Jesse Powell is the co-founder and chairman of Kraken, one of the longest-running cryptocurrency exchanges. According to CoinDesk, its parent company, Payward, has been valued at between $13 billion and $20 billion as it prepares for a possible US IPO. Powell stepped down as CEO in September 2022 and remains the company’s largest individual shareholder, CoinDesk reported. He has also been a vocal critic of cryptocurrency regulation, according to CNBC.
Who Is Jesse Powell?
Public profiles place Powell’s birth in Sacramento, California, in the late 1970s, though neither Kraken’s materials nor his directory entry on CryptoSlate lists a specific date. His education is documented: philosophy with a concentration in ethics and law at California State University, Sacramento.
Before crypto, Powell spent a decade in online gaming, co-founding Lewt, Inc. in 2001 to sell virtual currency and items to online game players, and running it as CEO until 2011, alongside a second venture, Internet Ventures & Holdings (2006-2011), according to CryptoSlate.
The turning point came that same year, when Powell traveled to help Mt. Gox recover from a hacking incident. According to The Block, what he saw convinced him the exchange’s security could not be trusted, and its 2014 collapse proved the concern justified.
Jesse Powell’s Career and Contributions
According to The Block, Powell traveled to help Mt. Gox recover from a hacking incident in 2011, and what he found convinced him the exchange’s security could not be trusted. Mt. Gox’s collapse in 2014 later validated that assessment.
Powell co-founded Kraken in San Francisco that same year with Thanh Luu and Michael Gronager, a founding story told alongside other exchange leaders on our crypto personalities page, and the exchange launched in 2013 positioning itself as a more secure alternative, according to The Block.
In September 2020, Kraken became the first cryptocurrency company to receive a US bank charter, after Wyoming approved its depository institution application, CoinDesk reported. In September 2022, Powell stepped down as CEO after eleven years, handing the role to COO Dave Ripley and becoming chairman and Kraken’s largest shareholder, as described by CoinDesk.
The chairman years have stayed active. Kraken settled with the SEC in 2023 over its staking program for $30 million, before the regulator dropped a broader lawsuit in March 2025 amid a wider retreat from crypto enforcement, CoinDesk reported.
That cleared the way for Payward’s confidential US IPO filing in November 2025, at a reported $20 billion valuation that slipped to $13.3 billion by April 2026, according to CoinDesk. Payward continued expanding, closing a $1.5 billion NinjaTrader deal and cutting 150 jobs in May 2026 to streamline for a listing, CoinDesk published.
Jesse Powell’s Views and Positions
Powell has long argued that heavy-handed rules threaten the reason Bitcoin and crypto exist. Speaking with CNBC in April 2021, he said, “I think there could be some crackdown,” warning that a proposed rule requiring identity checks on wallet transfers above $3,000 could undercut crypto’s promise of accessible finance.
That skepticism carried into how he ran Kraken. By his own account, he viewed the 2022 internal culture document, which set out libertarian-leaning workplace values and offered severance to employees who disagreed, as one of the defining moments of his tenure.
Jesse Powell in the News
In July 2025, federal prosecutors closed a two-year criminal investigation into Powell without filing charges, ending a case that began after the Verge Center for the Arts, a Sacramento nonprofit he had co-founded and later left, accused him of hacking its computer systems.
The FBI had searched Powell’s Los Angeles home in 2023 and seized devices as part of the probe. According to CoinDesk, his attorney confirmed the case closed that April, with the devices returned. Powell called the raid “devastating both personally and professionally” and has since sued Verge’s board over what he calls false statements to investigators.
Frequently Asked Questions
Need a refresher on Jesse Powell? Here are the questions readers most often ask about him.
What companies did Jesse Powell found before Kraken?
Powell co-founded Lewt, Inc. in 2001, which sold virtual currency and items to online game players, running it as CEO for a decade. He also led Internet Ventures & Holdings from 2006 to 2011.
Did the FBI charge Jesse Powell with a crime?
No. Federal prosecutors closed a two-year investigation in April 2025 without filing charges, following allegations that he had hacked the Verge Center for the Arts’s computer systems. Powell denies the allegations and is suing the nonprofit’s board.
Is Jesse Powell still Kraken’s chairman in 2026?
Yes. Powell stepped down as CEO in September 2022 but remains chairman and Kraken’s largest shareholder as Payward, Inc. moves toward a planned listing.
Is Kraken still planning an IPO in 2026?
As of mid-2026, Payward has a confidential S-1 filing with the SEC, submitted in November 2025, and is still preparing to list despite its valuation dropping from $20 billion to $13.3 billion earlier in the year.
