Abra Acquires Valkyrie Cryptocurrency Trusts in Major Deal
Crypto trading platform Abra disclosed it acquired several private cryptocurrency trusts from Valkyrie Investments in May 2024.
According to Bloomberg’s report, Abra Capital Management LP took over Valkyrie’s Tron and Zilliqa trusts, as well as other unnamed digital asset trusts. The Zilliqa Trust had sold $21.3 million in assets, while the Tron Trust had sold $50 million.
Marissa Kim, the head of asset management at Abra, confirmed the news in an interview. She stated that this acquisition would expand Abra’s existing range of spot and DeFi services for new clients. Abra might consider making some of these trusts publicly traded, depending on market demand.
Based on the report, Abra settled with financial regulators from 25 US states for operating without the proper licenses. As part of the settlement, Abra must return $82.1 million worth of cryptocurrencies to US customers. Abra had already stopped offering services in the country last year.
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced that Abra will stop accepting cryptocurrency from US customers for its Abra Trade accounts and halt all buying and trading activities. Regulators in Washington, Texas, Georgia, and Ohio decided not to impose monetary penalties to ensure full reimbursement to customers.
In 2023, Texas state regulators accused Abra of insolvency and securities fraud. The Texas State Securities Board alleged that Abra misled investors through the sales of two crypto interest account products and issued a cease order against the exchange. Abra settled with Texas regulators in January 2024, agreeing to wind down operations and return funds to investors.
Abra founder Bill Barhydt maintained that the platform never restricted US withdrawals and is committed to winding down retail operations within the US. Leah Wald, a Valkyrie co-founder and former chief executive, resigned from the company last month. Valkyrie did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the sale of its crypto trusts to Abra.
Also read: Abra CEO Predicts $50 Trillion Market from Asset Tokenization
