Solana’s co-founder, Stephen Akridge, finds himself embroiled in a lawsuit. His ex-wife, Elisa Rossi, has taken legal action, accusing him of misappropriating millions from her staking rewards. She filed her case in the San Francisco Superior Court, asserting that Akridge exploited his blockchain expertise to unlawfully siphon earnings from her Solana investments.
In the crypto world, staking allows users to lock assets and earn yields by validating transactions. Rossi contends that Akridge, without her consent, managed her high-value staking accounts, pocketing all the generated rewards.
Currently, the lawsuit is making its way through the San Francisco court system. Akridge is confronted with several allegations, including breach of contract, violation of the implied covenant of good faith, unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duties, and fraud.
An update from Solid Intel on Twitter notes the accusations against Akridge concerning breach of contract and fraud related to the alleged misconduct involving his ex-wife’s staking rewards.
Their journey began with marriage on March 8, 2013, when Akridge was employed at Qualcomm Inc. Five years later, he joined forces with Anatoly Yakovenko to launch Solana Labs. Their marriage dissolved after 10 years, with divorce proceedings initiated in February 2023.
Together, they built the Solana blockchain, lauded for its swift transaction capability and decentralized nature. Rossi accuses Akridge of leveraging his blockchain expertise to manipulate her digital assets. While she hasn’t specified exact figures, Rossi describes the loss as substantial.
In the legal complaint, Rossi alleges that Akridge ignored her attempts to recover the funds, openly dismissing her requests and mocking the idea of her ever seeing her staking rewards.
Meanwhile, Solana’s market value shows signs of recovery. Despite a turbulent start after its 2017 launch, Solana impressed with its innovative proof-of-history approach and rapid transaction speed, positioning itself as a formidable challenger to Ethereum, especially in DeFi and NFTs.
Notably, Solana’s trajectory has been challenged by controversies, including links to Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research. During the FTX turmoil, the value of SOL plummeted to $10 but has now rebounded to over $170 as of December. The potential implication is that Rossi’s lost staking rewards could be worth a significant amount.
As the legal proceedings continue in San Francisco, Akridge and the Solana team have remained tight-lipped. Akridge, now leading Cyber Grant Inc. as CEO, could see his reputation in the crypto industry affected by this unfolding drama.
Image credit goes to DALL-E, and the chart is provided by TradingView.
