Texas State Securities Board settles with Abra, opening withdrawals

Texas State Securities Board settles with Abra, opening $13.6 million in withdrawals

Regulation • January 23, 2024, 2:46AM EST

Published 2 minutes earlier on

Quick Take

In June 2023, Texas officials filed enforcement actions against Abra and its CEO for alleged securities fraud and operating under insolvency.
Funds frozen on Abra’s accounts amount to around $13.6 million on behalf of over 12,000 clients.

The Texas State Securities Board announced Monday that it has settled in principle with Abra and its CEO, Bill Barhydt, to enable investors in the United States to withdraw their assets from the crypto platform that closed in the country after the state’s enforcement action last year.

Abra is the common name for four affiliated companies controlled by Barhydt, which offered interest-bearing Abra Earn and Abra Boost programs.

The settlement made in Texas obligates Abra to notify users with balances exceeding $10 that grants them a seven-day withdrawal period. Unclaimed assets will be converted to fiat currency and sent to remaining Texas investors, the announcement said. Abra is given 30 days to fulfill its obligations.

On June 15, 2023, Texas officials filed an emergency cease and desist order against Abra and Barhydt, alleging that the operators committed securities fraud regarding Abra Earn and Abra Boost. The board alleged that the firms behind Abra hid financial troubles, including loan defaults and transfers to Binance, while nearing insolvency as of March 31 that year.

At the time of the enforcement action, Abra had around $13.6 million worth of cryptocurrencies from over 12,000 U.S. investors.

Per the settlement in principle, the board stated that it would dismiss actions filed against Abra on or after June 15, 2023.

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About Author

Danny Park is an East Asia reporter at The Block writing on topics including Web3 developments and crypto regulations in the region. He was formerly a reporter at Forkast.News, where he actively covered the downfall of Terra-Luna and FTX. Based in Seoul, Danny has previously produced written and video content for media companies in Korea, Hong Kong and China. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism and Business Marketing from the University of Hong Kong.