Highlights:
- Kraken has elicited a workforce overhaul that involved laying off some workers and promoting some.
- Arjun Sethi became a co-CEO at Kraken as the exchange seeks new heights in the global market.
- The co-CEOs spoke on eliminating layers while urging team leads to focus more on building than management.
United States-based crypto exchange Kraken has overhauled its workforce. According to a reputable publication firm domiciled in the United States, the restructuring process entails sacking 15% of the exchange’s employee pool and announcing a new Chief Executive Officer.
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Following the reorganization plans, Kraken’s 2,600 employees dropped as 400 workers lost their jobs with the trading platform. The unfortunate incident did not spare top executives in the exchange outlet. Two of the victims include Gilles BianRosa and Vishnu Patankar. Respectively, both were former Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Kraken.
Kraken, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, on Wednesday announced the layoff of 15 percent of its workers, a corporate restructuring and the appointment of a new co-chief executive. The cuts amounted to about 400 of the company’s roughly 2,600 employees. They…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) October 30, 2024
Moreover, on the flip side, the new appointment entailed elevating a former board member, Arjun Sethi, to the position of co-CEO. Sethi has been with Kraken’s board for almost four years and is also a longtime Silicon Valley Executive. He will serve in the new position with Dave Ripley. Rippey became Kraken’s only CEO in 2023 after the trading platform founder, Jesse Powell, forfeited the role following internal conflicts with his staff.
Hearty congrats to my friend @arjunsethi on being named as Co-CEO of @krakenfx today.
Arjun is one of the few people I know that is a “frame breaker.”
Every time I think he’s doing a lot…he somehow does more.
Excited for the future of Kraken!
— Romeen Sheth (@RomeenSheth) October 30, 2024
It is worth noting that Sethi’s appointment appeared in an October 30 blog post titled “A new day for Kraken.” The trading platform wrote in the article: “Today, we announced that Arjun is joining Kraken as co-CEO. We are also rolling out changes fundamentally changing how we innovate, build, and roll out products for clients.”
Kraken Made Mistakes
Aside from relaying Sethi’s appointment, most of the blog article contained a combined vision and mission statement from the newly appointed co-CEOs. According to the blog article, the trimmed workforce aligns with Kraken’s goals of establishing a globally recognized trading platform. The article added that the massive employee pool slowed momentum, highlighting one of several other reasons for laying off some of its staff.
Despite boasting over $1 billion in net revenue, the co-CEOs noted that Kraken made mistakes by building organization layers. They added that managers take responsibility for what becomes of the group under their care. Therefore, the company judged success based on individual unit profits and loss profiles. The practice does not seem ideal for an organization that aspires to growth.
The blog article explained:
“At its best, this structure can provide clear paths for “managers” whereby they can move from smaller, less complex areas of focus to progressively larger and more complex ones. So, “managers” are incentivized to do the wrong thing.”
Kraken Aims to Eliminate Layers with Focus on Building
Having identified where Kraken seemed to have gotten it all wrong, the co-CEOs suggested possible ways forward. According to them, they intend to make organizational discipline decisions to remove layers. Furthermore, leading contributors must tilt toward building sustainable projects aside from conventional management.
Additionally, the blog post noted that the suggestion above implies giving team leads the leverage to decide the best fit for the company. In conclusion, the duo appreciated everyone who supported the trading platform in attaining its current status. They also pleaded for more support as the exchange enters a transitional phase.
Before now, a similar event had played out in the past. In November 2022, Kraken sacked about 30% of its employee base. The 30% as of then amounted to 1,100 laid-off workers. Contrary to the rapid expansion desire fuelling the most recent staff layoffs, the 2022 incident stemmed from the Futures Exchange (FTX) collapse.
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