Kraken has appointed Cynthia Del Pozo as the newest leader of its Canadian business and become the latest international cryptocurrency exchange to secure a restricted dealer licence in Canada.
Del Pozo will lead Kraken’s next phase of growth across Canada, the San Francisco-based company said in a blog post, adding that she will strengthen the exchange’s regulatory, political and commercial relationships as it scales its presence across North America. Del Pozo is taking the place of Alex Mehrdad, who held the role for just over a year after taking the reins from Mark Greenberg when he was promoted to a global role in August.
Kraken said it has enhanced its governance, security, and compliance protocols to “meet the highest industry standards.”
Mehrdad departed Kraken last month, according to his LinkedIn profile. A Kraken spokesperson told BetaKit in an email statement that Mehrdad played a major role in the process of securing the restricted dealer licence.
The spokesperson added that he departed to pursue new opportunities that “align more closely with his career focus,” and added that he will “always remain a Krakenite at heart.”
According to Del Pozo’s LinkedIn profile, she previously served as the CEO of Gemini Canada. Despite filing a pre-registration undertaking (PRU) to become a restricted dealer itself, Gemini, founded by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, abruptly departed Canada alongside other exchanges last year after Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) announced tighter restrictions on crypto exchanges.
“With nearly 15 years experience in corporate development, operations and fintech consulting, Cynthia is exceptionally well-equipped to lead Kraken’s expansion and engagement across Canada at this pivotal time for crypto’s evolution,” the blog post reads.
Del Pozo is taking the lead on Kraken’s Canadian operations as it obtains its restricted dealer licence, something it has pursued since it entered a PRU with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) in 2023, which granted it conditional approval to operate while pursuing the full registration. A restricted dealer is a special registration for firms that don’t fit under other categories like investments, mutual funds, or exempt markets, where securities regulators tailor the registration with specific requirements or conditions.
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Kraken said the undertaking has enhanced its governance, security, and compliance protocols to “meet the highest industry standards.”
“This foundation supports our vision of expanding product access, improving user experience, and contributing to the evolution of a secure and innovative digital asset environment in Canada,” the Kraken spokesperson told BetaKit.
Kraken’s Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) ruling, filed under its parent company name Payward, lays out the exchange’s commitments such as know-your-customer rules, anti-money laundering measures, and regular transaction reports to the regulator. Kraken secured its licence almost exactly one year after cryptocurrency giant Coinbase became the first international crypto exchange to register as a restricted dealer in Canada.
According to its OSC filing, Kraken intends to apply for registration as an investment dealer, seek membership with the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), and to seek approval to operate an alternative trading system. Montréal-based crypto platform Shakepay became a CIRO member earlier this year, providing its customers with protections such as compliance oversight and capital adequacy. The Kraken spokesperson said that becoming a CIRO member is a “top priority” that unlocks new opportunities to expand its product suite.
Kraken said that its Canadian operation has grown exponentially over the past two years, having doubled its team size and monthly transacting users during the PRU process, and exceeded $2 billion CAD in combined client assets under custody.
CORRECTION (04/02/2024): This story has been corrected to note that Alex Mehrdad was Kraken’s General Manager of Canada for just over a year. An earlier version of this story stated he held the role for just over six months. BetaKit regrets the error.
Feature image courtesy Kraken via its website.