Abra settles with fifth state as US operations may be winding down

The platform was part of a targeted campaign by state regulators and promised to stop U.S retail operations last summer.

Cryptocurrency platform Abra and its CEO William Barhydt reached a settlement with the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation, under which it will return assets held by Oregon users on the platform and cease and desist from offering unregistered securities in the state. This is the latest step in the United States-based company’s withdrawal from the U.S. market.

Oregon is at least the fifth state to take action against the companies that make up the Abra ecosystem. The state of Oregon charged Abra with violations of state securities laws in connection with its interest-bearing crypto depository accounts Abra Earn and Abra Boost. It required Abra to advise all account holders in the state to remove their crypto assets from the platform. If it succeeds in returning all assets to Oregon customers by April 25, it will not be subject to a monetary penalty.

In Oregon, 167 Abra customers have $32,387.14 on the platform. The state of Iowa settled with Abra and its CEO in February, and Abra agreed to return $6,426.90 to its approximately 39 customers in that state. It would avoid a penalty of $461,610.14 by fulfilling the conditions of the settlement by March 6.

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