Kraken CEO Says Bitcoin’s Price Decline Doesn’t Faze Firm
Key Takeaways
- Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi argued that price drops come with the territory of crypto.
- Bitcoin’s recent sharp drop to $96,712 has intensified concerns of deeper losses.
- Analysts warn the market may face further downside.
As Bitcoin’s price plunges to its lowest level since May, Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in a new interview that his firm isn’t losing any sleep over crypto’s volatility.
Sethi argued that the company is unfazed by market downturns and believes digital assets should be viewed more as instruments of financial security.
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Kraken Unfazed by Bitcoin Slides
When asked by Yahoo Finance whether Bitcoin’s price drop directly affects Kraken, Sethi explained that volatility is simply part of the landscape.
“Just like any other asset, the more it goes up, there’s speculation around it… When it goes down, you tend to get a little bit more negative news,” he told the publication on Thursday.
“But that’s across every asset class,” he added.
Sethi said Kraken’s broader product mix shields the platform from cyclical downturns.
“We have over 400 crypto-related assets… We have all of the stocks and ETFs in the U.S., as well as some international stocks that are going to be on the platform soon.”
He insisted that the company’s long-term thesis remains unchanged.
“You always have these curves that continue to change for all asset classes,” he said, pointing to Bitcoin’s history of dramatic ups and downs.
“What’s much more important is the thesis behind why you’d want to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum or any of these assets versus holding a dollar,” he added.
Bitcoin Plummets Below $98,000
Sethi was responding to questions about Bitcoin falling below $100,000 to $98,000 yesterday.
Since the interview aired, the price has dropped even further and shows no signs of stabilizing.
According to CCN analyst Valdrin Tahiri, Bitcoin could fall to a support zone between $57,600 and $70,600 if the decline continues.
“Bitcoin is leading the crypto market crash,” Tahiri said, calling today’s low of $96,712 a “critical breakdown.”
Tahiri added that the broader crypto market may also face deeper losses, suggesting total market capitalization could fall to $2.92 trillion or even $2.50 trillion.
Crypto as ‘Safety’
Sethi argued that global demand for crypto continues to grow, especially in regions without strong local equity markets.
“All of these markets… don’t have access to their own equities markets. So they’re looking to buy assets that they consider safe,” he told Yahoo Finance.
“Most of the time, those assets are U.S. assets. And crypto is one of those as well,” he said.
He added that major tokens increasingly function as global safe-haven assets.
“Bitcoin, Ethereum, the alts, Solana, etc., become more synonymous with safety over time,” he said.
Tokenized Equities Surge
Sethi also highlighted the growth of Xstocks, Kraken’s tokenized equity platform.
“We just passed $10 billion in transactional volume on the platform,” he said.
He added that the assets can be transferred across wallets, exchanges, and blockchains.
“If you buy with us, you can move it to a wallet… As long as our banking and financial services support what you want, that’s what we’re there to do.”
Meanwhile, Sethi rejected the idea that crypto innovation relies on looser regulations.
“I don’t think it’s about loosening regulations… Consumer protection has to be at the forefront,” he said.
He pointed to U.S. efforts such as the Genius Act and the Clarity Act as potential catalysts for growth.
“Once that happens… it’ll be a flood of…
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