Kraken appointed a co-director general on Wednesday amid reports that the cryptocurrency exchange has laid off 15% of its employees as part of a restructuring.
The company appointed longtime Silicon Valley CEO Arjun Sethi as co-general manager alongside Dave Ripley. Ripley took over as CEO in 2023 after founder Jesse Powell resigned after internal conflicts with employees. Previously, Sethi served on Kraken’s board of directors for nearly four years.
According to the New York Times, Kraken laid off 400 of its 2,600 employees. This reduction included two prominent leaders: chief operating officer Gilles Bian Rosa and chief technology officer Vishnu Patankar.
Kraken focuses on building, not managing
In a blog post on Wednesday, Sethi and Ripley admitted that Kraken “fell into the trap of building organizational layers.” They explained that the company assigned managers to oversee team performance, but that this approach sometimes led managers to make bad decisions. Now Kraken is focusing on engaging its top associates in building rather than managing.
“Kraken’s next chapter begins today. LFG.” – they added. In addition, the blog states that the company’s net income has exceeded $1 billion.
Cryptocurrency industry tightens workforce amid market surge
Earlier this year, Kraken aimed to raise $100 million in a funding round, planned as the last step before a potential IPO. However, it has not completed that funding round to date.
The recent layoffs are part of a larger wave sweeping the cryptocurrency industry. Consensys has reduced its workforce by more than 160 employees, or 20%, and CEO Joseph Lubin attributes the cuts to what he describes as an “abuse of power” by the SEC, which he sees as stifling innovation and growth.
Similarly, dYdX CEO Antonio Juliano said Wednesday that the decentralized exchange platform has cut its core team by 35%. The layoffs come even as the cryptocurrency market is showing strength; Bitcoin recently traded around $72,256, up 7% over the past week and approaching a new peak.
