Best Crypto Yield Aggregators
Top rated: Convex 7.7
Vaults that move capital between strategies for you.
3rated →
6.7/10
Lending Platforms
Company file: Nexo, owners, incidents →
Nexo
The most substantial survivor of the custodial lending cohort: it kept paying withdrawals through 2022 and has no loss of client funds on record. It now lists security credentials (SOC 2 Type 2, SOC 3, ISO 27001, CCSS Level 3) rather than a live liabilities report, and it is still a custodial lender. Back in the US since 16 February 2026 through Bakkt.
Best for: Custodial borrowing against crypto, for users who accept counterparty risk
Company file: Nexo, owners, incidents →How this score was reached
6.7 is the weighted average of the five pillar findings below. Works, but something here costs you — money, control or certainty.
- Custody & Security35%
- 6.0
- Cost & Fee Transparency20%
- 6.4
- Regulation & Legal Standing10%
- 6.6
- Performance & Reliability25%
- 7.4
- Access & Support10%
- 8.0
Custodial. Nexo lists SOC 2 Type 2 and SOC 3 audits, ISO 27001 and CCSS Level 3, and names Bakkt (US) and Tangany (EEA) as custodians. That shows how coins are stored, not whether the balance sheet covers every client; no live liabilities attestation is published. Users hold a claim, and the terms permit lending out deposited assets.
No single fee table: rates, cashback and free withdrawals depend on a loyalty tier set by the share of your portfolio held in NEXO, a cost most users do not price.
Paid $45M to the SEC and states in Jan 2023 over its Earn Interest Product and left the US; relaunched there on 16 Feb 2026 via Bakkt. California's DFPI fined it $500,000 over unlicensed lending in Jan 2026; it holds a California Financing Law licence.
Continued to process withdrawals through the 2022 cycle when peers did not, which is the strongest single fact in its favour.
Straightforward onboarding and clear interface.
Strengths
- Kept processing withdrawals through 2022 when its entire peer group failed
- SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 and CCSS Level 3; named custodians
- Simple onboarding and clear interface
Against it
- Custodial — your deposit is an unsecured claim, and the terms permit it to be lent out
- Best rates are gated behind holding the platform token
- $45M US settlement (2023) and a $500K California fine (Jan 2026)
The survivor
Nexo kept processing withdrawals through 2022 while its peer group froze, and it has no loss of client funds on record. That is the strongest single fact in its favour. It now lists security credentials (SOC 2 Type 2 and SOC 3 audits, ISO 27001, CCSS Level 3) and named custodians, Bakkt in the US and Tangany in the EEA, rather than a live liabilities report. Those show how coins are stored, not whether the balance sheet covers every client at once.
It remains custodial, its terms permit lending out deposited assets, and the best rates depend on how much of your portfolio sits in NEXO. It returned to the US on 16 Feb 2026 through Bakkt, three years after a $45M SEC and state settlement, and a month after California fined it $500,000 over unlicensed lending.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nexo safe after the 2022 lending collapses?+
It is the only major custodial lender that came through without freezing withdrawals. It is still custodial: your deposit is a claim on Nexo, the terms permit the assets to be lent out, and it publishes certifications rather than a live liabilities report.
Is Nexo available in the US?+
Yes, again. On 16 Feb 2026 Nexo relaunched Yield, Exchange, Loyalty and Credit Lines in the US through Bakkt. Lending products are licensed state by state, so check yours.
Do I need to hold NEXO tokens for the best rates?+
Yes. Your loyalty tier, and with it savings and borrowing rates, cashback and free withdrawals, depends on the share of your portfolio held in NEXO. That is an unhedged position in one company’s token; price it as a cost of the yield.
Assessed by
Blockchain Security Researcher · September 27, 2026
◆ Disclosure
CoinRadar Daily is a non-commercial project. We have no commercial relationship with Nexo, earn nothing from any link on this page, and carry no advertising or sponsorship anywhere on the site. Findings rest on public sources; we did not open an account or transact.
Rubric v2.0How we score →
The rest of the lending platforms table
- 03Nexo — you are hereCustodial borrowing against crypto, for users who accept counterparty risk6.7
Related tables
How we score →Independent, rubric-scored tables for the services behind this story.
Best Stablecoins
Top rated: USDC 8.5
A stablecoin is a promise about redemption.
4rated →
Best DeFi Protocols
Top rated: Uniswap Protocol 8.9
The base layer everything else is built on.
4rated →