Twelve years ago, we began our pioneering mission to become one of the first and most successful digital asset exchanges. We started by trading only four cryptocurrencies, but now support over 220 assets on 67 blockchains – and over 700 markets. We’ve been at the forefront of the crypto revolution since 2011.
As one of the longest-lived crypto exchanges in the world, Kraken’s 12th anniversary is a celebration of consistency amid massive yet volatile growth. It is a time to reflect on the importance of bearing down and focusing on fundamentals, day in and day out – especially when panic is the prevailing market sentiment, as it was for much of 2022.
Constancy is the key to longevity. This is no secret – in crypto or anywhere else. Good sequential decisions yield positive results. Making those decisions for 12 years running – regardless of whether bitcoin was trading for $13.94 (as it was the day Kraken was founded) or $68,789.63 (as it was in 2021) – built a culture that’s resilient and obsessively focused on our mission.
It’s one reason Kraken was recently named the 16th most loved workplace in the world. It’s why we are stronger now than we were a year ago. Since then:
We launched the Kraken NFT Marketplace, with powerful features and capabilities created with newer collectors in mind – encouraging the next wave of participants to discover everything NFTs have to offer in a fun, safe and zero-gas-fee NFT trading environment.
We “emerged as an oasis of growth in 2023,” improving upon our market-leading liquidity as the only crypto trading platform in the U.S. to increase its market depth on a year-to-date basis as of June 28, 2023.
Looking ahead
More people are using crypto every day – to send money to family abroad, to receive and make microloans, to combat hyperinflation. The benefits and utility of cryptocurrency are becoming more evident to more people all the time.
Crypto removes expensive intermediaries. People use crypto in repressive regimes where fiat currency is difficult to access or rapidly losing value. Payments settle on-chain, quickly and with reduced risk. Transaction fees – especially high in traditional finance for cross-border transactions – are slashed.
Our mission is to accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrency so that everyone can achieve financial freedom and inclusion. We believe everything can be improved, including money. Crypto is what money can be, and we are proud to play our part in its larger ecosystem, supporting the community that will empower the next billion crypto users.
