Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken reportedly closed its Abu Dhabi office less than 12 months after receiving regulatory approval to operate in the region.
According to a February 2 Bloomberg report, Kraken closed its Abu Dhabi office, laying off about eight people from the team focused on the Middle East and North Africa, or MENA. The exchange had been licensed to offer services in the international financial center of Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi Global Market since April 2022, before the market crash that affected many cryptocurrency companies.
As part of the closing Kraken reportedly discontinued support for transactions in the local dirham currency. However, existing users in the region will continue to have access to the platform using other fiat currencies.. It is also reported that several employees will remain in the area, although it is likely that Benjamin Ampen, CEO of Kraken MENA, will leave after the transition.
The move in the Middle East came after Kraken announced in November that it planned to cut its workforce by 30% — more than 1,000 people — in an effort to survive the cryptocurrency winter.. Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell described the layoffs as a throwback for the exchange to its 2021 size, when it expanded rapidly. Powell announced in September that he planned to step down as CEO but remain as chairman of the board.
Kraken has also withdrawn from Japan effective January 31, marking the second time the exchange has withdrawn from the major Asian economy since April 2018.. The firm said in December that the move was part of resource allocation, citing “current market conditions in Japan” and a “weak cryptocurrency market globally.”
Cointelegraph reached out to Kraken but did not hear back as of press time.
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