Seriously! Kraken Crypto Exchange Closes Headquarters In San Francisco

Homeless in San Francisco. (Reuters)

JAKARTA – One of the largest crypto exchanges in the United States, Kraken reportedly closed its head office located in San Francisco. The information was announced by Kraken CEO Jesse Powell in a retweeted Twitter post from Richie Greenberg.

BREAKING: KRAKEN CEO Jesse Powell @jespow today issued a statement regarding rampant crime in San Francisco and the failures of DA @chesaboudin . pic.twitter.com/7gx7PldQM0

— Richie Greenberg (@richieSF2016) April 7, 2022

The closure was triggered by attacks by a number of individuals against Kraken employees. Many employees, both on their way to work and on their way home from work, have experienced crimes including harassment and robbery.

"We closed Kraken's global headquarters on Market Street in San Francisco after multiple employees were assaulted, harassed, and robbed on their way to and from work," Powell wrote.

Apart from Kraken, other major US crypto exchanges such as Coinbase are also planning to close their headquarters in San Francisco this year. However, Coinbase did not mention the reason for the closure of its headquarters. On the other hand, Coinbase does not want to be left behind by its rival, Binance, to become a global crypto trading company. The reason is that until now Binance does not have a head office.

Reporting from Cointelegraph, life situations are suspected to have become so dire that an application designed to track human waste around San Francisco has emerged, one of which is the “Snap Crap” application. The application helps San Francisco residents avoid certain locations without having to visit the location first.

Users of social media Twitter and discussion forum Reddit chattered about the increasingly expensive rental prices for homes in San Francisco. Because of soaring rents, new homeless people have sprung up in the city. This is also what triggers the increase in crime there.

The price for renting a place to live in San Francisco reaches US $ 3,000 or equivalent to Rp. 43.2 million per month. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Chronicle predicts that more than 18,000 people will be homeless in the heart of San Francisco.

Meanwhile, reports in 2020 revealed that San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area have the highest concentration of crypto investments. Given the Kraken decision and the social crisis in San Francisco, the region's grip on crypto and the future of finance is likely to waver.

The city of San Francisco is a place where a number of giant Silicon Valley technology companies including Facebook, Google, Apple, are headquartered in the city. Even crypto exchanges Kraken and Coinbase are also standing there. But the sheen of the city of San Francisco is not able to eradicate poverty and increasing crime.