Kraken cutting 'hundreds' of jobs to streamline business ahead of IPO, sources say

Kraken cutting 'hundreds' of jobs to streamline business ahead of IPO, sources say

A Kraken spokesperson said the company is “making the difficult decision to eliminate some roles and consolidate teams where there is redundancy, while continuing to hire in key areas of the business.”

Author: Ian Allison | Edited by: Nikhilesh De Updated: April 17, 2025, 7:10 PM Published: April 17, 2025, 7:05 PM

Key facts:

• Kraken has laid off “hundreds” of workers across all divisions in recent months as it continues to streamline its operations ahead of a possible U.S. public offering, people familiar with the matter told CoinDesk.
• In late October last year, Kraken laid off 400 employees, representing about 15% of its workforce, when Silicon Valley investor and Kraken board member Arjun Sethi became co-CEO.

Cryptocurrency trading giant Kraken has laid off hundreds of workers across multiple areas in recent months as it continues to streamline its operations ahead of an expected U.S. public offering, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Kraken reportedly laid off 400 employees, roughly 15% of its workforce, in late October last year when Silicon Valley investor and Kraken board member Arjun Sethi became co-CEO alongside David Ripley, who took over the helm following the resignation of previous CEO Jesse Powell in 2023.

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Since Sethi's appointment as co-CEO, “hundreds more people have left,” a person familiar with the matter said, pointing to an ongoing program of layoffs on top of the 15 percent cuts at the end of last year.

“They are aggressively cutting across the board, and it's an ongoing, continuous process. It's about improving Kraken's EBITA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization],” the source added.

When the CEO position was split last year, Sethi and Ripley wrote in a blog post that they needed to remove the “organizational clutter” that had built up at Kraken and make the business “leaner and more agile.”

Several crypto companies are currently preparing for initial public offerings (IPOs) this year or early next year. Kraken is also looking to boost revenue by acquiring companies like derivatives platform Ninja Trader and recently announced the addition of stock trading.

“Kraken’s business is thriving. We are launching more new products than ever before, delivering strong revenue growth and rapidly expanding our entire product portfolio, including through our agreement to acquire NinjaTrader announced earlier this year,” a Kraken spokesperson told CoinDesk.

“At the same time, we continually evaluate our workforce to ensure it is aligned with our strategic priorities. We are approaching this with discipline and purpose, making the difficult decision to eliminate certain positions and consolidate teams where there is redundancy, while continuing to hire in key areas of the business,” a Kraken spokesperson said.

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