Ex-Kraken Manager Sues Exchange for $900,000 After $19 Million in Profits Made for Crypto Trading Desk

One of the oldest exchanges in the market, Kraken, is currently facing some issues with one of its former employees. According to a report released by Bloomberg, an ex-employee of the firm issuing the platform for failing to pay him for the work he did at the company.

Kraken is Being Sued By A Former Employee

As per a recent article uploaded by Bloomberg, Johnatan Silverman, who started working at the company back in April 2017 as Kraken’s institutional sales and trading desk in New York, is currently demanding compensation of over $900,000.

Silverman explains that he has reached an agreement with Jesse Powell, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange. He was apparently offered $150,000 as a salary and also 10 percent commission of the trading desk's annual profit. Silverman says that the trading desk generated more than $19 million in profits for three months in 2017. However, he has never received the commission or any additional stock options.

A spokeswoman for Kraken, Christina Vee, explained that he is lying and breaching his confidentiality agreement he had with the firm. Powell is an active member of the crypto community and gives always his opinion about different issues in the space.

Back in 2018, Powell said that he took a good decision when he decided to leave New York. The state has very strict rules for virtual currency and blockchain-related companies that want to operate there. Crypto exchanges and platforms have always had difficulties to obtain the BitLicense that the regulatory agency gives.

Silverman’s lawsuit claims that Kraken has been operating in New York with its OTC trading. That includes logging in and negotiating wire transfers.

One of the attorneys that represent Silverman, David Silver, explained:

“Just because some people in the cryptocurrency space don’t believe the rules apply to them doesn’t mean that’s the way things actually work.”

The trading office of the exchange had at least two employees in New York, according to Bloomberg.