Abra Crypto Wallet and Exchange Limits Services to U.S. Users

The ongoing wind of change in the U.S. financial regulatory sector is indeed strong enough to bend high-rise crypto firms and sweep out those who refuse to comply.

To stay on the safe side, the management of Abra, one of the largest global crypto apps that operates a crypto wallet and an exchange, took to the company’s blog to announce certain adjustments which would apply to U.S. users only.

In the post, Abra revealed that certain changes have become essential in order to keep its head above the water in the U.S. Blaming the changes on the recent controversies, regulatory uncertainties and restrictions in the U.S. crypto space, Abra announced that some synthetic assets will no longer be available to users in the United States.

Abra, which is popularly known for enabling to buy and sell about 25 crypto coins, will now limit its options to only 4 for U.S. users. The 4 tradeable cryptocurrencies in the U.S. via the Abra app include Bitcoin(BTC)trade, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC)trade, and Ethereum (ETH)trade.

Come August 30, 2019, U.S. users will no longer be allowed to hold, sell, transfer, or exchange virtual assets such as QTUM, SNT, OMG, BTG, and EOS. Therefore, users residing in the U.S. are advised to exchange or withdraw any cryptocurrency besides the four virtual coins listed above on or before the 29th day of August 2019 – that is exactly a month from today. Failure to do so will cause the exchange to convert automatically your digital coins to Bitcoin.

Crypto Restrictions in New York

Furthermore, in the post Abra also advises users residing in New York to be informed they can only hold Ethereum, Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash from August 29 going forward. In compliance with this adjustment, New York users have until 11.59 PM EST on August 29, 2019, to either withdraw or exchange any other digital coin they currently hold besides these four virtual currencies. By August 30, any remaining balance in the affected cryptocurrency wallets will be shown as BTC.

Adding to that, New York users will no longer be able to use wire, American express card, or bank ACH for deposit or withdrawal from August 30th, 2019 going forward.

Abra also notes that although these adjustments will be made, U.S. users’ private keys for the tradeable digital coins will not be affected. “Please note: The private keys for any Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ethereum balances will continue to reside with you,” the post states. Abra regrets any inconveniences caused and hope to come back in full swing as soon as possible.

Abra is not the first crypto company that limits cryptocurrency operation in the U.S. as other firms such as Bittrex and Bancor have decided to curb access to their services for U.S. users due to uncertain regulatory environment in the U.S.