The entities known as "Abra" and CEO William "Bill" Barhydt have reached a settlement with 25 US state regulators over offering crypto trading services without proper licenses, as reported by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) on June 26.

As part of the settlement, the state regulators agreed to waive monetary penalties of $250,000 per jurisdiction to enable $82 million in customer repayments.

Abra has also agreed to stop accepting crypto allocations from US customers as of June 15, 2023, and to refund US customer balances.

The settlement bars Barhydt from participating in licensed or licensable money services businesses in any of the participating states, although he may remain involved as a passive investor for five years. Barhydt is Abra’s largest equity owner.

Washington was the first state to publish its consent order on June 26, showing 706 users in the state have a remaining balance of $116,000.78 on the platform. Washington noted that customers have received $13.6 million to date.

The CSBS mentioned the involvement of Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Vermont, among others, in the settlement. Other states will issue their consent orders in the coming weeks or months, with more potentially joining the settlement.

Abra began winding down its US operations in June 2023, halting new US app users and discontinuing various US consumer services. Its operations outside the US remain unaffected. Abra’s institutional service, Abra Capital Management, continues to operate in the US and is registered with the SEC.

The US wind-down followed state securities regulators alerting state money services business (MSB) regulators about Abra’s activities in June 2023, leading to parallel settlements. The Texas State Securities Board issued an emergency cease and desist order against Abra regarding its interest-bearing products in mid-2023, resulting in a January settlement. New Mexico’s securities regulator also settled with Abra in April.