Kraken’s parent company, Payward, won a $22 million arbitration award against its former auditor Mazars USA. Now they’re asking the Delaware Court of Chancery to make it official.
The backstory: Mazars walked away from Kraken’s nearly completed 2022 audit. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi says Mazars found no fraud, raised no concerns about management integrity, and reported no disagreements. They just left.
“An audit is not a favor. It is oxygen,” Sethi wrote. He argued independent audits are essential for banking services, licenses, and business relationships.
Sethi tied Mazars’ resignation directly to Operation Chokepoint 2.0 — the alleged campaign pressuring banks, auditors, and service providers to cut ties with crypto companies. He cited joint 2023 guidance from US banking regulators, the SEC’s now-rescinded SAB 121, and the collapse of crypto-friendly banking networks Silvergate SEN and Signature’s Signet.
Co-CEO Dave Ripley called the $22 million compensation for financial harm from what he described as a coordinated campaign against crypto. “Only a fraction of the stories from that era have ever been told,” he said on X.
The Federal Reserve took a step toward addressing debanking concerns in February, seeking feedback on a proposal to remove “reputation risk” from bank supervision. Critics say that could help end Operation Chokepoint 2.0.
Kraken’s been around since 2011. It confidentially filed for an IPO in November 2025. Reports suggest the public debut might not happen until 2027 due to market conditions and cost-cutting.
