Solana Co-Founder Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Crypto Rewards Theft

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

Rossi filed the lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court, accusing Akridge of exploiting her lack of technical expertise to take control of her staking rewards.

The Solana Co-Founder Allegedly Stole His Ex-Wife’s SOL Staking Rewards

According to the complaint, Akridge allegedly redirected all staking commissions from Rossi’s Solana holdings for his personal benefit between March and May 2023. Staking involves pledging cryptocurrency to validate blockchain transactions, earning 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.

Previously, Akridge worked at Qualcomm Inc. before co-founding Solana. He served as principal engineer for the blockchain platform alongside Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal. 

“DIVORCE GONE CRYPTO: Drama alert! Elisa Rossi says her ex-hubby Stephen Akridge kept millions in Solana staking rewards. The kicker? He allegedly laughed and said, ‘Good luck getting those rewards!’ She’s now taking him to court,” Mario Nawfal wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 

This isn’t the first time that crypto staking has been 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 crypto staking should not legally qualify as taxable income but as new property. 

Meanwhile, Solana has seen significant growth despite setbacks linked to its association with the collapsed FTX exchange and Sam Bankman-Fried’s trading firm, Alameda Research. Solana’s price fell below $10 during the FTX crisis but made a strong comeback. 

Overall, in 2024, the altcoin gained over 70% and reached an all-time high of $263 in November. Its growth has been fueled by the surge in transactions and activity, particularly around meme coins. This growth drove Solana to become the second-largest blockchain by TVL after Ethereum.

SOL Six-Month Price Chart. Source: BeInCrypto

Crypto-related legal battles are becoming increasingly common. Earlier this year, a former Binance employee filed a whistleblower lawsuit in the UK, alleging bribery and wrongful termination. 

In another case, Dogecoin investors dropped a class-action lawsuit against Elon Musk, which had accused him of market manipulation. These developments underscore the legal complexities and disputes arising in the crypto space.