CEO of Kraken, the Cryptocurrency Exchange, Steps Down (opens in new tab)

(nytimes.com)

31 pointsprions3y ago17 comments

17 comments

Obviously Jesse Powell isn't right for the CEO position but I do have a tiny bit of sympathy because I refuse to put my preferred pronouns in my profile. I think it's an invasion of privacy to force me to announce to the whole world my gender identity. Friends and coworkers know on a need-to-know basis.

DoktorDelta3y ago

I don't think anyone is being forced to add their gender identity to any profile. Powell seems to have questioned the inclusion of the option to add them at all.

boxmonster3y ago

Some places do place pressure on you to do so if what I read on the internet is to be believed

1 more reply

contingencies3y ago

First employee and chief architect for Kraken here (2011-2015). I'll be professional and state only that this news is "unsurprising".

witheld3y ago

https://archive.ph/qur2R

shagie3y ago

Gift link - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/21/technology/ceo-kraken-cry...

JumpCrisscross3y ago

"The conflict at Kraken began this spring after Mr. Powell questioned employees’ use of preferred pronouns and engaged in a lengthy discussion about whether women are inherently less intelligent than men.

Some employees voiced complaints, and Mr. Powell released a company culture document outlining what he described as Kraken’s libertarian values. He told employees that if they disagreed with the document, they should quit."

jbirer3y ago

Sounds pretty reasonable to me. If you don't like it that our company allows freely talking about anything, you can leave to find a coddling safe space you are seeking.

skyyler3y ago

>Kraken laid out a vision of its corporate culture that includes prohibiting employees from calling speech “racist,”

There goes "freely talking about anything".

It seems that racists at Kraken needed a safe space... Kinda cute! Maybe if they don't like their speech being labelled "racist" they could work somewhere else?

https://fortune.com/2022/06/15/kraken-culture-crypto-exchang...

1 more reply

mrkramer3y ago

That's wild.

pcthrowaway3y ago

You should hear the part where he said he could use the n-word on the company chat, because if people can just identify as other genders willy-nilly, he can identify as black

stoplying13y ago

I got a pretty complacent or even celebratory vibe from folks around here when a very similar played out at Coinbase...

1 more reply

tmpz223y ago

> Kraken’s libertarian values. He told employees that if they disagreed with the document, they should quit."

Isn't this an oxymoron. "I believe in an ideology based around self-determination, if you deviate from my directions by asserting your right to self-determination, like the literal definition of your own name, you should quit".

Sometimes the announcement of libertarian values just seems like a dog-whistle.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

17 comments

boxmonster3y ago

DoktorDelta3y ago

I don't think anyone is being forced to add their gender identity to any profile. Powell seems to have questioned the inclusion of the option to add them at all.

boxmonster3y ago

Some places do place pressure on you to do so if what I read on the internet is to be believed

1 more reply

contingencies3y ago

First employee and chief architect for Kraken here (2011-2015). I'll be professional and state only that this news is "unsurprising".

witheld3y ago

https://archive.ph/qur2R

shagie3y ago

Gift link - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/21/technology/ceo-kraken-cry...

JumpCrisscross3y ago

jbirer3y ago

Sounds pretty reasonable to me. If you don't like it that our company allows freely talking about anything, you can leave to find a coddling safe space you are seeking.

skyyler3y ago

>Kraken laid out a vision of its corporate culture that includes prohibiting employees from calling speech “racist,”

There goes "freely talking about anything".

It seems that racists at Kraken needed a safe space... Kinda cute! Maybe if they don't like their speech being labelled "racist" they could work somewhere else?

https://fortune.com/2022/06/15/kraken-culture-crypto-exchang...

1 more reply

mrkramer3y ago

That's wild.

pcthrowaway3y ago

You should hear the part where he said he could use the n-word on the company chat, because if people can just identify as other genders willy-nilly, he can identify as black

stoplying13y ago

I got a pretty complacent or even celebratory vibe from folks around here when a very similar played out at Coinbase...

1 more reply

tmpz223y ago

> Kraken’s libertarian values. He told employees that if they disagreed with the document, they should quit."

Sometimes the announcement of libertarian values just seems like a dog-whistle.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse