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Cryptocurrency firm Abra settles charges for operating without licenses
Cryptocurrency company A bra and its CEO and largest stock owner Bill Barhydt they reached an agreement with 25 state regulators.
The settlement follows the states’ discovery that Abra and Barhydt operated a mobile app to buy, sell, trade and invest in cryptocurrencies without receiving the required state licenses. Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) said Wednesday (June 26) Press release.
In the settlement, Abra agreed to no longer accept virtual asset allocations from US Abra Trade Account clients in their products and services; agreed to stop producing, buying, selling or trading cryptocurrencies available to US customers of Abra Trade starting June 15, 2023; and agreed to refund any remaining virtual assets on its platform for Abra Trade’s U.S. customers in settlement states, according to the release.
Additionally, Barhydt agreed not to engage in any money transmission or financial services activities in the settler states for five years, according to the release.
The states participating in the agreement have agreed to waive a financial penalty, the statement said.
“State financial regulators take seriously their role to protect consumers and prevent unauthorized activity,” Charlie Clark, president of the CSBS and director of the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, said in the release. “Companies that do not operate within the bounds of state laws will be held accountable.”
An Abra spokesperson told Reuters, for a relationship published Wednesday: “Abra is pleased to enter into a Term Sheet negotiated with a working group of the Money Transmitters Regulators Association regarding the Abra App which Abra has previously offered in the United States”
Barhydt told Reuters the company was “pleased the state negotiations are behind us,” according to the report.
Abra told its users in a July 2023 blog post who was closing his Abra Trade, Earn and Loan offerings in the United States at that time, while users outside of the country would be unaffected.
“Given the current regulatory uncertainty facing cryptocurrency and digital asset service providers in the United States, Abra has made the difficult decision to focus our retail efforts outside of the United States for the time being,” he said the company in the post.
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