The Texas State Securities Board announced Monday that it has reached an agreement in principle with Abra and its CEO, Bill Barhydt. The agreement allows investors in the United States who want to withdraw their holdings from the crypto platform, which ceased operations in the country following the state’s enforcement action last year.
Abra is the collective name of four subsidiaries controlled by Barhydt that offer the Abra Earn and Abra Boost programs.
The settlement in Texas forces Abra to provide a seven-day withdrawal period to users with balances greater than $10. Unclaimed assets will be converted into price currency and sent to the remaining Texas investors. Abra was given 30 days to fulfill its obligations.
On June 15, 2023, Texas authorities filed an emergency cease and desist order against Abra and Barhydt. Authorities alleged that the operators committed securities fraud related to Abra Earn and Abra Boost. The board alleged that the firms behind Abra concealed financial troubles, including transfers to Binance and loan defaults, and were on the verge of bankruptcy as of March 31 that year.
At the time of enforcement action, Abra had approximately $13.6 million worth of cryptocurrencies from more than 12,000 US investors.
Under the agreement in principle, the board stated that it would dismiss lawsuits filed against Abra on or after June 15, 2023.