This week, a casual IPO poll from Ripple CTO David Schwartz took an unexpected turn when one user seized the opportunity to renew a familiar accusation: that Kraken’s cofounder, Jesse Powell, has long held a negative view of Ripple and XRP. Schwartz was not having it. In his opinion, Powell’s stance has always been more nuanced.
This comment prompted closer scrutiny of Powell’s XRP history, revealing that the relationship is far from straightforward. Powell has been vocal about the legal ambiguity surrounding XRP for years, often pointing out how its early ties to Ripple Labs (then OpenCoin) could create complications for regulators.
However, his tone has not been one of disdain but rather one of caution layered with technical nuance.
In one notable thread, he argued that if XRP were found to be a security, exchanges such as Kraken could be held liable, even if they operated in good faith. He described this as an “asymmetrical risk” that made listing decisions difficult.
Later, when Kraken suspended XRP trading for U.S. customers, Powell made it clear that it was a business decision, not a personal one, describing the legal uncertainty as “too risky from a business perspective.”
Kraken aims for $15 billion IPO
Now, that debate is resurfacing just as Kraken reenters IPO territory. The company is reportedly raising $100 million ahead of a potential public listing, aiming for a valuation of over $15 billion. The funding round is expected to close by the end of the year and, if successful, would revive IPO plans that were shelved after Coinbase’s turbulent debut.
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Kraken remains one of the world’s most active exchanges, posting over $1.37 billion in daily trading volume and supporting more than 1,100 trading pairs.
