Abra Settles with Texas Regulators, Withdrawals to Resume

• Texas State Securities Bureau Settles Lawsuit with Crypto Lender Abra
• Details of the Settlement
• Implications of the Agreement
• Abra's Compliance with the Settlement
• Recent Regulatory Actions in the Crypto Industry

Texas State Securities Bureau Settles Lawsuit with Crypto Lender Abra

The Texas State Securities Bureau has resolved its legal dispute with the cryptocurrency lending platform, Abra. This resolution paves the way for the company's investors to reclaim millions of dollars previously held in frozen assets.

Details of the Settlement

Under the terms of the settlement, Abra is required to permit approximately 12,000 investors to reclaim the cryptocurrency they had deposited into interest-bearing accounts like Abra Boost and Abra Earn, as stated in a notice to consumers by the Texas Securities Commissioner. These funds, estimated to be around $13.6 million last year, were frozen on the company's platform last summer.

Implications of the Agreement

If the agreement is honored, it will put an end to numerous enforcement actions against Abra regarding its Earn and Boost investment products. The products were allegedly offered at a time when the company was facing severe financial difficulties, according to the Texas Securities Commissioner. The Commissioner claimed these products were securities, thereby falling under the agency's jurisdiction.

Abra's Compliance with the Settlement

Abra needs to facilitate withdrawals in addition to fulfilling other conditions outlined in the agreement within the next 30 days. Customers with balances above $10 will be informed about how to retrieve funds from their accounts during a specified seven-day withdrawal period. Any unclaimed funds will be converted to U.S. dollars and sent as checks to investors residing in Texas, as per the settlement's conditions.

Recent Regulatory Actions in the Crypto Industry

The resolution of this lawsuit occurs in tandem with a series of similar settlements between cryptocurrency businesses and state and federal regulatory bodies. For instance, just last week, Genesis Global Capital, a subsidiary of the Digital Currency Group (DCG), reached an $8 million settlement with New York regulators.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker