Trading platform Abra reportedly purchased Valkyrie’s private crypto trusts in May 2024, ahead of a settlement between the crypto trading platform and 25 state financial regulators in the United States.
According to Bloomberg, Abra took over Valkyrie’s Tron (TRX) and Zilliqa trusts, which saw previous sales of $50 million and $21.3 million respectively. In addition to TRON and Zilliqa, Abra purchased several other unnamed digital asset trusts from Valkyrie.
Marissa Kim, Abra's head of asset management, also told the financial outlet that the trading platform could list the trusts on public exchanges, should market demand grow for the investment vehicles.
Abra comes under regulatory scrutiny
In 2023, Texas state regulators accused Abra of insolvency and securities fraud. The Texas State Securities Board claimed the company had been insolvent since March of 2023 and issued a cease and desist order against the exchange in June of that year.
Fast forward to January 2024, Abra entered into a deal with the Texas State Securities Board. As part of the agreement to wind down operations, Abra agreed to notify all investors with balances over $10 that funds should be withdrawn, with any remaining funds to be liquidated into fiat and returned to Texas investors.
At the time, Abra founder Bill Barhydt maintained that the trading platform had never restricted US withdrawals and reiterated the company’s commitment to winding down retail operations within the United States.
In 2024, the trading platform continued to face mounting pressure from various state regulators, who accused it of operating without licensing. This culminated in an eventual settlement with 25 states.
Valkyrie offloading businesses
Earlier in 2024, CoinShares announced it acquired Valkyrie's ETF business and the advisory arm of the financial firm, Valkyrie Investments.
CoinShares also announced that it would rebrand the Valkyrie business assets under the CoinShares brand as part of the firm’s US expansion goals.