Kraken Founder Jesse Powell Cleared of Hacking Allegations: FBI Returns Seized Devices

Holy smokes, folks! Kraken's own Jesse Powell is officially off the hook from those wild hacking allegations. Can you believe it?

Another day, another legal rollercoaster in the crypto world, but this one's finally hit the brakes. According to a hot-off-the-press report from July 22, the U.S. Department of Justice has slammed the door shut on their investigation into Kraken's fearless founder. And guess what? The FBI just handed back a whole dozen of his gadgets they snatched earlier. Talk about a plot twist!

Back in 2023, the FBI raided Powell's crib and swiped those devices. But hold up, this wasn't your typical crypto exchange drama. Nope, this wild ride was all about some cyberstalking and hacking claims tied to his non-profit, Verge Center for the Arts. Buckle up, it's a bumpy story.

Why Powell was investigated

So, here's the deal: Powell claims the Verge board gave him the boot from the organization after he dropped a cool million to keep things running. And that's not all—they locked him out of every account, changed all the login codes, and basically told him to hit the road. Can you say shady?

Then, the organization flipped the script and accused Powell of pulling a sneaky move, using his admin codes to hijack their website. Cue the FBI probe to see if Powell was trying to reclaim his rightful throne. It's like something straight out of a spy thriller!

But wait, there's more! The raid details got leaked to the New York Times, and people started wondering if there were some political games at play. Powell's no stranger to rocking the boat with his libertarian views, and in 2024, he threw another million at Trump's campaign. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is.

Powell didn't hold back, blasting that the crypto scene was "under attack" during the Biden era, especially by the SEC's bigwig Gary Gensler. But here's the kicker: Trump did a 180 on crypto, which he used to call a scam. During his 2024 run for the White House, he promised to turn the U.S. into the "crypto capital of the world." Now that's a headline!