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Solana co-founder sued
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While Solana was getting a lot of positive signals, including a futures ETF proposal, negative information about the founding team emerged. Will this affect the reputation and trust in Solana?
Stephen Akridge, the co-founder of Solana, is facing a lawsuit from his ex-wife, Elisa Rossi, in California state court. Akridge allegedly hid millions of dollars in SOL form during the divorce process, despite the fact that she was entitled to a portion of the estate under the divorce agreement.
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Elisa Rossi, an Italian citizen now living in Rome, and Akridge have been married for nearly 10 years. During their time together, the two have amassed a large fortune, thanks in large part to Akridge's role in founding Solana Labs, the company responsible for developing the Solana blockchain.
According to Coingecko, after divorcing in 2023, Rossi is entitled to part of his assets as SOL tokens, which have a current market capitalization of $90 billion.
However, the problem arose from the fact that Akridge allegedly withheld Rossi's staking rewards. The SOL number that belonged to her was staked — a form of cryptocurrency lock to ensure the operation of the blockchain and receive interest rewards. Rossi contends that while Akridge appears to have transferred control of Solana's assets to her, he retains the staking rewards she should have received, which are estimated to be worth millions of dollars.
According to the lawsuit, Rossi repeatedly contacted Akridge between May and December 2023 to ask her ex-husband to return the staking rewards. However, Akridge is said to have refused and even laughed in her face.
“Good luck getting your staking reward numbers from me.”
This dispute not only reflects how crypto can become a source of conflict in divorces but also provides a rare glimpse into the personal finances of one of Solana's co-founders. Akridge, although less noticed than the other two co-founders Anatoly Yakavenko and Raj Gokal, remains an important figure.
He left Solana Labs in early 2023 to found Anza, a software development company for Solana, along with half of Solana Labs' staff. He was also recently appointed CEO of Cyber Grant, a cybersecurity firm.
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Rossi's lawsuit highlights how crypto, with its complexity and lack of knowledge on the part of some, can become an exploited tool in property disputes.
The incident also reflects a larger problem as blockchain technology is increasingly integrated into financial and personal life spheres: Regulators must have clear laws to manage this type of asset, especially when disputes arise.