The FBI has dropped its two‑year hacking investigation, returning dozens of devices seized from Powell’s home. While he walks free, the episode re‑ignites questions about the hard‑charging libertarian who once dared employees to “hit the Jet Ski” if they found Kraken’s culture offensive
Federal authorities have officially closed their investigation into Jesse Powell, co-founder and former CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, following a two-year legal process stemming from allegations made by an arts nonprofit. The closure comes amid significant developments for Kraken, including regulatory scrutiny and a recently announced strategic investment in Maltese stablecoin issuer StablR.
Evidently, the crypto industry moves into another transformative bull run. Kraken, one of the global crypto giant, just announced a 15% workforce cut, reshaping its leadership and structure. The move includes the exit of key executives and the appointment of Arjun Sethi as co-CEO, as Kraken aims to streamline and stay competitive in the turbulent crypto landscape.
Fortune and other media outlets reported that Kraken founder Jesse Powell announced that he is stepping down as CEO of the crypto exchange that he founded in 2011. He will be replaced by long-time COO Dave Ripley, who joined Kraken a few years ago when the exchange acquired crypto wallet firm Glidera. Forbes reports that Powell had been considering stepping down for some time. He will become Kraken’s first chairman of the board and plans to remain active at the firm.
Most recently, we have seen in Canada, which is a liberal country, how quickly governments can access bank accounts and crypto wallets and freeze the funds on them without the intervention of the courts. The government of Justin Trudeau has shown how critical decentralized cryptocurrencies without government control are. Therefore, do not hold your money in custodial wallets on online exchanges but on non-custodial wallets.