Crypto wealth platform Abra to go public via $750 million SPAC deal

Crypto wealth platform Abra said it plans to go public through a merger with special purpose acquisition company New Providence Acquisition Corp. III in a deal that values the firm at $750 million.

The combined company will be renamed Abra Financial Inc. and is expected to list on Nasdaq under the ticker ABRX, according to an announcement.

The transaction could deliver as much as $300 million in cash from the SPAC’s trust account, though the final amount depends on shareholder redemptions and deal expenses.

Founded in 2014 and based in San Francisco, Abra provides a range of services for crypto investors. Its platform allows institutions, registered investment advisers, family offices and wealthy individuals to store crypto, trade hundreds of tokens, earn yield and borrow against holdings.

Assets sit in segregated accounts called vaults rather than on the company’s balance sheet. The firm operates an SEC-registered investment adviser and frames its services as a bridge between traditional wealth management and crypto markets.

Abra said proceeds from the transaction will support product development, hiring and expansion into areas such as tokenized real-world assets and decentralized finance.

The company reported “hundreds of millions of dollars in assets” under management and aims to exceed $10 billion by 2027.

Abra was founded by CEO Bill Barhydt as a mobile crypto wallet and remittance app aimed at retail users. During the last crypto bull cycle, the company expanded into lending and yield products through its Abra Earn program and raised $55 million in 2021 from investors including Blockchain Capital, Pantera Capital and RRE Ventures.

The company shifted strategy after regulators challenged parts of its lending business. In 2023 and 2024, Abra reached settlements with U.S. state regulators and the Securities and Exchange Commission tied to unregistered lending and securities offerings.

The firm shut its U.S. retail operations and returned funds to customers before rebuilding the business around institutional and high-net-worth clients through its SEC-registered investment arm, Abra Capital Management.

The proposed merger is pending approval from shareholders and regulators before closing.