Stephen Akridge, co-founder of Solana, one of the world’s most prominent blockchain platforms, and his ex-wife, Elisa Rossi, are locked in a high-stakes legal showdown. The two are locked in a heated battle over control and the benefits of a valuable collection of Solana’s native cryptocurrency, SOL.
According to court documents Rossi filed in San Francisco County Superior Court, she claimed that Akridge stole “millions of dollars” in income from her wallet holdings of SOL tokens.
Crypto Divorce Dispute Takes an Ugly Turn
Stephen Akridge and his ex-wife married in 2013, when the latter was still working at Qualcomm, a semiconductor company. Five years later, Akridge joined forces with Anatoly Yakovenko and others to launch Solana Labs, leveraging his technical expertise to become a validator on the Solana network.
The couple’s marital journey took a turn in February 2023 when Rossi filed for legal separation. After a prolonged and contentious divorce process, they reached a memorandum of understanding in March 2024 outlining the division of their assets.
Rossi alleged that the prolonged divorce process led her to accept only 25% of their shared assets despite being entitled to half. The agreement included a provision for dividing the Solana tokens, although the specifics remain undisclosed due to the complaint’s redaction.
Rossi Seeks Justice for Alleged Deception
Rossi claims Akridge exploited her lack of crypto expertise, granting her limited wallet authority while secretly controlling the staking process. This allegedly enabled Akridge to earn millions in staking rewards without her knowledge or consent.
Rossi also claimed that she and Akridge had jointly managed her crypto assets during their marriage, including an enormous amount of SOL coins. However, after their divorce, Rossi alleges that Akridge transferred the tokens to his wallet, depriving her of the significant gains they had accumulated.
When Rossi discovered the alleged deception, she stated that Akridge refused to return the staking rewards, dismissing her inquiries and laughing off her requests.
She alleged that Akridge once told her, “Good luck getting those staking rewards from me.” Rossi is pursuing legal action, alleging five serious offenses against Akridge, including contractual breaches, fiduciary duty violations, and fraudulent activities.
The case remains ongoing, with neither party providing further comment at press time.
Meanwhile, Solana, currently the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, continues to soar to new heights, with expectations of further growth fueled by the anticipated approval of a spot Solana ETF by the US SEC.
