Crypto Exchange Abra Settles With SEC Over Unregistered Securities Allegations

The crypto exchange Abra has settled with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a yet-to-be-determined amount over charges stemming from alleged unregistered investment offerings.

The SEC specifically accused Abra’s parent company, Plutus Lending LLC, of failing to register its retail crypto asset lending product, Abra Earn. Abra settled the SEC’s charges without admitting or denying the allegations.

The exchange began offering Abra Earn in 2020, allowing users to tender their crypto to earn an interest rate. The product secured approximately $600 million worth of assets at its height, according to the SEC, which alleges that Abra Earn was an unregistered security.

The regulator also accuses the exchange of operating as an unregistered investment company, alleging the firm held more than 40 percent of its total assets, excluding cash, in investment securities.

Abra has agreed to pay a civil penalty determined by the court. In June, the exchange also settled with a slew of state regulators in Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Vermont and Washington State.

The state regulators had launched a joint investigation into the firm and accused it of operating without the proper licenses, according to a press release by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS).

The regulators fined Abra $250,000 per jurisdiction and ordered the exchange to pay customers back up to $82.1 million worth of crypto assets.

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