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

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Jump Trading to take small stakes in prediction markets Polymarket, Kalshi: Bloomberg

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.

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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.

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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.

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Crypto World

Bitcoin Surges Toward $75K As Huge Capital Inflows Return

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Bitcoin Surges Toward $75K As Huge Capital Inflows Return

Bitcoin chases $75,000 as the return of aggressive spot BTC ETF inflows, billion dollar buys from Strategy and an improvement in investors’ risk appetite propel the crypto market.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price recovery extended into a third week as the price rallied to $74,509, a level not seen since Feb. 4. While markets remain reluctant to confirm whether or not Bitcoin bottomed, the cryptocurrency is up 22.5% from its Feb. 6 low at $60,000 and data point to a renewed institutional investor appetite as a potential key player in the current bullish breakout. 

Over the last week, Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the largest public holder of Bitcoin, purchased 22,237 BTC for $1.57 billion. 

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According to reporting from Bloomberg, 

“Inflows to exchange-traded funds suggest a return of institutional confidence. Net flows for the 12 US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs topped $763 million last week, a third consecutive week of inflows”

On Monday, Metaplanet, a Tokyo-based public company that established Japan’s first corporate Bitcoin treasury, announced that it has raised $255 million in a “private placement” for a new instrument that aims to purchase more Bitcoin. Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich said the raise would provide the “additional firepower on our march towards 210,000 BTC.” 

Metaplanet raises $255 million to buy Bitcoin. Source: X / Simon Gerovich

Related: Metaplanet raises $255M and adds warrant structure for Bitcoin buys

Adding to the institutional Bitcoin demand narrative, Bitfinex analysts said that “Bitcoin is approaching this week’s FOMC meeting on March 18 with renewed momentum, and has decisively reclaimed the $70,000 level.” The report noted Bitcoin’s market structure had “improved meaningfully” even though BTC has “yet to secure a breakout above local range highs.” 

Bitcoin monthly trading range: Source: Bitfinex

According to Bitfinex analysts, the absorption-to-emissions ratio (AER) highlighted institutional investors “absorbing nearly five times the daily miner supply,” and this, combined with rising BTC futures open interest, indicated that the market was beginning to mirror “healthier” structures seen earlier in the year. 

When asked whether Bitcoin had bottomed and if institutional capital flows were responsible for the price upswing, Hyblock analysts explained that “following the sharp drop, the market entered a consolidation phase where open interest declined, shorts used more margin, and both spot and perpetual CVDs pointed to selling pressure.” 

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BTC/USDT 1-hour chart. Source: Hyblock

The analysts added that:

“Over the past month, that regime (sellers) has shifted. Traders have started increasing leverage on the long side, open interest is rising, and the perps CVD has turned positive while spot flows remain weak. This suggests the push toward the top of the range is largely being driven by derivatives positioning rather than spot demand.”