![\"Kraken](\"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/kraken-ceo-regulators-768x432.jpg\")
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The CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, Jesse Powell, says U.S. regulators \u201clet the bad guys get big and blow up because it serves their agenda.\u201d The executive explained: \u201cBad guys operate with huge competitive advantages. They suck up users, revenue, and venture capital that would otherwise have gone to good guys.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n The chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, Jesse Powell, took to Twitter Sunday to express his opinion regarding crypto regulation in the United States. The executive began:<\/p>\n I have a theory: Regulators let the bad guys get big and blow up because it serves their agenda.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Powell proceeded to name three goals he believes regulators are trying to achieve. The first is to \u201cdestroy capital\/resources in [the] crypto ecosystem,\u201d he wrote. The second is to \u201cburn people, [and] deter adoption,\u201d he continued, adding that the third is to \u201cgive air cover to attack good actors.\u201d<\/p>\n The Kraken boss asserted that for regulators: \u201cThe bad guys are actually on-side. Good guys are the enemy.\u201d However, he stressed: \u201cIf the bad guys can run long enough without blowing up, they might just kill the good guys for you.\u201d Noting that bad guys \u201ccan always be jailed later,\u201d Powell warned:<\/p>\n Bad guys operate with huge competitive advantages. They suck up users, revenue and venture capital that would otherwise have gone to good guys.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In another tweet, Powell commented on how regulators often seek more funding from Congress in order to regulate the crypto sector more effectively. \u201cFunding is the obvious scapegoat. \u2018If we had a bigger budget, we could have caught it.\u2019 The facts don\u2019t support that but, rather than impose real consequences for failure, we reward with bigger budgets. The glory is all in disaster response, so politicians manufacture disasters,\u201d he opined.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took action against Kraken over its staking program. The crypto exchange settled<\/a> with the SEC, closed down its staking program for U.S. customers, and agreed to pay $30 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.<\/p>\n Powell also recently expressed his frustration regarding how regulators ignored his warning about illegal activity in the crypto space and then slapped his exchange with enforcement action. Without specifically mentioning the collapsed crypto exchange FTX, the Kraken chief tweeted Friday:<\/p>\n I can\u2019t tell you how infuriating it is to have pointed out massive red flags and obviously illegal activity to regulators only to have them ignore the issues for years. \u2018They\u2019re offshore. It\u2019s complicated. We\u2019re looking at everybody.\u2019 FOR YEARS. Then to be used as their example.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nKraken\u2019s CEO Has a Theory on U.S. Crypto Regulation<\/h2>\n
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