Jesse Powell, Kraken’s CEO, talks at length about why he decided to shut down Kraken’s headquarters in San Francisco.
Kraken was one of the leading bitcoin exchanges. His headquarters was also in New York. However, New York announced a stricter BitLicense regulation in 2015, prompting Powell to delist Kraken from the Big Apple for good.
In humor, the Kraken CEO described the state as “that abusive, controlling ex you broke up with 3 years ago, but they kept chasing you.”
In April, Powell decided to pull Kraken out of San Francisco as well. Powell decided to throw in the towel and close the headquarters in San Francisco because of the rampant chaos in the city, such as crime and drug abuse.
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San Francisco proved to be the wrong city for Powell to put up a business. (New Scientist)
Powell: Frisco is going bad
The city, as Powell described it, is “impaired” in terms of safety and sanitation. Back in 2013 when he first visited the state, he was a memory. It is no longer recognizable. Powell is specifically triggered by Chesa Boudin, the District Attorney of San Francisco.
He was placed in office after the historic protests that followed the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2019. Since then, the DA has particularly emphasized on reforms to abolish cash bail, accountability of police, enforce imprisonment; and the like.
Obviously, Boudin’s reforms would have made matters worse in San Francisco. Crimes seem to have increased because people had this excuse to commit crimes.
Jail is not the best place for the oppressed. However, as Powell points out, prison is also a powerful and effective deterrent to crime.
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Kraken Headstrong Amid State Regulations
Kraken has stirred mixed reactions in the crypto space due to its stubbornness against regulatory changes. Many people support Powell’s sentiments and his push to recall.
Kraken competitor Coinbase also removed its San Francisco headquarters in February this year, but citing a different reason such as the pandemic.
Obviously, Kraken wanted to be a decentralized company and this could only happen if they were successful without a physical headquarters.
With so much said and done, will Kraken still consider San Francisco as home?
According to Powell, if Boudin remains DA, it will take some time. Powell believes the city is not particularly safe with DAs harboring criminals and neglects the rights and protections of San Francisco’s law-abiding citizens.
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