Digital asset wealth management platform Abra Financial Holdings announced it will become a public company via a $750 million SPAC merger with New Providence Acquisition Corp. III. The combined entity is expected to list on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ABRX. Abra, which has faced multiple regulatory enforcement actions and settlements, is positioning itself as the first publicly traded SEC-registered digital asset registered investment advisor.
Abra Financial Holdings will go public through a business combination with the special purpose acquisition company New Providence Acquisition Corp. III. The combined company is expected to list on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ABRX, according to a press release.
The transaction values the San Francisco-based digital asset wealth management platform at $750 million on a pre-money basis. The firm’s existing investors will roll 100% of their stakes into the combined entity.
Abra aims to be the first publicly traded company with an SEC-registered investment advisor focused on digital asset wealth management. “Our aim is to bring institutional-grade on-chain crypto wealth management products to investors worldwide within a regulated and transparent framework,” said Abra CEO Bill Barhydt.
The announcement follows a series of regulatory actions against the company. In July 2020, both the SEC and the CFTC took action against Abra for offering unregistered security-based swaps and illegal off-exchange swaps.
The firm paid $300,000 in combined fines to settle those charges in 2024, as stated by the SEC. In August 2024, the SEC filed now-settled charges against Abra’s subsidiary for failing to register its Abra Earn lending product.
Separately, the firm agreed in June 2024 to repay customers $82 million in crypto as part of a multi-state settlement for operating without a license. Abra stated that no consumers were harmed and that all assets for U.S. Earn customers were transferred in 2023.
