Abra has introduced a new treasury service designed to help companies, family offices, and non-profits manage digital assets. Known as Abra Treasury, this service allows businesses to hold bitcoin on their balance sheets as a reserve asset. Abra announced this development in a press release on Monday.
Integrated Digital Asset Management
Abra Treasury offers a comprehensive suite of services, including custody, trading, borrowing, and yield services. Clients can hold their digital assets in separately managed accounts, ensuring they retain title and ownership. The service is operated by Abra Capital Management, an SEC-registered investment advisor, and provides a range of treasury management solutions tailored to the needs of corporates, family offices, and non-profits.
Meeting Market Demands
The current uncertain macroeconomic environment, marked by inflation and geopolitical tensions, has driven some corporate treasurers to consider adding bitcoin (BTC) to their balance sheets. MicroStrategy (MSTR), led by Michael Saylor, is a prominent example, holding 226,331 bitcoins since it began accumulating the cryptocurrency in 2020.
Marissa Kim, head of asset management at Abra Capital Management, highlighted the growing interest in bitcoin as a reserve asset among non-crypto-native businesses. “A sign of adoption and institutionalization of the digital asset industry has been the increase in non-crypto-native businesses showing interest in using bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset,” Kim said. She noted a rising trend among small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), particularly real estate companies, in purchasing BTC for their treasuries or borrowing against BTC to finance business needs.
Regulatory Compliance and Settlements
Despite this promising development, Abra and its founder and CEO, William “Bill” Barhydt, recently settled with 25 state financial regulators for operating its mobile application without proper licenses. According to an announcement from the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), Abra will return up to $82.1 million in crypto to U.S. customers in the settling states.
Abra Treasury’s launch reflects a growing trend among businesses to adopt bitcoin as a reserve asset, offering a range of services to facilitate this transition. This new service from Abra aims to meet the increasing demand for digital asset management solutions in a volatile economic landscape.
