Kraken CEO Jesse Powell's reaction to the latest investigation by the New York attorney general’s office stood out from the rest of exchanges' operators'. According to Powell, New York cryptocurrency regulation is abusive. What else did he say in regards to the recent OAG's probe?
20 September, AtoZ Markets – The CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, Jesse Powell, has shared his opinion in regards to the state of New York’s stance toward the cryptocurrency sector and Kraken, specifically.
Kraken CEO: New York Cryptocurrency Regulation is Abusive
Powell has expressed his thoughts on his personal Twitter account. In the post, he has compared New York’s legislators to an abusive ex-partner, adding that regulators still choose to stalk the company in spite of the fact that the latter left the state a few years ago. He wrote:
“NY is that abusive, controlling ex you broke up with 3 years ago but they keep stalking you, throwing shade on your new relationships, unable to accept that you have happily moved on and are better off without them. #getoverit”
Powell was reportedly responding to a new report that has been published by the New York attorney general’s office (OAG). The report alleges that Kraken along with other two cryptocurrency exchanges might be operating in the state illegally. The agency noted that it had referred this data to the state’s Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The latter oversees cryptocurrency trading sector in New York.
Just like a number of other cryptocurrency exchanges, Kraken left New York after the authorities adopted the “BitLicense” regulatory framework. Despite this, the report states that the exchange still operates in the state unlawfully.
In addition, it is known that Kraken received a questionnaire as part of OAG’s investigation. However, unlike several other exchanges, it decided to act and speak up, calling out the “audacity” of the investigation.
According to a number of online reports, Powell has mentioned that the probe is “insulting” and criticized other cryptocurrency exchanges for “kowtowing” to the OAG’s demands. He has reportedly added that regulators need to show “basic respect” to the industry.
In addition, Powell stated that cryptocurrency traders are not very concerned with market manipulation, citing OAG’s remarks in the report. Authorities have called the exchange’s stance “alarming.” The OAG wrote in its report:
“The OAG could not review the practices and procedures of non-participating platforms (Binance, Gate.io, Huobi, and Kraken) concerning manipulative or abusive trading. However, the Kraken platform’s public response is alarming. In announcing the company’s decision not to participate in the Initiative, Kraken declared that market manipulation “doesn’t matter to most crypto traders,” even while admitting that “scams are rampant” in the industry.”
Kraken Halifax Layoff Rumours
At the beginning of the month, AtoZ Markets reported that some of the online outlets stated that Kraken has been laying off staff. One of the posts on the local discussion on Reddit has suggested that Kraken’s “unit 102 at 60 Highfield park drive” had fired “hundreds of people…after making them sign voluntary quit forms.”
The post further stated that a “giant commotion” had emerged as a response to the suspected security breach. After sharing this statement, the author of the post has asked the question:
“Was anyone here one of those people?”
Following on this, the same online media outlet wrote that a contributor on Reddit stated that the security alert might have happened due to the location being “compromised.” However, it appears that these rumors were not justified.
One of the online media reports has cited the Twitter denial coming from the Kraken support team:
“We can confirm that we are not shutting down any operations in any specific place, and there has been no security breach. Everything is fine & secure. Thank you for your reaching out to us with your question!”
The denial has been reaffirmed by a second Tweet from the Kraken support team coming some hours later.
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