The
collective
entities
known
as
“Abra”
and
CEO
William
“Bill”
Barhydt
have
reached
a
settlement
with
25
US
state
regulators
for
offering
crypto
trading
services
without
securing
appropriate
licenses,
according
to
the
Conference
of
State
Bank
Supervisors
(CSBS)
June
26
press
release.
As
part
of
the
settlement,
the
25
state
regulators
agreed
to
forgo
monetary
penalties
of
$250,000
per
jurisdiction
to
facilitate
$82
million
in
customer
repayments.
Additionally,
Abra
agreed
to
stop
accepting
crypto
allocations
from
US
customers
as
of
June
15,
2023,
and
refund
US
customer
balances.
The
settlement
also
bars
Barhydt
from
participating
in
money
services
businesses
that
are
licensed
or
required
to
obtain
licensing
in
any
states
that
took
part
in
the
settlement.
However,
he
may
remain
involved
as
a
passive
investor
for
five
years. Barhydt
is
Abra’s
largest
equity
owner.
Washington
leads
with
consent
order
Washington
was
the
first
state
to
publish
its
consent
order
on
June
26.
The
order
indicates
that
706
users
in
the
state
have
a
balance
of
$116,000.78
remaining
on
the
platform.
Washington
noted
that
customers
have
received
$13.6
million
to
date.
The
CSBS
highlighted
Arkansas,
Connecticut,
Georgia,
Ohio,
Oregon,
Texas,
and
Vermont’s
role
in
the
settlement
and
listed
18
others,
including
Washington,
that
participated
in
the
settlement.
According
to
the
release,
the
other
states
will
issue
their
consent
orders
in
the
coming
weeks
or
months
and
more
states
may
join
the
settlement
as
the
case
closes.
Abra
wind-down
Abra
began
to
wind
down
its
US
operations
in
June
2023,
stating
that
it
would
stop
accepting
US
app
users
and
discontinue
various
US
consumer
services.
The
company
said
its
operations
outside
the
US
were
unaffected.
Current
statements
to
Reuters
indicate
that
the
firm’s
institutional
service,
Abra
Capital
Management,
continues
to
operate
in
the
US
and
is
registered
with
the
SEC.
Abra’s
US
wind
down
coincided
with
state
securities
regulators
informing
state
money
services
business
(MSB)
regulators
of
Abra’s
activities
in
June
2023,
leading
to
a
parallel
pursuit
of
settlements.
The
Texas
State
Securities
Board
filed
an
emergency
cease
and
desist
order
against
Abra
regarding
its
interest-bearing
products
in
mid-2023,
culminating
in
a
January
settlement.
New
Mexico’s
securities
regulator
also
settled
with
Abra
in
April.
Mentioned
in
this
article
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Author: Mike Dalton
