Jesse Powell (entrepreneur)

Powell began his career in the tech industry, working for companies like Lewtan Technologies and BladeLogic. He is also the founder, and was a board member of Verge Center for the Arts, a nonprofit offering artist studios, a classroom, a print lab, and a contemporary gallery.

In September 2023, Verge, the Sacramento non-profitnonprofit arts organization established by Powell in 2007, removed him from its board of directors. This was done after claims of organization guideline violations, and failure to attend meetings. In March 2023, the FBI searched Powell's home in Brentwood, California, as a part of the ongoing investigation for allegedly cyber-stalking the art organization.

Powell was also reportedly seen debating topics on race and gender, which made his employees uncomfortable. In November 2023, Verge’s lawyer, Phillip Cunningham, sent correspondence to Kraken stating that Powell blocked the non-profitnonprofit's access to its email system, website, and internal messaging system following his removal from the board of directors. The letter also claimed that Powell immorally accessed confidential information kept in those accounts. After Powell stepped down from the CEO position, he retained the title of Chairman. The company’s leadership was then taken over by Dave Ripley, Kraken’s chief operating officer.

Powell began his career in the tech industry, working for companies like Lewtan Technologies and BladeLogic. He is also the founder, and was a board member of Verge Center for the Arts, a nonprofit offering artist studios, a classroom, a print lab, and a contemporary gallery.

In 2001, he cofounded Lewt, Inc., a company providing services for virtual worlds and MMORPGs: currency, items, power leveling, accounts, and characters. In 2011, Powell began mining Bitcoin and became involved in the Bitcoin community, serving as a consultant for Mt Gox. He was also the CEO of Kraken before being replaced in 2022 by COO Dave Ripley. He then became chairman of the board. In 2018, he founded CF Benchmarks Ltd., a digital asset index provider authorized and regulated by the UK FCA. in 2019, Benchmarks was acquired by Kraken.

In 2018, he founded CF Benchmarks Ltd., a digital asset index provider authorized and regulated by the UK FCA. in 2019, Benchmarks was acquired by Kraken.

In September 2023, Verge, the Sacramento non-profit arts organization established by Powell in 2007, removed him from its board of directors. This was done after claims of organization guideline violations, and failure to attend meetings. In March 2023, the FBI searched Powell's home in Brentwood, California as a part of the ongoing investigation for allegedly cyber-stalking the art organization.

Powell was also reportedly seen debating topics on race and gender which made his employees uncomfortable. In November 2023, Verge’s lawyer, Phillip Cunningham sent correspondence to Kraken stating that Powell blocked the non-profit's access to its email system, website, and internal messaging system following his removal from the board of directors. The letter also claimed that Powell immorally accessed confidential information kept in those accounts. After Powell stepped down from the CEO position, he retained the title of Chairman. The company’s leadership was then taken over by Dave Ripley, Kraken’s chief operating officer.

Jesse Powell is an American entrepreneur born in 1979 in California. He studied philosophy of law and ethics at California State University, East Bay, but dropped out before graduating. Powell then worked as a software engineer before cofounding Kraken exchange in 2011 withand ThanhCF LuuBenchmarks Ltd in 2018.

In 2001, he cofounded Lewt, Inc., a company providing services for virtual worlds and MMORPGs: currency, items, power leveling, accounts, and characters. In 2011, Powell began mining Bitcoin and became involved in the Bitcoin community, serving as a consultant for Mt Gox. He was also the CEO of Kraken before being replaced in 2022 by COO Dave Ripley. He then became chairman of the board. In 2018, he founded CF Benchmarks Ltd., a digital asset index provider authorized and regulated by the UK FCA. in 2019, Benchmarks was acquired by Kraken.

Jesse Powell is an American enterpreneurentrepreneur born in 1979 in California. He studied Philosophyphilosophy of Lawlaw and Ethics,ethics at California State University, East Bay, but dropped out before graduating. Powell then worked as a software engineer before co-foundingcofounding Kraken exchange Inin 2011 with Thanh Luu.

Powell began his career in the tech industry, working for companies like Lewtan Technologies and BladeLogic. He is also the founder and board member of Verge Center for the ArtsVerge Center for the Arts, a non-profitnonprofit offering artist studios, a classroom, a print lab, and a contemporary gallery.

In 2001, he co-foundedcofounded Lewt, Inc., a company providing services for virtual worlds and MMORPGs: currency, items, power leveling, accounts, and characters. In 2011, Powell began mining Bitcoin and became involved in the Bitcoin community, serving as a consultant for Mt Gox. He was also the CEO of Kraken, before being replaced in 2022 by COO Dave Ripley. He then became chairman of the board.

Jesse Powell is an American enterpreneur born in 1979 in California. He studied Philosophy of Law and Ethics, at California State University, East Bay, but dropped out before graduating. Powell then worked as a software engineer before co-founding Kraken exchange In 2011 with Thanh Luu. He was also the CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange.

In 2001, he co-founded Lewt, Inc., a company providing services for virtual worlds and MMORPGs: currency, items, power leveling, accounts and characters. In 2011, Powell began mining Bitcoin and became involved in the Bitcoin community, serving as a consultant for Mt Gox. He was also the CEO of Kraken, before being replaced in 2022 by COO Dave Ripley. He then became chairman of the board.

Jesse Powell is an American enterpreneur born in 1979 in California. He studied computerPhilosophy of Law and scienceEthics, at California State University, East Bay, but dropped out before graduating. Powell then worked as a software engineer before co-founding Kraken exchange In 2011 with Thanh Luu. He iswas also the CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange.

Powell also studied music at California State University, Sacramento. He began his career in the tech industry, working for companies like Lewtan Technologies and BladeLogic. He is also the founder and board member of Verge Center for the Arts, a non-profit offering artist studios, a classroom, a print lab and a contemporary gallery.

In 2001, he co-founded, CEO Lewt, Inc.Lewt, Inc. Oct 2001 - Jul 2011 · 9 yrs 10 mos. Lewt offers services for virtual worlds and MMORPGs: currency, items, power leveling, accounts and characters. Founder, CEOVerge Gallery & Studio Project, Jun 2007 - Mar 2010 · 2 yrs 10 mos. Verge Gallery is Sacramento's largest commercial fine art gallery, featuring contemporary works from around the world.

In 2001, he co-founded Lewt, Inc., a company providing services for virtual worlds and MMORPGs: currency, items, power leveling, accounts and characters. In 2011, Powell began mining Bitcoin and became involved in the Bitcoin community, serving as a consultant for Mt Gox.

Jesse Powell is an American enterpreneur born in 1979 in California. He studied computer science at California State University, East Bay. Powell then worked as a software engineer before co-founding Kraken exchange In 2011 with Thanh Luu. He is also the CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange.

Powell also studied music at California State University, Sacramento. He began his career in the tech industry, working for companies like Lewtan Technologies and BladeLogic. He is also the founder and board member of Verge Center for the Arts, a non-profit offering artist studios, a classroom, a print lab and a contemporary gallery.

In 2001, he co-founded, CEO Lewt, Inc.Lewt, Inc. Oct 2001 - Jul 2011 · 9 yrs 10 mos. Lewt offers services for virtual worlds and MMORPGs: currency, items, power leveling, accounts and characters. Founder, CEOVerge Gallery & Studio Project, Jun 2007 - Mar 2010 · 2 yrs 10 mos. Verge Gallery is Sacramento's largest commercial fine art gallery, featuring contemporary works from around the world.

Jesse Powell, a California State University graduate, got an early start with digital currencies in 2001 when he founded a firm assisting players in online games with account management and in-game currencies. In 2007, he founded the Verge Gallery and Studio Project, which he ran until 2010 as Sacramento's largest contemporary commercial art gallery at the time. All the while, his interest in Bitcoin grew.

After visiting Mt. Gox following its 2011 security breach, he began developing Kraken as a replacement in the event that Mt. Gox closed. Kraken was finally launched in 2013 — the year prior to Mt. Gox’s shutdown — by Powell, who was a regular at San Francisco crypto meetups that year alongside other pioneers including Jed McCaleb of Mt. Gox and Ripple and Brian Armstrong of Coinbase.

Powell has long been a strong proponent of cryptocurrency adoption and a vehement critic of attempts to overregulate the sector, making a number of scathing public statements about efforts by the attorney general of New York to crack down on crypto.

Co-Founder, CEO

Kraken Exchange

Aug 2011 – present time

San Francisco, CA

Founder, Board Member

Verge Center for the Arts

Apr 2010 – present time

Co-Founder, CEO

Internet Ventures & Holdings

July 2006 -July 2011

Co-Founder, CEO

Lewt, Inc.Lewt, Inc.

Oct 2001 - July 2011

Founder, CEO

Verge Gallery & Studio Project

June 2007 - March 2010

Jesse Powell invested in Ripple on Oct 2, 2012. This investment - Seed Round - Ripple - was valued at $200K.

Powell piloted Kraken toward record trading volumes in 2020 and oversaw the exchange’s international expansion strategy as it reentered the Japanese market after a two-year absence and launched in Australia. Powell was vocal about his skepticism toward United States monetary policy during the pandemic, and like many Bitcoiners, he believes that money-printing underscores the need for hard digital currency.

In September, Powell led the push for Kraken to become the first digital-asset company to receive a U.S. bank charter recognized under federal and state law. This made mainstream headlines, with the exchange granted permission to become the first special purpose depository institution to provide comprehensive deposit-taking, custody and services for digital assets. “That’s like the holy grail,” Powell remarked.

A decade after he founded Kraken, in 2021, Powell will continue to pioneer the crypto space. In the first quarter of the year, he’ll oversee the launch of the Kraken Bank in Cheyenne, Wyoming, a turning point in the integration of crypto with mainstream finance that will put traditional banks to shame with its 100% backing.

Powell has shown himself to be highly adaptable in a fast-changing industry, and Cointelegraph expects to see Kraken move deeper into DeFi with more staking and earning opportunities on the exchange in addition to further integrations with decentralized protocols. “I think DeFi is the way of the future, and we’re investing in that,” Powell said in December. He has a year of evolution mapped out for Kraken, with an overhaul of its web and mobile interfaces coming, along with new fiat on-ramps and the integration of Lightning Network payments.

Powell is an active cryptocurrency advocate. He believes that cryptocurrency – particularly Bitcoin – will become more valuable over time.

On March 4, 2021, Powell told Bloomberg TV that Bitcoin “is going to infinity”, adding that humanity may soon give up using US dollars.

Later, on March 31, Powell told Bloomberg Crypto that Bitcoin could be worth millions of dollars by 2022.

Powell also addressed his earlier statements that Bitcoin is going to infinity:

I think I said bitcoin is going to infinity and that’s kind of hard to comprehend because I’m measuring it in terms of dollars. I think those kinds of assets are easier to measure bitcoin against because you never know where the dollar is going to be. There could be 10 times as many U.S. dollars out there a year from now, so it’s really hard to measure bitcoin against the dollar.

Powell is also an opponent of crypto regulation. According to CNBC, he thinks that regulation “could really hurt crypto and kind of kill the original use case, which was to just make financial services accessible to everyone.”

There is no confirmed information about Jesse Powell’s net worth online.

In April 2019, Dirt reported that Powell had purchased a mansion in Mandeville Canyon, Los Angeles, for $11.5 million – “all of it in cash.”

Jesse Powell is active on Twitter. He is also present on LinkedIn.