Kraken has announced the hiring of a new co-CEO to step in and join its existing CEO. However, numerous layoffs are expected to occur.
Big-name crypto exchange Kraken has hired a new co-CEO, Arjun Sethi, who will begin his role alongside numerous layoffs. Sethi is also a co-founder and chairman for Tribe Capital, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, and will join current Kraken CEO David Ripley in steering the firm.
The news of Sethi’s hiring was accompanied by Kraken mentioning that there would be a shakeup in the firm’s managerial layer, followed by unconfirmed reports of the exchange in the process of laying off 15% of its workforce.
Kraken’s blog post announced changes coming to the firm with its new co-CEO’s arrival. “To continue forging our path ahead and put Kraken in contention to become the largest crypto platform in the world, we need to be leaner and faster,” it read. The blog also mentioned Kraken falling “into the trap of building organizational layers.”
“We need to make sure our top contributors are focused on building rather than managing,” it continued. “This means we give more power to our leaders to build best-in-class products, leverage data to make decisions that are best for our clients, and make engineering, product and design teams all feel more accountable for results.”
The exchange also stated that it understood this is not an easy decision to make, and it would help those let go to make it through this transitional phase. Still, it said that bringing the best utility is what mattered most to it.
“We are using all of our capital to continue building a bridge from the old world to the new — meeting people where they are — simplifying, increasing accessibility and expanding the use cases for crypto for people around the world.”
Layoffs Beyond Managerial Trimming Might Also Be Occurring
While the blog mentioned no numbers of how many managers would lose their jobs or if anyone from the rest of its workforce would be impacted, New York Times journalist Mike Isaac reported massive layoffs were expected. “(K)raken just cut 15% of its workforce, per two people inside,” he posted on X.
Later, New York Times published an article confirming the workforce layoff and mentioning that about 400 employees were let go. Two of the exchange’s leads, the chief operating officer, Gilles BianRosa, and the chief technology officer, Vishnu Patankar, were also let go.
