At Kraken, we’re committed to building a secure and trusted platform for our clients. Over the past few years, we’ve significantly strengthened our global compliance framework – investing deeply in the people, processes and systems that keep our platform secure. We recently reached a key milestone in that journey: the completion of a multi-year effort to enhance our sanctions compliance program across the board. This achievement reflects not only our ongoing engagement with regulators – including the finalization of commitments made in past years – but also the ongoing advancement of Kraken’s approach to risk, oversight and operational excellence. As part of our ongoing work with U.S. regulators, Kraken recently completed its third and final certification with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) – an external validation of the robust controls and processes we’ve put in place to manage sanctions risk. A companywide effort toward a common goal What began as an initiative to enhance our sanctions controls quickly evolved into something much bigger: An overarching effort to build one of the most robust, scalable and future-proof compliance programs in the industry. What powers compliance at Kraken:

• GeoIP firewalls & VPN screening
  Sophisticated tools that proactively restrict unauthorized access based on geographic and network indicators.
  
• Comprehensive screening across the board
  End-to-end product, client, and transaction-level screening to ensure real-time risk detection.
  
• Over 100 embedded internal controls
  Automated checks and balances built into every layer of Kraken’s infrastructure.
  
• Upgraded policies, procedures and processes
  A ground-up redesign of how compliance is approached across teams and workflows.
  
• Rigorous risk assessments, audits and training
  Regular evaluations and company-wide education to keep our defenses sharp and aligned.
  
• Sanctions controls at every layer
  Holistic safeguards integrated throughout Kraken’s architecture.
  
• Regulatory benchmarking and licensing expansion
  Tools and standards that enable smoother licensing and faster time-to-market globally.
  
• Proactive engagement with regulators
  Open, constructive dialogue that helps shape thoughtful, effective regulation.
  
• Enhanced due diligence for investors, M&A and product launches
  Strategic compliance integrated into how we grow.

Every one of these upgrades is a step toward our larger goal: making Kraken the most trusted and secure venue for crypto. Together, these capabilities help protect our clients, strengthen trust and reinforce Kraken’s role as a responsible industry leader. Built for scale, designed for trust Strong compliance isn’t just about risk reduction – it’s a strategic advantage. With these improvements, Kraken is ideally positioned to:

• Expand our business into new countries and with new products
  
• Foster stronger banking relationships
  
• Navigate regulatory environments with confidence
  
• Reduce audit and operational risk
  
• Support faster, safer growth across markets

The compliance infrastructure we’ve built is scalable, resilient, and dynamic – designed not only to meet today’s demands but to anticipate those of tomorrow. We’re proud of how far we’ve come and even more excited for where we’re headed. Because at Kraken, building responsibly isn’t just a goal. It’s how we lead the way, create a safer industry ecosystem and accelerate crypto adoption. Get Started with Kraken The post Strengthening sanctions compliance: Building for scale and trust appeared first on Kraken Blog.

We are proud to share that we closely collaborated with the United States Secret Service (USSS) on an extensive investigation into a crypto fraud scheme. Fraudsters used social engineering techniques to build trust with victims over time, an approach commonly known as “pig butchering.” This joint effort resulted in the largest-ever crypto seizure by the USSS, totaling approximately $225 million. The USSS investigation targeted sophisticated fraud rings that prey on individuals, luring them into fake cryptocurrency investments. Victims of pig butchering schemes are gradually encouraged to deposit increasing amounts, only to eventually discover their funds have been stolen. The $225 million in question was initially frozen by Tether in 2023, after being linked to pig butchering in a United States Department of Justice investigation. The stolen funds were tied to the perpetrators’ accounts at a non-Kraken centralized exchange. Identifying the victims and returning their funds presented a challenge, requiring significant knowledge of blockchain analytics. In March 2024, we joined several cryptocurrency exchanges in an intensive, weeklong law enforcement sprint. Our compliance and investigative teams provided rapid, real-time responses to crucial information requests and our timely provision of transaction and account information was instrumental in identifying nearly 500 victims. This directly supported the USSS in obtaining the seizure warrant for the unprecedented $225 million confiscation of stolen funds. We remain dedicated to cooperating with law enforcement to safeguard the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Our rapid-response approach and meticulous record-keeping reflect our ongoing commitment to security, transparency and protecting our customers. We also have strict policies and procedures to protect client privacy while supplying data when we have a legal obligation to do so. We continue to actively participate in efforts aimed at identifying and stopping fraud, supporting victim recovery and maintaining trust within the crypto community.

“Protecting clients is our highest priority, and we’re proud to have supported efforts leading to this historic recovery of stolen funds. Our rigorous compliance practices, cutting-edge security protocols, and onchain investigative capabilities reflect our deep commitment to safeguarding client assets and preserving confidence in crypto. We will continue to fight fraud and help ensure the crypto ecosystem remains safe and secure for all users,” said David Zacks, Kraken Deputy Chief Compliance Officer. If you believe you are a victim of cryptocurrency fraud, we encourage you to report your case to your local authorities and to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov/. Your prompt reporting can help prevent future scams. Get Started with Kraken The post Kraken assists U.S. Secret Service in record-breaking crypto fraud seizure appeared first on Kraken Blog.