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Jesse Powell is an American entrepreneur born in 1979 in California. He studied philosophy of law and ethics at California State University, East Bay, but dropped out before graduating. Powell then worked as a software engineer before cofounding Kraken exchange in 2011 and CF Benchmarks Ltd in 2018.
Powell began his career in the tech industry, working for companies like Lewtan Technologies and BladeLogic. He is also the founder and was a board member of Verge Center for the Arts, a nonprofit offering artist studios, a classroom, a print lab, and a contemporary gallery.
In 2001, he cofounded Lewt, Inc., a company providing services for virtual worlds and MMORPGs: currency, items, power leveling, accounts, and characters. In 2011, Powell began mining Bitcoin and became involved in the Bitcoin community, serving as a consultant for Mt Gox. He was also the CEO of Kraken before being replaced in 2022 by COO Dave Ripley. He then became chairman of the board.
In 2018, he founded CF Benchmarks Ltd., a digital asset index provider authorized and regulated by the UK FCA. in 2019, Benchmarks was acquired by Kraken.
In September 2023, Verge, the Sacramento nonprofit arts organization established by Powell in 2007, removed him from its board of directors. This was done after claims of organization guideline violations and failure to attend meetings. In March 2023, the FBI searched Powell's home in Brentwood, California, as a part of the ongoing investigation for allegedly cyber-stalking the art organization.
Powell was also reportedly seen debating topics on race and gender, which made his employees uncomfortable. In November 2023, Verge’s lawyer, Phillip Cunningham, sent correspondence to Kraken stating that Powell blocked the nonprofit's access to its email system, website, and internal messaging system following his removal from the board of directors. The letter also claimed that Powell immorally accessed confidential information kept in those accounts. After Powell stepped down from the CEO position, he retained the title of Chairman. The company’s leadership was then taken over by Dave Ripley, Kraken’s chief operating officer.
