Kraken CEO Jesse Powell Says Regulators Support the Bad Guys in Crypto

Earlier this month, crypto exchange Kraken made a $30 million settlement with the SEC and had to shut down its crypto staking feature post the regulatory crackdown.

Kraken CEO Jesse Powell has once again come out lasing at the regulators noting that they have been supporting the bad guys in crypto while treating the good guys as enemies. “Regulators let the bad guys get big and blow up because it serves their agenda,” he wrote.

Powell explained the sequence of events wherein the bad guys’ blowups lead to massive capital/resource destruction within the crypto ecosystem. This causes investors to burn their money and deter adoptions as a result. Ultimately, it gives “air cover” to the regulators to attack good actors. In his recent tweet, Powell writes:

The bad guys are actually on-side. Good guys are the enemy. If the bad guys can run long enough without blowing up, they might just kill the good guys for you. Bad guys operate with huge competitive advantages. They suck up users, revenue and venture capital that would otherwise have gone to good guys. BG can always be jailed later.

Kraken CEO noted that regulators have been ignoring their warnings about scams and fraud. Custodian Bank CEO Caitlin Long has also shared Powell’s views on the matter.

Furthermore, crypto-friendly SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce also said that SEC’s shutting down of Kraken’s staking services sets up a wrong precedence in the market.

Gemini Chief Echoes Kraken CEO’s Comments

Popular personalities in the crypto space have been calling out the lack of regulatory clarity in the US and the West. This has been the major reason for rout among crypto firms operating in the region. Gemini exchange CEO Cameron Winklevoss has echoed the comments of Jesse Powell.

In his recent tweets, he said that the West will lose the game to the East while adding that the next bull run will start in the East. Cameron said that it would be a humbling reminder to the West, especially the US, that crypto can’t be stopped. He added:

Any government that doesn’t offer clear rules and sincere guidance will be left in the dust. Quickly. This will mean missing out on the greatest period of growth since the rise of the commercial Internet.

Cameron Winklevoss said that the West could miss out on shaping the foundational part of the future of global financial infrastructure.