Kraken Co-Founder Comments on Binance Settlement: Game Becomes Fairer, Suggests Crypto Industry Self-Regulation

Jesse Powell, co-founder of crypto exchange Kraken, said that Kraken is “playing the long game” despite the U.S. Department of Justice’s historic criminal settlement with Binance and the SEC’s just-filed new lawsuit against Kraken. Powell said in an article that the game feels "fairer" as Binance pays a $4.3 billion fine. He mentioned two major issues within the industry in the past 12 months: the reasons for the rapid growth of the industry and the issue of how to escape law enforcement. Powell pointed out that facing new threats to the reputation of the industry, he believed that every bad operation is an opportunity for the government to find trouble for cryptocurrencies. He called on the industry to self-regulate because timely protection cannot be counted on. Powell also mentioned Coinbase and Ripple in the article, saying that they have become "easy targets" for the SEC along with Kraken. Previously, the SEC had accused Kraken’s parent company of offering unregistered crypto asset equity reward service plans, and eventually settled the charge by paying a $30 million settlement. Powell said this was just the beginning of another blackmail by the SEC, emphasizing that the $30 million could only last about 10 months. He advised crypto companies that cannot afford costly legal battles to leave the United States. (The Block)