Jesse Powel has stepped down from his position as the Chief executive officer of the company and lsince Ripley took over as COO. In addition, Kraken completed more than 16 acquisitions and obtained a sizable number of international regulatory licenses and collaborations under his leadership.
Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange, announced in a news release that co-founder Jesse Powell intended to stand down as CEO. The revelation was initially reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Dave Ripley, Kraken’s current COO, will take over as CEO once a replacement for Ripley has been found.
Powell intends to continue his involvement with Kraken, according to a press release published by the business. He will continue to work on product development and advocacy for the cryptocurrency sector while serving as chairman of Kraken’s board.
Powell, an outspoken founder of Kraken and an early supporter of bitcoin (BTC), has been at the center of several business-related conflicts this year. Powell lambasted a group of “awake activists” working for the company in June and demanded disgruntled workers to leave, setting off a social-political controversy that affected the cryptocurrency sector and beyond.
The U.S. Treasury Department reportedly opened an investigation into Kraken in July over allegations that it had violated international sanctions against the Iranian government by allegedly enabling Iranian users to utilize the site.
Powell told Bloomberg that he informed Kraken’s board of his intended retirement more than a year ago. Powell has disputed that these scandals were the driving force for his decision to resign as CEO.
Instead, he attributed the choice to something far more commonplace: ennui.
Powell told Bloomberg that as the company grew, “it just comes to be more draining on me, less pleasant.”
