Not hiding his anger at recent events, Jesse Powell, founder and former CEO of the exchange Kraken, took to Twitter to implicitly call Sam Bankman-Fried a “clown” and a “fraud”. According to him, it is important to detect this kind of player in the ecosystem faster in the future in order to “protect cryptocurrencies”.
Jesse Powell speaks out on the chaos around
Known as one of the leading proponents of the financial freedom philosophy inherent in Bitcoin (BTC), Jesse Powell, the former CEO of the Kraken exchange, has lashed out at those responsible for the current situation.
Without explicitly naming FTX or Sam Bankman-Fried, Jesse Powell took the opportunity to group together all those he considers to be malicious actors in the ecosystem, claiming that the current situation is a recipe for anti-crypto:
The implosion of an exchange of this magnitude is a gift to anti-Bitcoin everywhere. It is the excuse they have been waiting for to justify the attack they have been keeping in their back pocket. We will spend years undoing this. “
In this long thread, the Kraken founder does not mince words about this category of individuals, going so far as to call them “clowns” or “crooks”.
This isn’t about aiming high and missing. This is about recklessness, greed, self-interest, hubris, sociopathic behavior that causes a person to risk all the hard-won progress this industry has earned over a decade, for their own personal gain. While already being rich AF.
– Jesse Powell (@jespow) November 10, 2022
“It’s not about aiming high and missing. It’s about recklessness, greed, self-interest, hubris, sociopathic behaviour that causes a person to risk all the hard-won progress this industry has made over the past decade for their own benefit. While already being very rich. “
Kraken’s founder is pessimistic about the future, saying that “the contagion will spread” and that other companies should expect to suffer a domino effect from FTX’s collapse. This scenario is reminiscent of the collapse of Terra (LUNA) and the fallout from it, particularly in relation to Three Arrows Capital (3AC) and Voyager Digital.
A predictable situation
According to Jesse Powell, certain signs should have alerted us to “who Sam Bankman-Fried really was”, such as “9-figure spending on political favours” (FTX was the 3rd largest donor to the Democratic Party during the last American elections behind the Uline company and Hungarian financier George Soros).
He also mentions “excessive ego-buying, such as nine-figure sports contracts”, or Sam Bankman-Fried’s tendency to show off his billionaire philanthropist profile, which the Kraken founder describes as “ostentatious virtue”.
Beyond FTX or Sam Bankman-Fried, Jesse Powell also points the finger at various investment funds, the media or experts who have ruined their reputation by “vouching for individuals, projects and companies that they did not control”. He adds:
“I know for a fact that venture capitalists were writing checks blindly. Why? Because the revenues were high. Were they sustainable? Were they losing money on the other side? [Never asked. “
However, the former Kraken CEO ends on a hopeful note, particularly for those aggrieved by the recent cases:
“I pray for all those who have been caught up in this mess. I hope this does not turn you away from cryptocurrencies. I hope you take care of yourself and continue to be a part of this community. These are growing pains. Money can be made again. Stay with me.”
