Jesse Powell, CEO of crypto exchange Kraken has announced that he is stepping down from his position. Consequently, Dave Ripley, the company’s Chief Operating Officer will take over from him as the company’s CEO.
According to Powell, over the years Kraken grew larger, and then running the company became draining and less fun. Rumors have it that Powell has been searching for a replacement for about a year now.
Powell will take on the status as the Chairman of Kraken’s Board of Directors. Therefore, he will be the first person to occupy this position. He commented, “I look forward to spending more of my time on the company’s products, user experience, and broader industry advocacy.”
“Dave’s proven leadership and experience give me great confidence that he’s the ideal successor and the best person to lead Kraken through its next era of growth,” Powell said. Meanwhile, Ripley is only assuming this position after Kraken has completed its search for a COO.
COO Takes Over as Kraken CEO
Dave Ripley is one of Kraken’s executive staff who has contributed immensely to its growth. Out of the eleven years of Kraken’s existence, Dave has been there for six years. He joined the company when Kraken arranged an acquisition of Glidera, a crypto wallet that he designed.
Since then, Dave has served as the COO of Kraken, growing its staff strength from 50 to about 3,000 active workers. Notably, Kraken has completed up to sixteen mergers and acquisitions under the leadership of Dave. At the same time, it secured a series of global licenses and partnerships.
One of Kraken’s feats during this period was the acquisition of an operational license from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
With the license, Kraken started making plans to launch an outlet and its regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi. Progressively, Dave plans to live up to expectations and deliver on the goals of the firm. A statement from Dave reads,
“My vision, along with the rest of the leadership team, is in lockstep with Jesse’s – to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrency.”
This news comes barely a month after CEO of Alameda Research Sam Trabucco announced he was stepping down from his position. MicroStrategy chief Michael Saylor also resigned from his position. Similar to Powell, Saylor took on the position of Executive Chairman.
cmb.com 