The well-known co-founder of Kraken, Jesse Powell, stepped down as the CEO of the exchange. Instead, he’ll become chairman of Kraken’s board of directors.
New beginning
Kraken’s co-founder Jesse Powell will stand down from his position as CEO, the company announced on Wednesday. Powell will be succeeded as CEO by the business’s COO, Dave Ripley.
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This is after Powell founded the exchange back in 2011, ending an 11-year chapter as the CEO. Powell said he decided to concentrate more on the company’s products, user experience, and more extensive industry advocacy. He was very honest with his answer as he stated:
“As the company has gotten bigger, it’s just gotten to be more draining on me, less fun,” Powell told Bloomberg News on Wednesday.
Troubles in the company
Jesse Powell, an early proponent of Bitcoin, has come into conflict with Kraken staff members. This happened after he posted seditious remarks on the company’s Slack this year about race and gender. Those who did not share his views were urged to leave the organization, and a few actually did.
Moreover, The Treasury Department is looking into Kraken for possible sanctions violations. According to a July article in The New York Times, the government plans to fine Kraken as it’s in an investigation connected to Iran’s users trading cryptocurrencies on the Kraken exchange.
Also read: Is Tether in trouble with the authorities again?
While it may seem suspicious to leave the company right now, Powell refused any controversies. He reportedly informed Kraken’s board about his department as CEO more than one year ago.
Crypto advocate
Although Powell shared some controversial views regarding race and gender, he is a well-known advocate of cryptocurrencies. He was recently invited on TV on Bloomberg, disagreeing with Jamie Dimon’s pessimistic view on cryptos.
File under: "why wouldn't the refugees just use the 20 free credit cards they got in the mail when they turned 18? They didn't get one? But surely, they at least signed up for a credit card in exchange for a free slice of pizza on their college campus. No? They must be rich." pic.twitter.com/JzcTSzgMHW
— Jesse Powell (@jespow) September 23, 2022
Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, slashed cryptocurrencies once again and called them a decentralized Ponzi scheme. Powell claims that “he can’t really understand it as a banker,” but it is certainly better than a centralized Ponzi scheme as the stock market or national currencies.
Conclusion
Although Powell ends as the CEO of Kraken, he clearly wants to stay on board and participate in future endeavors. Fun fact: he recently remembered the mining of Bitcoin in 2011 when it was only about $3.
With @krakenfx turning 11 years old today, I remembered an old photo I took from late July, 2011. I had ordered about 100x 6990s 2 months earlier, when #BTC was ~$3. They were massively delayed and arrived when BTC was ~$13. Oops. Mining ain't easy. Good times though. 🎢🚀 https://t.co/Dfgo59PSdM pic.twitter.com/HoJ0HXaVSI
— Jesse Powell (@jespow) July 29, 2022
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