Stating that the cryptocurrency game is now “fairer,” Kraken founder Jesse Powell adds that new threats to the industry’s reputation continue to emerge.
As Binance reached a $4.3 billion settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice and the exchange’s founder Changpeng Zhao agreed to step down as the company’s CEO, the crypto game is feeling “a little more today,” said Kraken founder Jesse Powell.
Powell, who also resigned as CEO of Kraken in September 2021, says the industry now has to “police itself,” adding that the market “cannot count on timely protection.”
“New threats to the industry’s reputation continue to emerge. “Every dubious operation represents an opportunity for governments to scapegoat cryptocurrencies and tighten the noose.”
Jessie Powell
Commenting on Binance’s rapid expansion internationally, Powell said it is “hard to keep faith while market share declines and the only enforcement is against the good guys.”
Kraken, like Binance and Coinbase, is facing a lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which said the San Francisco-based crypto company has been operating as a stock exchange, broker , trader and unregistered clearing agency.
Kraken has also been accused of commingling client assets with company funds. Powell criticized the SEC following the new charges, saying that “the masochists are not happy with the beatings they have received in New York.”
For Binance, the road ahead also appears to be filled with uncertainties, even despite assurances from new Binance CEO Richard Teng, who reiterated his confidence in the exchange’s financial health even after accepting a whopping $4.3 billion fine. of dollars by the US authorities. According to Matrixport analysts, Binance now has until 2026 before competition in the market begins to affect the company’s position.
