Kraken named Ben Gray as its new chief legal officer on Feb. 4, 2025, the exchange said in a blog post1. Gray had been global general counsel at Paxos, and he filled the seat Marco Santori had vacated three weeks earlier. He reported to co-chief executives Arjun Sethi and David Ripley, a shared seat rather than a single one. The company said he would "oversee our legal, compliance and enterprise risk management operations".
The fifth executive hire at Kraken on the record since 2022
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Kraken, by year
- 2025: 2
- 2022, 2023, 2024
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 5 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 2 |
59 executive hires on the record in 2025, the most of any year
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2025: 59
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 27 |
| 2022 | 37 |
| 2023 | 20 |
| 2024 | 39 |
| 2025 | 59 |
| 2026 | 45 |
The move
Kraken framed the hire around Gray's regulatory resume rather than his Paxos title alone. Arjun Sethi, Kraken's co-chief executive, called him “a critical addition to our leadership team as we scale the business and drive innovation globally.” Sethi added, “His deep experience as a general counsel and chief compliance officer make him an ideal CLO for Kraken, as the industry continues fighting for regulatory clarity and consumer protections”1. David Ripley, Kraken's other co-chief executive, welcomed the hire too. Kraken, he said, was “looking forward to leveraging Ben's unique experience to ensure seamless execution and operational excellence across the markets in which we operate globally”.
Why pull a general counsel from a company Kraken had just partnered with? Gray had pioneered compliance frameworks for consumer-facing crypto products at Block, formerly Square. He then led stablecoin initiatives at Paxos, including the USDG stablecoin launched in partnership with Kraken, the exchange's blog said1. Gray called the timing a turning point for the whole industry. “Over the past year, we've seen tremendous progress in moving towards regulatory clarity around the globe and 2025 will be a pivotal year,” he said.
Kraken before and after
Santori had held the chief legal officer role since 2020. Kraken credited him with building a world-class legal team before he moved into an advisory position1. crypto.news placed Gray's arrival against an active legal backdrop at the exchange. The SEC had sued Kraken in 2023, accusing it of running an unregistered securities exchange. Regulators also pointed to commingled client funds, and crypto.news reported that Kraken "argued that any 'commingling' was simply to cover earned operating expenses"2. Gray set out his own read of the moment ahead. “Those that adapt most effectively, without compromise to their ability to innovate and provide the best possible client experience, will come out on top,” he said. “Kraken is extremely well positioned to capitalize on this opportunity, and I couldn't be more excited to join during this next phase of growth for the crypto industry”.
What came next
The regulatory footing Gray was hired to manage became a visible part of Kraken's path toward a public listing. BeInCrypto reported on May 15, 2026, that Kraken's parent, Payward, had filed a confidential registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2025. The filing targeted a valuation near $20 billion. Payward paused its listing timeline in March 2026, after weaker performance among recent crypto listings cooled investor appetite, BeInCrypto reported3. The same report described a sustained workforce reduction through that stretch, including 150 job cuts disclosed in May 2026 on top of earlier rounds. BeInCrypto called the pattern "a common pre-IPO playbook for crypto firms," aimed at tightening the company's margins before any filing goes effective.
Sources
- Kraken, "Kraken welcomes Ben Gray as Chief Legal Officer," Feb. 4, 2025, https://blog.kraken.com/news/kraken-welcomes-ben-gray-as-chief-legal-officer
- Denis Omelchenko, "Kraken appoints ex-Paxos exec as new chief legal officer," crypto.news, Feb. 5, 2025, https://crypto.news/kraken-appoints-ex-paxos-exec-as-new-chief-legal-officer/
- Lockridge Okoth, "Kraken Parent Payward Makes Deep Cuts as IPO Pressure Mounts," BeInCrypto, May 15, 2026, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiZkFVX3lxTE1VZG1CY1VBRFZwQkJoLTBJRDZqRC1JZnUzeVJLTVEzZ3BYVUJXYUhMVWJ1eTg4MjZSLXVBTm5FalMtNW5XTTlkRmdtUHRWTmxpai1tamJ3R1NwN3NOV1JNVDd0VG0tZw?oc=5