Founder Profile
Jesse Powell
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Jesse Powell?
Jesse Powell is a founder of Kraken, which was founded in 2011 with Thanh Luu.
- Company founded
- Kraken
- Founded
- 2011
- Co-founders
- Thanh Luu
Background
Early Bitcoin advocate and digital asset pioneer.
Founding Story
Jesse Powell co-founded Kraken in 2011. A massive early believer in Bitcoin, he famously visited the offices of the collapsing Mt. Gox exchange in Japan to help them recover, realizing the global crypto market desperately needed an exchange that was actually secure. He operated as CEO for over a decade, famously feuding with regulators, before stepping down in 2022. Jesse Powell was born in 1980.
Sources
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