People

Jesse Powell

Jesse Powell

Formal First Name
Jesse

Jesse Powell is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kraken Exchange. With over 15 years of experience in the virtual currency and gaming industries, Powell has long been a strong proponent of cryptocurrency adoption and a strong critic of attempts to regulate crypto. He has been involved in numerous controversies within the cryptocurrency space over the years. Powell is best known for refusing a probe from the New York Attorney General and rejecting the state’s BitLicense framework for cryptocurrency business operating in the state.

Professional Experience


Academic History

  • Powell has been involved in the digital currency space since 2001.
  • He founded Lewt, a company that assisted players in online-based video games with account management and in-game currency.
  • He also launched Internet Ventures & Holdings, which also provided services to the online gaming community.
  • He has made multiple strong public statements responding to attempts by the New York Attorney General's office's attempts to regulate, or acquire operational data about Kraken.
  • When the Mt. Gox site went down due to hacking attacks, Powell and Roger Ver traveled to Tokyo to assist Mark Karpelès in bringing the site back online.
  • He has appeared as a guest on Real Vision.