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Kraken Bows Down Before US Treasury, Agreed To Remit $360k

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Kraken, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by market cap has reached a settlement deal with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control [OFAC] over allegations of serving customers in Iran, as per the statement released by OFAC.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control [OFAC] today announced a settlement with Payward, Inc. d/b/a Kraken (“Kraken”), a Delaware-incorporated virtual currency exchange with operations in the United States and elsewhere.  

As part of the settlement with the OFAC, Kraken agreed to pay a fine of $362,158.70 and also consented to invest an additional $100k in certain sanctions compliance controls.  

The press release cited Kraken’s failure to implement relevant geolocation tools, including an automated internet protocol [IP] address blocking system, in a timely manner.

OFAC claimed that the US-based trading platform exported services to customers who looked to be in Iran and used Kraken’s platform to transact in digital currency.

Further details revealed that the firm allegedly processed over 820 transactions that came to be around $1.68 million on behalf of customers who may have been located in Iran.

The potential breaches, according to the Department of the Treasury, were “non-egregious and willingly self-disclosed” between October 14, 2015, and June 29, 2019.

OFAC argued despite Kraken having a sanctions compliance policy in place to prevent users from signing up in restricted countries, the platform “failed not to impose IP address blocking” on activity across its platform at the time of the alleged violation.

Kraken Failed To Implement “IP address blocking”

This failure on the part of Kraken emboldened some users to register from locations that were not subjected to US sanctions and then proceed to conduct transactions from sanctioned locations, like Iran, according to IP address data obtained by the Treasury Department.

Marco Santori, the platform’s chief legal officer told in an interview that the firm has since made a number of changes, including adding geolocation blocking to stop users from accessing the site in prohibited locations and hiring a specific head of sanctions.

Additionally, the business has spent money on staff training on sanctions compliance and has put in place “blockchain analysis tools to assist with sanctions monitoring.”

The leading exchange was among other major industry players like Coinbase, Binance, Gate.io, etc to publish proof-of-reserves, including liabilities, as part of their audits.

Kraken Bans Russian Clients To Comply With The Latest EU Sanctions

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Kraken, a leading US-based crypto exchange initially refused requests to block the digital wallet addresses of Russian users following the invasion of Ukraine, has now decided to reverse its policy to comply with EU sanctions.

Once admired for upholding cryptocurrency’s libertarian values, the trading firms send emails announcing it would suspend accounts of Russian clients on its platform, without providing any deadline for funds withdrawal.

Kraken in an email statement wrote,

Due to the new European legislation, we have to take measures to restrict your Kraken account. Russian users would be able to withdraw their funds by request. We will update our support center if there are any changes. We apologize for the inconvenience caused.

On 6th Oct, the EU unleashed the eighth package of hard-hitting sanctions against Russia for its continued aggression against Ukraine by banning all crypto-asset wallets, accounts, or custody services, irrespective of the amount of the wallet [earlier up to €10,000 was allowed].

While some crypto firms have quickly reacted and already suspended operations with Russian accounts, a number of others have continued to operate as usual. Among those are Binance, Coinbase, FTX, etc.

With Kraken forced to abandon its earlier stance, more crypto firms may soon join the list if the war worsens.

A month ago, the San Francisco exchange announced that its outspoken co-founder Jesse Powell would step down and that Dave Ripley, Kraken’s Chief Operating Officer, will take over the CEO role after the firm hires a new COO.

Kraken’s New CEO Eyeing M&A In This “Bankruptcy Environment”

The announcement came amidst the growing feud with regulators like SEC which has been probing Coinbase for listing several tokens on its platform, since the July insider trading lawsuit.

On the other hand, Kraken’s newly appointed Chief Operating Officer Ripley made it clear that it has no plans to remove those tokens from its exchange, despite demands from Sec Chair Gary Gensler for crypto platforms to register.

Besides, Ripley said his firm is looking for new opportunities for mergers & acquisitions in this bear market.

“To the extent that there are opportunities for M&A in this environment, and perhaps if it’s a company that is actually going through a bankruptcy process, then that’s a potential for us to consider for sure,” stated Ripley, adding the company has not made any moves yet.

Here’s why Kraken CEO Jesse Powell is stepping down as CEO

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Jesse Powell, the CEO of Kraken, resigns from his post. After more than 11 years in the role, Powell announced that he was stepping down as CEO. He declared that he wanted to devote more time to the company’s other services and serve as an advocate for the sector.

Chief operating officer Dave Ripley, who has been a part of the cryptocurrency exchange since 2016, will follow Jesse Powell as CEO. A change in leadership will take place over the next few months when a replacement for Ripley as COO is recruited.

Kraken’s Powell intends to take a break

In light of Powell’s ascent to the new leadership role, Ripley said that his objectives were “in lockstep” with Powell’s. Powell allegedly stated that the expansion of Kraken was the reason for his decision to back off, saying, “It’s simply gotten to be more exhausting on me, less fun.” He continued by saying that he still intended “to be highly active with the firm.”

“As the company has gotten bigger, it’s just gotten to be more draining on me, less fun. I still plan to stay very engaged with the company as the largest shareholder and member of the board.”

Jesse Powell spoke in a video interview

Since 2011, Powell has served as Kraken’s CEO. Powell guided the American platform through the early days of the cryptocurrency industry. Kraken was fined a $1.25 million penalty by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2021 for failing to register as a futures commission merchant.  Powell said in April that Kraken will close its world headquarters in the heart of San Francisco.

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Here's why Kraken CEO Jesse Powell is stepping down as CEO 2

Powell said that he informed the board of his decision more than a year prior, and the business finally chose Ripley after considering its options. Additionally, Ripley said he was keen to move forward with the Kraken mission.

Over time, Kraken grew to become one of the largest US bitcoin exchanges. In a discussion with Bloomberg last month, Powell stated that he would never wager against bitcoin. Additionally, Jesse provided his forecasts for the cryptocurrency sector through the year 2021. With Powell stepping down, Ripley will take over the position and continue its operations.

Here’s How Kraken Elevated Its Interest In Cardano [ADA]

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Cardano [ADA] is added to cryptocurrency exchange Kraken as a collateral cryptocurrency on its futures platform. The US-based trading platform offers both single-collateral futures as well as multi-collateral futures.

In the single-collateral type, only the base cryptocurrency of a certain pair can be used by users in the form of collateral. While the second type of futures contract lets traders deposit multiple cryptocurrencies as collateral, indicating that they are not limited to the base currency.

ADA has now joined a slew of other cryptocurrencies such as Chainlink [LINK], Polkadot [DOT], Decentraland [MANA], and others. With the latest addition, the token can now be used for getting accessibility to over 40 futures contracts now.

It is important to note that the ADA token has a 10% “haircut,” which is a cut in the margin value of the collateral. For example, if one’s balance is 1,000 ADA tokens, 900 ADA coins count as collateral that can be used for backing orders.

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Here's How Kraken Elevated Its Interest In Cardano [ADA] 4

Having said that. the size of the haircut differs for different cryptocurrencies: from 0% for Bitcoin [BTC] to 50% for Avalanche [AVAX] and Tezos [XTZ]. However, users cannot withdraw collateral currencies if their spot positions on margin remain open.

On the other hand, Cardano’s Version 1.35.3 created to fix a crucial bug found in v1.35.2 has been upgraded by 31% of the ADA’s SPOs. The latest software is intended to be used by pool operators before the Vasil fork. 

Over 30% Of Cardano SPO Are Now Running The Latest Software

The update is designed to root out critical bugs found in Cardano’s previous implementation, which raised questions about whether the network’s upcoming Vasil hard fork should be postponed. 

As per data from PoolTool, about 55% of nodes are still operating on v1.34.1. In order to upgrade to Vasil, 75% of SPO nodes must be on the newest version.

“This is again umpteenth positive update that comes with significant improvements,” said FLOWR – a Cardano staking pool – in a tweet on 22 Aug. “The node works stably and uses less hardware resources.”

Other staking pools like PRIDE pool and Cardano Blockhouse have also backed the transition to the new version.

Coinbase To Trim More Staff If Market Worsens

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After recently cutting down its workforce, Coinbase’s senior exec has hinted that there might be further staff reduction if the large-scale sell-off in the crypto market deteriorates, Financial Times reported. Faryar Shirzad, the company’s chief policy officer told FT

“You never say never. The only commitment we can make is that we are going to operate the company responsibly and for the long haul and if that requires additional action, we will take that”.

He however added, “We don’t anticipate it at this time.”

The platform grabbed headlines ever since it decided to lay off 18% of its employees, nearly a fifth of its workforce. Brian Armstrong, the company’s CEO, wrote to employees then saying the “difficult decision” was taken to ensure stability during the market downturn.

In 2022, the firm which touts itself US largest cryptocurrency exchange has struggled to retain consumers amidst the market volatility. The platform revealed in May that it had lost $430 million in the first quarter due to a steep decline in trading fees.

The exchange’s number of transactional users too plummeted, and the firm predicted that trading volumes and users will fall again in the second quarter.

“Coinbase Is Operating In A Very, Very Tough Environment”

Shirzad said Coinbase was operating in a “very, very tough environment. “The company did what it needed to do decisively to be able to build for the long haul”, he added.

On the other hand, many of those fired employees complained that they were not notified before and only knew when their system’s access was cut off while some of them found support in the crypto community in getting job leads.

Meanwhile, Kraken has recently announced over 500 open positions for this year calling Bear markets the best for recruiting talent. Crypto giant Binance also intends to fill 2000 new hiring positions worldwide, according to the firm’s CEO Changpeng Zhao.

In a more worrisome development for the trading platform, a class-action suit was filed against Coinbase on 16th June alleging the firm misrepresented TerraUSD’s risk as an algorithmic stablecoin and that it failed to disclose its financial relationship with Terraform Labs.

Kraken To Fill 500+ Open Positions Amidst Market Downturn

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Amidst mass layoffs in the wake of the market crash, Kraken has laid out its hiring plans. As per the latest announcement, the San Francisco-based crypto exchange has more than 500 open positions that it intends to fill up, this year.

Sharing the news, Kraken wrote that “Bear markets are the best for recruiting talent that is both aligned with our culture and our mission.”

On the other hand, several major crypto trading platforms are making large-scale layoffs and freezing hiring,

A few days back, Crypto lending firm BlockFi has announced cutting 20% of its workforce citing a “Dramatic Shift In Macroeconomic Conditions”

Two weeks ago, New York-based crypto exchange Gemini, said in early June it would be laying off 10% of its workforce. Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek too followed the same route by announcing a staff reduction of 260 people.

This week, Coinbase, the second-largest crypto exchange in the world, announced to slash 18% of its workforce.

While the current drawdown can be attributed to a host of factors, including the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and rising inflation figures, the digital asset industry are among the worst affected.

Crypto entities across the board have been forced to cut costs, as investors are increasingly opting out of the riskiest assets, pulling down trading volumes.

The huge wave of layoffs amid massive crypto sell-offs has dented the value of popular tokens like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. Trading volumes are at an all-time low which means lesser revenues for all the exchanges.

The buck doesn’t stop here.

Kraken And Binance To Drive Global Hiring

There is also a bit of concern with regards to the safety and risk of crypto-based financial products as Celsius Network, a major crypto lender that lets users make deposits to earn interest and take out loans in crypto, has recently paused withdrawals.

Despite the current market turmoil, a handful of crypto firms like Kraken and Binance have reassured their staff and the public that they are sticking to their recruiting plans. The news is a beacon of hope for crypto enthusiasts and goes to show all is not gloom and doom.

Kraken receives UAE’s nod to operate as a Regulated Crypto Exchange

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US-based crypto exchange Kraken has been granted a Financial Services Permission [FSP] license from the Abu Dhabi Global Market [ADGM] to operate as a regulated exchange platform in the United Arab Emirates [UAE].

For those unfamiliar, ADGM is a free zone for financial entities to do business in the UAE capital and provide services to users within the region. According to a press release, Kraken would cater to the needs of the Middle East and North Africa [MENA] region.

Kraken met all the required criteria from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority [FSRA] of ADGM to operate as a digital asset Multilateral Trading Facility [MTF] and Custodian in Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE, the release added.

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Elated over the development, Curtis Ting, Kraken’s managing director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, stated in an interview,

“We’re incredibly excited to be able to set up our operations right in the ADGM [Abu Dhabi Global Market] itself to operate a virtual asset platform that finally offers Dirham pairs for investors in the region.”

Kraken says this is a first-of-its-kind full-fledged financial license from ADGM which the trading platform aims to capitalize on by providing seamless access to cryptocurrencies through regulated funding, trading, and custodial services in the local currency dirhams.

In terms of why so many crypto firms are flocking to the region, Ronit Ghose, global head of fintech and digital at Citi cited “greater regulatory clarity” as the reason behind the influx of cryptocurrency businesses in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Kraken sees the UAE as one of the most lucrative markets

Kraken, founded in 2011, operates in over 60 nations, said the UAE launch marks its entry into an increasingly lucrative region. According to Chainalysis, the Middle East is one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrency markets in the world, making up 7% of global trading volumes.

The UAE transacts roughly $25 billion worth of cryptocurrency each year. It ranks third by volume in the region, behind Lebanon [about $26 billion] and Turkey [$132.4 billion] as per Chainalysis data studied between July 2020 and June 2021. 

With the latest approval, Kraken joins several exchanges setting up shop in the UAE amidst stricter rules and tighter regulations for crypto businesses worldwide.

PUBG Developer Krafton Strikes a Deal With Solana

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KRAFTON, Inc., the makers of the worldwide popular PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS battle royale game, announced a partnership with Solana Labs to help the development and promotion of blockchain-based games and services.

KRAFTON and Solana Labs have entered into a long-term collaboration agreement for the creation and management of blockchain- and NFT-based games and services.

The two businesses will collaborate on the marketing and creation of blockchain games and other blockchain technologies, as well as on investment prospects.

Krafton eyeing to take over blockchain gaming

“As we strive toward developing our Web 3.0 ecosystem, KRAFTON will look for methods to collaborate closely with blockchain startups like Solana Labs,” stated Hyungchul Park, Lead of Web 3.0 Roundtable at KRAFTON, Inc.

“As one of the greatest worldwide high-performance blockchains, Solana represents the best of the Web 3.0 ecosystem and its technology, with a focus on high speed and low costs.”

“KRAFTON will get the knowledge needed to increase its investment in and output of blockchain-based experiences as a result of our collaboration.”

KRAFTON’s commitment to advancing new business prospects in 2022 is reaffirmed by this agreement.

Last month, the firm stated that it will enter the web 3.0 and NFT sectors, leveraging its game development and operations expertise gained from PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, a popular game with gamers all over the world.

Since then, Seoul Auction Blue, XX Blue, and NAVER Z have announced investments and cooperation with the firm in additional industries connected to NFT, metaverse, and blockchain (Zepeto).

PUBG, which allegedly reached 70 million players in July 2020, may soon be able to link its massive userbase to more advanced virtual reality levels.

According to a Forbes forecast published in January this year, the blockchain gaming business would grow by 765 percent by 2021.

Last month, FTX announced the introduction of FTX Gaming, a “crypto as a service” platform that would allow gaming firms to generate tokens and provide customer support for NFTs.

Zynga, a San Francisco-based online and mobile game producer best known for its FarmVille and CSR Racing franchises, has revealed ambitions to enter the blockchain gaming market.

According to a recent DappRadar survey, there were 804,000 unique active players linked to blockchain-based games in July 2021.

Kraken’s new CFO has a clear track record except for one

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California-based crypto exchange Kraken has recently appointed its new chief financial officer Carrie Dolan. As per the press release, Dolan is a financial services veteran in fast-growing consumer fintech and Fortune 500 firms.

Dolan replaced its former CFO, Kaiser Ng, who held the position for five years, until January 2022, when he left to join an unnamed “crypto-native remote-first organization,” as per his LinkedIn. In a statement released by Kraken, Dolan said,

“I’m excited to join this incredible company at a pivotal time.And work with the rest of the team to continue delivering on Kraken’s mission to drive mainstream adoption by making sure crypto is understood, easily accessible, and trusted.”

Prior to this role, she worked in Tradeshift, a digital payments platform, and has held several key leadership roles at Lending Club, Metromile, Charles Schwab, and Chevron. While at Lending Club, Dolan managed its 2014 IPO, securing nearly $1 billion in capital and making it one of the largest U.S.-based internet public offerings

Financial Markets Wall Street Lending Club IPO

During her stint at Lending Club, the firm managed to make a name in the peer-to-peer lending space, before going public in December 2014. Then, nearly two years after Dolan exited the company in September 2016 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged her with incorrectly adjusting fund returns to improve the returns they reported to investors.

Dolan neither admitted nor denied the charges, and paid a fine of $65,000 which was part of a larger $4.2 million penalty against Lending Club itself. The latter was barred from the securities industry as part of the punitive action.

Kraken Vs Coinbase

Despite the taint, Dolan’s experience helped firms to raise capital and go public which could fulfill what Kraken needs and has been the firm’s agenda since mid-2021. Speculators believe that might help the exchange to overtake Coinbase and occupy the top place among the world’s best crypto exchanges.

Amidst the rivalries, Kraken found itself on the same page during growing calls for a blanket ban on Russian clients. As TronWeekly previously reported, Jesse Powell, CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, in a response to Ukraine’s Vice minister’s request, tweeted that the platform would not freeze the accounts of Russian clients unless legally told to do so.

Kraken Will Giveaway $1,000 in BTC to Its Ukrainian Users

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Kraken is putting together a massive assistance package to help victims of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, with over $10 million going straight to those who have been harmed.

Clients who opened an account with Kraken before March 9, 2022, will be entitled to receive $1,000 in bitcoin, which may be withdrawn instantly from the exchange, starting tomorrow and lasting until July 1. It will also waive off currency conversion expenses of up to $1,000.

Kraken to aid the affected

“We expect to continue to be able to provide crucial financial services in a time of need to both our Ukrainian and Russian consumers,” stated Kraken CEO Jesse Powell. “At a time when many people throughout the world can no longer rely on traditional banks and custodians, cryptocurrency remains a crucial humanitarian instrument.”

Kraken will additionally contribute to the aid package an amount equal to the total trading fees paid by Russia-based clients in the first half of 2022. Further, as the crisis progresses, it may announce more help.

Kraken’s announcement represents the company’s first-ever foreign aid disbursement.

It also highlights the ongoing efforts to connect its company with the cryptocurrency community’s ideals, including the community’s firm view that all global citizens should have access to financial services.

Kraken continues to react to inquiries from governments in affected areas, and its 600-person compliance team is constantly monitoring the situation to ensure it complies with relevant sanctions laws.

It feels that this assistance program benefits both the organization and its clients, guaranteeing that no one gets disenfranchised due to the conduct of their elected officials.

This announcement comes after Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, pledged on February 27 to donate at least $10 million to major intergovernmental and nonprofit organizations already on the ground, including UNICEF, UNHCR, and the UN Refugee Agency, through its dedicated charity arm.

A sponsored crowdfunding drive has raised an extra $11 million. Each Ukrainian customer received $25 from FTX, a rival located in the Bahamas. CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, the industry’s second-richest man with a wealth of more than $20 billion, announced personal cooperation with the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance to generate crypto contributions.