After accusing the city of failing to ensure public safety, Kraken’s CEO chose to close the company’s headquarters in San Francisco.
Kraken’s CEO, Jesse Powell, announced in a statement that the company’s main office in San Francisco has been closed “after many employees were attacked, harassed, and robbed on their route to and from the office.” The declaration was initially made public via a tweet by Richie Greenberg, a political journalist located in San Francisco. Since then, it has sparked a lot of discussion on Twitter about the security issue in the city where many crypto startups are situated.
San Francisco’s problems with public safety, crime, homelessness, and drug misuse, according to Powell, are completely “underreported” because “it is so commonplace.” Powell believes the fundamental issue is that District Attorney Chesa Boudin has not done enough to criminalize and punish lawbreakers.
Coinbase announced that its headquarters in San Francisco might close by 2022, prompting Kraken’s decision. The decision was made last year as part of the company’s commitment to a decentralised workplace, which means that no headquarters were designated to a specific site. Binance, Coinbase’s main competitor, follows this method as well, having functioned as a remote global firm since its inception.
The CEO has been outspoken about his socio-political beliefs on Twitter, despite receiving backlash. Powell was outspoken in his criticism of Canada’s response to the Freedom Convoy demonstration, particularly the government’s determination to collect all cryptocurrency donations as illicit funds.
Read more: Kraken exchange now supports Bitcoin’s Lightning Network
