FBI searches home of Jesse Powell, founder of crypto platform Kraken

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Last Updated on 29 November 2023 by CryptoTips.eu

The past 12 months have been nothing but bad news for the familiar faces of US crypto companies. In November last year, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas and then transferred to the US. He is now under house arrest with his parents in California and awaits his trial.

The SEC filed a complaint against Coinbase and its CEO Brian Armstrong a few months ago, and yesterday the New York Times broke the news that the FBI had recently searched the home of Jesse Powell, founder of crypto platform Kraken.

Kraken is the second largest crypto platform in the United States, with Coinbase still holding the crown.

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Iran, Russia and Cuba

This seems very bad news for the crypto world, but actually has little to do with it. Jesse Powell became wealthy through crypto trading and so founded The Verge, a non-profit arts center in Los Angeles.

The problem was that Powell had pretty strict ideas about LGBTQ and wokeism, and many of the staff in the non-profit sector weren’t really a fan of that. After many internal squabbles, Powell was kicked out of his own arts center and, according to many, this was also the reason why he stepped down as CEO of the company last year and elected a position as chairman of the company instead. His COO succeeded him.

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It also came to light that a former staff member had sued Kraken because it had earned money through crypto trading in countries where that was not actually allowed, aka in Iran, Russia and Cuba.

Now a new scandal ensues. Powell was found to have hacked into the email accounts of some of The Verge’s employees and to have engaged in cyberstalking them, which is why the FBI confiscated several of his electronic devices.

Crypto platform Kraken itself quickly came up with the message that the FBI investigation has nothing to do with the company itself.

Undoubtedly to be continued.

Jeroen Kok

Jeroen is one of the lead copywriters on Cryptotips.eu and discusses all recent events in the crypto market. This includes news updates, but also price analyzes and more. He developed his passion for cryptocurrency during the bull run in 2017. He has learned a lot since then. The combination of cryptocurrency and creative writing is perfect for Jeroen and an excellent way to share his knowledge with a wide audience. Find me on LinkedIn / [email protected]
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