Kraken Exchange Founded
Jesse Powell founds Kraken after witnessing the chaos at Mt. Gox, aiming to build a professional, secure alternative.
On July 28, 2011, Jesse Powell officially founded **Kraken** (legally Payward, Inc.). The founding story is legendary in the industry: Powell had flown to Japan days after the June flash crash to offer help to Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès. While at the Mt. Gox offices, Powell was horrified by the amateurish operations, lack of version control, and poor security practices he witnessed. Realizing that Mt. Gox was a ticking time bomb, he decided to build a replacement that prioritized security, regulatory compliance, and professional auditing.
Kraken did not launch immediately; Powell spent two years building the infrastructure before opening to the public in 2013. This 'security-first' approach contrasted sharply with the 'move fast and break things' mentality of Gox and TradeHill. Kraken would go on to become one of the few exchanges from that era to survive to the present day without a major hack. Its founding marks the beginning of the 'institutional' era of Bitcoin exchanges, where operators began to think like bankers rather than hobbyists.
Powell's vision was to create an exchange that Wall Street could trust. Kraken's eventual success—becoming the first exchange to get a banking charter in the US—validated Powell's decision to play the long game in 2011. It stands as the primary 'clean' alternative that emerged from the wreckage of the Gox disaster.
Key Sources: Wikipedia: Kraken Exchange | NY Times: Kraken Profile