Kraken Crypto Exchange plans to open its own bank

[ad_1]

Kraken, one of the most popular crypto exchanges in the United States, is reportedly planning to launch its own bank. The news comes in a difficult regulatory environment.

Kraken’s Chief Legal Officer, Marco Santori, said, “Kraken Bank is about to launch, very soon.

The development comes amid a tumultuous time for the crypto industry, which is still grappling with the deep fallout from the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. There have been several enforcement actions in recent weeks, increasing regulatory uncertainty, particularly in the United States.

Kraken under growing scrutiny

The company recently slipped under the radar of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with the regulator examining whether the exchange offered unregistered securities to US clients.

Securities are considered higher risk because they are not subject to the same level of regulatory oversight as other financial instruments. Dave Ripley, Kraken’s new CEO, has refused to register with the SEC despite calls from Chairman Gary Gensler to do so. Binance, the largest crypto exchange, has also suffered repercussions in the trading of unregistered securities.

The exchange declined to discuss the SEC settlement, but said staking accounted for a small percentage of its revenue. Kraken neither admits nor denies any of the allegations in the Complaint.

On March 1, Kraken announced that it would no longer use the crypto-focused Signature Bank. Kraken non-commercial customers will no longer be able to deposit or withdraw US dollars using Signature. The deposit function will be removed on March 15 and the withdrawal function will end on March 30.

Kraken is currently the third largest crypto exchange by volume on CoinMarketCap. The ongoing investigation by regulators does not bode well for the industry. Kraken recently settled a case with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over sanctions violations and paid $362,000.

Disclaimer

BeInCrypto has reached out to a company or individual involved in the story for an official statement on recent developments, but has yet to receive a response.

[ad_2]