COO Dave Ripley to succeed CEO Jesse Powell

Kraken, one of the world’s leading crypto platforms, today announced that COO Dave Ripley will succeed Co-founder and CEO Jesse Powell, who will become chairman of the board of directors. Dave will assume the role of CEO after Kraken completes a COO search.

“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,” said Powell. “I look forward to spending more of my time on the company’s products, user experience and broader industry advocacy.”

An accomplished leader, Dave has served as Kraken’s COO for six years, playing an instrumental role in growing the company and scaling its operations. He successfully grew Kraken from 50 to over 3,000 workers. Under Dave’s guidance, Kraken completed more than 16 acquisitions and secured a significant number of global regulatory licenses and partnerships.

“United by our crypto-first culture, we will empower people to transact and connect in new ways,” said Ripley. “My vision, along with the rest of the leadership team, is in lockstep with Jesse’s – to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrency.”

Kraken will continue to invest in the ongoing expansion of its product portfolio, helping clients navigate the crypto landscape no matter where they are in their crypto journey.

With nearly a decade of crypto industry leadership experience, Dave joined Kraken through its acquisition of Glidera, an award-winning crypto wallet funding service where he was co-founder and CEO. He started his career as a software engineer and product manager, before joining the Boston Consulting Group where he advised executives throughout the financial services industry on top strategic priorities.

Over the past 11 years, Kraken has evolved from a bitcoin exchange into a diverse crypto platform. Products include an extensive suite of trading tools and educational resources, industry-leading staking services, futures trading and an OTC desk. Kraken will soon launch its own NFT marketplace.

To learn more, please visit kraken.com.

About Kraken

Kraken is one of the world’s largest digital asset platforms and the leader in euro volume and liquidity. Globally, Kraken’s client base trades more than 185 digital assets and 8 different fiat currencies, including GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, JPY, CHF, AUD and AED.

Kraken was founded in 2011 and was one of the first exchanges to offer spot trading with margin, regulated derivatives and index services. Kraken is trusted by well over 10 million clients and institutions around the world and offers professional, around-the-clock online support.

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