Kraken Closes Abu Dhabi Office

A cryptocurrency exchange known as Kraken has decided to close its headquarters in Abu Dhabi less than a year after receiving approval from local authorities to do business there.

According to an article that was published by Bloomberg on February 2, it was announced that Kraken had shuttered its office in Abu Dhabi, which resulted in the dismissal of around eight members of the team that specialised in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Since April 2022, when the licence to operate in the Abu Dhabi international financial hub and the Abu Dhabi Global Market was granted, the exchange has been permitted to perform services there. This occurred before the market drop that caused a lot of crypto firms to suffer losses.

The rumoured move in the Middle East occurred after Kraken said in November that it planned to downsize its workforce by more than 30 percent, which is equivalent to more than 1,000 people, in an effort to survive the crypto winter. According to Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell, the layoffs are returning the size of the exchange back to where it was in 2021, before it witnessed considerable growth. Powell came to the conclusion that he should step aside from his post as CEO, but he will continue to serve as board chair, as he indicated back in September.

As of the 31st of January, Kraken withdrew entirely from the Japanese market. This is the second time since April 2018 that the exchange has abandoned a major economy in Asia. The firm said in December that the decision had been reached as part of the process of resource allocation, citing "current market conditions in Japan" and a "weak crypto market globally" as the reasons for the move.

This page was revised on February 2 to reflect a statement that was issued by Kraken. The revision can be seen here.