Stephen Akridge, co-founder of Solana, is facing a lawsuit from his ex-wife, Elisa Rossi. She claims he allegedly made off with millions in staking rewards from her crypto holdings.
Proof of stake
Rossi filed her complaint in the San Francisco Superior Court, accusing Akridge of stealing her staking rewards from her Solana tokens after their divorce proceedings began in February 2023.
Staking rewards are like earning interest on your savings account, crypto holders lock up their assets to help validate transactions and earn more tokens as a reward, and it’s a pretty popular feature of the Solana network.
Rossi alleges that from early March to mid-May, Akridge controlled her accounts and pocketed all the SOL token commissions.
She claims he took advantage of his superior knowledge of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, leaving her in the dust.
No women no cry?
The couple was married for nearly a decade and built quite a fortune together, largely thanks to Akridge’s role in launching Solana. But when the divorce hit, things turned sour.
Rossi describes their split as acrimonious and prolonged, which is just a fancy way of saying it was messy.
The lawsuit doesn’t specify how much money is at stake, but Rossi insists it’s a quite big amount, so she’s seeking damages for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and fraud, basically saying Akridge didn’t play fair during their divorce settlement.
Akridge’s response
Rossi claims she reached out to Akridge multiple times after discovering the alleged theft but was met with silence.
At one point, she says he laughed in her face and told her, good luck getting those staking rewards from he.
While Akridge hasn’t publicly commented on the lawsuit yet, he’s currently busy running his cybersecurity company, Cyber Grant, but this legal battle could have serious implications for his reputation in the crypto industry, especially as Solana continues to gain traction.
