- Hundreds have been let go over the past few months, report says.
- Kraken moved into stock trading this week.
Kraken, which appears to be preparing for an initial public offering, is getting leaner.
The second-biggest US crypto exchange is making “the difficult decision” to eliminate jobs and consolidate teams as part of a reorganisation, a company spokesperson told DL News.
“We’re approaching this with discipline and intention,” the media rep said Friday, “making the difficult decision to eliminate certain roles and consolidate teams where redundancies exist, while continuing to hire in key areas of the business.”
According to CoinDesk, which first reported the news, Kraken is preparing “hundreds” of layoffs from its 2,000-plus person workforce.
Kraken, which was founded in 2011 by Chairman Jesse Powell and two co-founders, hasn’t confirmed an IPO.
“We’ll pursue public markets as it makes sense for our clients, our partners and shareholders,” the spokesperson told DL News.
This week, the San Francisco based company, which handles about $1 billion in daily trading volume and has 15 million customers, made a major strategic play by moving into stock trading.
Pro-crypto policies
Kraken now offers zero-commission trading in 11,000 equities and exchange-traded funds on its platform, which puts it in direct competition with Robinhood, the online brokerage giant.
With Robinhood pushing hard into crypto trading, Kraken’s move underscores the blurring of crypto and traditional securities.
The Trump administration’s pro-crypto policies have stoked Kraken’s fortunes.
“It de-risks our existing business,” Shannon Kurtas, a senior director at Kraken, told DL News in February. “But having regulatory clarity means more competition in the medium term from larger traditional venues, exchanges, and counterparties.”
Andrew Flanagan is a markets correspondent for DL News. Have a tip? Reach out to aflanagan@dlnews.com.
