Kraken confirms launch of its own bank

The cryptocurrency exchange Kraken will open its own bank very soon, despite regulatory troubles in the United States. The Block reports.

“Kraken Bank is on track to launch […]. We will have these pens with small ball-chain attachments. We will order thousands of them and attach them to the desks of Wall Street banks everywhere. With our logo,” said the company’s chief legal officer Marco Santori.

According to him, recent events in the crypto-banking space point to an “unfavourable climate in the United States.” He pointed to the situation with Silvergate Bank, which had to close its payment network SEN due to the high risks to customers.

The lawyer warned that excessive caution in the banking sector could “stifle future innovations.”

“We are returning to an era when banks will be very cautious about the accounts they open. Wall Street will be fine. Kraken and Coinbase will be fine. But for people with new ideas to improve the infrastructure of the crypto economy, the next few years will be a very difficult path,” added Santori.

A Kraken spokesperson also said that Kraken’s ties in the financial sector have always been sound, and pointed to a “diversified group of banks around the world.”

Earlier it emerged that the company faced accusations from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The regulator’s attention was drawn to the exchange’s “unregistered” staking program.

In February, Kraken agreed to pay $30 million as part of settling the dispute with the SEC.

Santori noted that this situation will have a very significant impact on the exchange’s product range in the United States. In his view, the current regulatory framework forces users to use less secure offshore exchanges.

Earlier in 2023, Kraken decided to exit the Japanese market.