Elisa Rossi has filed a lawsuit against her ex-husband, Stephen Akridge, who is a co-founder of Solana. She claims he withheld millions in staking rewards during their messy divorce.

This case, filed in California state court, highlights how cryptocurrency is becoming a significant asset in divorce settlements.

Rossi, originally from Italy and now living in Rome, was married to Akridge for nearly ten years. They built considerable wealth together, mainly due to Akridge's role in launching Solana Labs, the company behind the Solana blockchain. They filed for divorce in 2023, and Rossi describes the process as “acrimonious and prolonged.”

As part of their divorce agreement, Rossi was entitled to a share of the couple’s SOL tokens. Currently, the market value of SOL is around $90 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Rossi had staked her SOL tokens. Staking means holding cryptocurrencies in escrow to help secure a blockchain. In return, stakers earn interest.

Rossi claims that while Akridge seemed to give her control over her share, he didn’t provide her with the staking rewards. She says these rewards amount to millions of dollars. The lawsuit does not specify the exact amounts he allegedly withheld.

Akridge has not responded to requests for comment via email, text, or LinkedIn. Similarly, Rossi’s lawyer has not replied to inquiries.

This lawsuit offers a rare look into the finances of a co-founder of one of the top cryptocurrencies. Although Akridge is not as well-known as his fellow co-founders, Anatoly Yakavenko and Raj Gokal, he played a crucial role in the company. He left Solana Labs in January to start Anza, a software development firm for Solana, along with some of the staff from Solana Labs. In October, he became the CEO of Cyber Grant, a cybersecurity company.

Rossi’s situation reflects how cryptocurrency can lead to conflicts during divorces. For instance, a husband was reported to have hidden $500,000 in Bitcoin from his wife during their separation.

Rossi argues that Akridge took advantage of her limited knowledge about cryptocurrency to keep her staking rewards. She “knew very little about the blockchain, cryptocurrencies, or staking,” according to the lawsuit.

After discovering that Akridge had withheld her Solana, Rossi reached out to him more than a dozen times between May and December to ask for her assets. At one point, Akridge allegedly laughed and told her, “Good luck getting those staking rewards from me.”