Kraken Co-Founder under FBI Investigation Unrelated to His Conduct in Crypto

The FBI searched Jesse Powell's home in March, who is the co-founder and former CEO of Kraken, New York Times reports. His lawyers then confirmed that Powell was under FBI investigation, but said it was "in no way related to Mr. Powell's employment or his conduct in the cryptocurrency arena", and Powell "did nothing wrong".

The investigation is due to allegations that Powell hacked and cyber-stalked a nonprofit that he founded. According to people familiar with the matter, Powell had interfered with the nonprofit's computer accounts, blocking access to emails and other messages. The FBI and the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of California have been looking into Powell since at least last fall.

A Kraken spokesperson said that FBI's investigation on Powell had nothing to do with the exchange, and Kraken had no reason to believe that prosecutors were investigating other potential issues.

Powell announced his resignation from Kraken CEO last September. After the news that he was being investigated came out, the crypto community showed concerns for him. But he replied on Twitter, "D4 dropped. What am I supposed to do? Werebear is busy crushing demons."

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