Kraken Shuts Down Headquarters Due To San Francisco Crime Spike

Kraken, which is one of the largest United States-based cryptocurrency exchanges, closes its headquarters in San Francisco.

Jesse Powell, Kraken’s CEO, retweeted an announcement stating that the exchange will close its headquarters located in the center of San Francisco, at 548 Market Street. The statement is a copy of a tweet originally made by San Francisco-based political commentator, Richie Greenberg.

Powell stated:

We shut down Kraken’s global headquarters on Market Street in San Francisco after numerous employees were attacked, harassed, and robbed on their way to and from the office.

The statement by the exchange’s CEO also alleges that “San Francisco is not safe”, with crime “dramatically underreported.”

Kraken is not the only U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange that will shut down its global headquarters in San Francisco as Coinbase will also close its San Francisco headquarters in 2022. However, Coinbase has not mentioned crime or homelessness as a reason for the closing down of its San Francisco-based headquarters.

The Twitter community was quick to deliver commentary on the news that Kraken’s headquarters will be leaving San Francisco and shared some dark anecdotes of working in the city.

The living situation in San Francisco has reached the point that there are now mobile applications that track human waste around San Francisco. These apps help citizens navigate the city without risking stepping on human waste.

The Twitter and Reddit community also shed light on the soaring rental prices in San Francisco causing a rise in homelessness. The average rent now in San Francisco is $3,000 per month, and it has been reported by the San Francisco Chronicle that there are approximately 18,000 people experiencing homelessness in the city.