing, it remains to be seen what the outcome will be. In the meantime, the crypto community will be watching closely to see how the situation develops.