Upcoming changes for US Abra users

If you’ve been following along with the conversations happening recently with regulators and legislators in the United States, then you are probably aware that cryptocurrencies are having a moment in the spotlight. From presidential tweets to Congressional hearings, there is an intense interest and scrutiny about cryptocurrencies and how they work.

As a result of continued regulatory uncertainty and restrictions in the United States, we have to make some adjustments to our US business in an effort to continue to be compliant and cooperative with US regulations as they currently exist.

What that means, specifically, for Abra users in the United States is that we have to make some system modifications around our smart contract based synthetic assets. As a part of this effort we are migrating any synthetic assets to a native hosted wallet solution. On Abra, these are defined as anything other than Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

Please note: The private keys for any Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ethereum balances will continue to reside with you.

For most US persons, the migration will be seamless and will allow you to continue managing and transacting with most of your assets from the Abra app without interruption. However, during this time some assets may be unavailable to use (exchange, send, and withdraw) for a few minutes while the migration takes place.

Unfortunately, this migration will impact some segments of our US users more directly, as follows:

US users will no longer be eligible to hold QTUM, BTG, EOS, OMG, SNT after August 29, 2019. US users holding positions in these crypto assets will have to exchange or withdraw their investments from Abra by 11:59 PM EST on August 29, 2019. After that date, any remaining balances in those assets will be converted to Bitcoin in the app.
After August 29, 2019, New York residents will only be able to hold Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) on Abra. New York residents will need to transfer or sell any synthetic holdings by 11:59 PM EST on August 29, 2019. After that date, any remaining balances in those assets will be shown as Bitcoin in the app. Additionally, Abra users from New York will no longer be able to use bank ACH, wire or American express card for deposit/withdraw after Aug 29th, 2019.

To reiterate, these changes will only impact US persons using the Abra app. Our international users will not be impacted by these changes. For further information, see our FAQs or contact [email protected].

We are proud to be, along with many others in our industry, pushing the frontiers of financial innovation to drive global financial inclusion. However, operating in the United States has become increasingly complex and challenging. Unfortunately, we believe this to be the best course of action at this time. We hope, and look forward to bringing our full offering back to US users in the near future.

Written by

Daniel McGlynn

Daniel is a writer at Abra.

Arnel

1008 days ago

I keep getting email from [email protected]. Is this a legitimate ABRA support email?

1002 days ago

Yes, that is a legit email address that we use. If you are still unsure you can forward the email to [email protected] to confirm that we sent it.

Ray Gulley

1022 days ago

I understand the growing difficulty in doing business in the United States. It is unfortunate that Congress and many of the U.S. financial institutions do not understand cryptocurrencies and how they can positively impact the economic system In America. You and others in the crypto community are pioneers changing the financial landscape of Amertca during this wealth transition period. Please hang in their as better times and adoption are coming.

Jeff

1026 days ago

I’m hopeful you will find solutions to getting money out of our crypto’s to a charge card, something simple for us seniors.

James Woody Jr.

I live in the state of Pennsylvania, but have a New York cell phone number.

1025 days ago

You should contact [email protected] if you have specific questions or issues. Thanks

Michael Collinge

1027 days ago

Very disappointed. Although this doesn’t affect me in any way – I’m a Canadian – I feel you’re just covering your ass! You’re NOT working for your clients!

Noted and thanks for the feedback.

Paul

1028 days ago

What will I need to do with DGB holdings when or before this occurs?

Paul,

It depends where you live. You should contact [email protected] with specific questions about your situation.

Jesse Bost

1029 days ago

You failed to address XRP, the third-largest Crypto on the Market.
Because of this statement regarding synthetic assets, “On Abra, these are defined as anything other than Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH)”, I have to assume Abra is considering XRP a synthetic asset.
Please confirm or deny before the deadline.
Thank you.

XRP has always been a synthetic asset on Abra.

Danny Boy

I’m a US user who holds EOS currently. Why can’t I withdraw my EOS to an external wallet?

EOS is a synthetic asset on Abra. You are only able to transfer cryptocurrencies that are native on Abra (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin) to external crypto wallets. This post explains more. Please contact [email protected] if you have additional questions or need help.