The investigation against Kraken Exchange is due to the suspension of the platform for allowing users from restricted geo-locations like Iran, Syria, and Cuba. The exchange is breaching sanctions set up by the U.S government.
Data provided by Jesse Powell, CEO of Kraken, about the origin of the customers had names of countries in the SDN list. The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN) was developed by the OFAC, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The U.S sanctions listed entities are jotted down based on broad or geographic, and others are narrowed down to counter-terrorism or counter- narcotics mottos. But these were majorly focused on traditional banks and finance, and this doesn’t inculcate crypto or digital market.
According to Powell’s spreadsheet on “verified accounts”, ~2.500.000 users are from the US, ~500.000 users from UK. The count of the residents in Iran is 1,522, 149 in Syria, and 83 in Cuba, but the sheet was restricted by the Kraken Exchange quickly.
The whole crypto industry was dedicated to restricting the flow of transactions from Russia as their invade of Ukraine. But Kraken CEO always been challenging the existing regulations and institutions overseeing those.
Powell’s Tweet:
The issue of US Sanctions and Kraken came to light 3 years ago, as the company was found to be entertaining customers from restricted locations like Cuba.
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