Nexo is the native token of a cryptocurrency lending, exchange and debit card company by the same name that is based in Bulgaria.

NEXO launched in 2018 with an initial supply of 1 billion tokens. Early investors received 525 million of those tokens, and the majority of the remaining tokens were reserved to fund additional projects. Crypto data provider Messari predicts that all 1 billion NEXO will have entered public circulation by May 2023.

Between 2018 and 2021, the price of NEXO barely rose above 20 cents, and its market capitalization wavered between $30 million and $70 million. When bitcoin boomed in 2021, NEXO soared, rising to a market cap of $2.2 billion in May of that year and an all-time high of $4.07. When bitcoin dipped, so did NEXO, at least until November 2021. In the middle of that month, NEXO hit a high of $3.47.

The NEXO token entitles holders to relatively high earning rates and low borrowing rates on the Nexo platform. As of May 2022, holders receive up to 12% a year on their NEXO holdings. They are also entitled to up to 50% higher yields, up to 0.5% cashback on exchange trades, a 0% annual percentage rate for borrowing and up to five free crypto withdrawals. The NEXO token also functions as an ERC-20 (Ethereum-based) governance token, with one NEXO token equivalent to one vote.

Nexo paid dividends to holders in NEXO tokens from 2018 through 2021. The payments rose in value over time from total payouts of $921,071 in December 2018 to just over $20 million in June 2021. NEXO token holders voted to end the dividend program, preferring instead to receive daily payouts of up to 12% on their NEXO holdings.

Nexo is similar to companies like BlockFi and Celsius. It services both institutional and consumer markets, and functions as a centralized alternative to decentralized lending platforms like Compound or Aave.

Nexo was incubated by a publicly traded Bulgarian fintech company called Credissimo. According to Messari, Nexo counts Michael Arrington, founder of the TechCrunch tech news site and an XRP bull, among its advisers, as well as Trevor Koverko, co-founder of crypto platform Polymath, and the executive director of University College London’s blockchain center, Paolo Tasca.

Nexo is backed by a $375 million insurance policy from Lloyd’s of London, Marsh and Arch. The company custodies its crypto with BitGo, Ledger Vault, and others.

In November 2021, Nexo launched a program to buy back $100 million NEXO tokens from public circulation. By May 2022, it had repurchased $89.3 million tokens. In 2020, it launched a $12 million buyback program.

In December 2021, Nexo inked a deal with Fidelity Digital Assets to provide services to its institutional customers. In April 2022, Nexo unveiled a M