Coin columns · Ethereum City (Capital)
Nexo (NEXO): The Loyalty Token of a Crypto Lending Platform
Tiered perks tied to holdings, and a 2026 return to the US
Nexo is a company that pays interest on deposited crypto and lends money against crypto collateral, and NEXO is the token that sets a customer’s loyalty tier. It launched in 2018, settled with US regulators in 2023 and announced a US return in February 2026.
1. What it is and who runs it
Nexo pays interest on crypto that customers deposit and lends cash or stablecoins (coins pegged to a currency) against crypto posted as collateral. Because the company holds and manages customer assets, this model is called centralized finance, or CeFi. It was co-founded by Antoni Trenchev and Kosta Kantchev and is reported to be based in Switzerland.
NEXO is the platform token the company launched in 2018, following Ethereum’s ERC-20 format. On the Crypto Nation map, NEXO stands in Ethereum City (the capital), because it was issued on Ethereum. Its total supply is reported as 1 billion.
2. How the services and the token work
Three main services are described. Savings products pay interest on deposited crypto, in flexible or fixed-term form. Credit lines let customers borrow fiat or stablecoins against collateral, which can be sold off (liquidated) if its value falls too far. There is also a built-in exchange and a Mastercard-branded card.
NEXO’s core role is the loyalty program. Tiers named Base, Silver, Gold and Platinum depend on the share of a customer’s portfolio held in NEXO, and higher tiers are said to bring more interest, lower borrowing rates and more cash-back. The company has also been described as running dividend-style payouts and buy-backs, but terms have varied over time.
3. Uses and milestones
Nexo launched its service and token together in 2018, then added interest products, a card and exchange features. The token’s uses mostly sit inside Nexo accounts, so they are narrow outside the service.
In January 2023 the US SEC and state regulators said Nexo’s Earn Interest Product was an unregistered security; Nexo, neither admitting nor denying this, agreed to pay 45 million dollars in total and stopped offering it in the US. It announced a return on 16 February 2026, using trading infrastructure from Bakkt, a US crypto firm founded by NYSE owner ICE. The relaunch covers yield, exchange loyalty and credit lines, not the old product, the company says.
4. Things to know
Because the company runs customers’ assets, deposit safety depends on its finances and operations, and deposits are not protected like bank deposits. Several crypto lenders collapsed in 2022; Nexo kept operating, but the risk remains. Collateral can also be liquidated if its value drops.
Regulation is a variable: in January 2026 California’s financial regulator was reported to have fined Nexo 500,000 dollars over unlicensed loans, which the company said does not reflect its current operations. Availability differs by country, so anyone in Korea should check local rules on overseas providers first. Loyalty rules can change, and listings are not fixed, as Bitfinex announced it would stop trading NEXO on 3 July 2026. Many introductions are promotional.
Written from information public up to October 2026. It does not recommend or rate any coin and is not investment advice. If something is wrong, please tell us through the contact page.