The Golden City is losing its shine as one of the largest United States-based cryptocurrency exchanges closes its San Francisco-based headquarters.

Kraken CEO Jesse Powell retweeted an announcement stating that the exchange will close its global headquarters at 548 Market Street, in the center of San Francisco. In the statement, a copy of which was initially tweeted by San Francisco-based political commentator Richie Greenberg, Powell states:

“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.”

A spokesperson from Kraken told Cointelegraph that their “responsibility has been, and always will be, to ensure the safety and security of our team members,” adding that Kraken has “no plans to establish a new, formal global HQ” following the San Francisco closure.

A poor advertisement for living in California’s financial center, the statement also alleges that “San Francisco is not safe” and crime is “dramatically underreported.”

BREAKING: KRAKEN CEO Jesse Powell @jespow today issued a statement regarding rampant crime in San Francisco and the failures of DA @chesaboudin . pic.twitter.com/7gx7PldQM0

— Richie Greenberg (@richieSF2016) April 7, 2022

Coinbase, another US-based cryptocurrency exchange, also wants to close its San Francisco headquarters in 2022; however, no mention of crime or homelessness was cited regarding the decision. Instead, Coinbase is following the lead of its competitor Binance to become a fully remote, global company.

The Kraken spokesperson explained to Cointelegraph that Kraken was “one of the first companies in the world to pioneer the remote-first model.” The focus on “round-the-clock crypto services,” especially relevant given that crypto markets are 24/7 is key. Kraken continued:

“While we [Kraken] have no plans to change our status as a US-based entity, the location of our headquarters doesn’t affect how we run our business.”

The Twitter community was quick to respond to the Kraken news, sharing dark anecdotes of working in San Francisco.

I worked at Market St for few months, it is crazy, it turns into skid row after 6pm. I’m from Europe and never seen anything like it. Still have flashbacks of the things I witnessed. Just tried to look away and not get stabbed. Remember walking in the smell of skunk and pee.

— Markus (@markustallinn) April 7, 2022

The living situation has allegedly become so dire that there are applications that track human waste around San Francisco, with “Snap Crap” among the most popular. The apps help San Franciscans navigate the city without putting their foot in it.

A San Francisco poop map. Source: ARCgis

Comments from the Twitter and Reddit community shed light on how soaring rental prices have made homelessness more common, while crime is “rampant.” The average rent is now roughly $3,000 per month, and the San Francisco Chronicle has estimated that there are more than 18,000 people experiencing homelessness in the city.

Related: Bolt to enable Bitcoin and NFT access via Wyre acquisition

A report in 2020 revealed that San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area boasted the highest concentrations of crypto investments. In light of Kraken’s decision and the social crises in San Francisco, the region’s hold on crypto and the future of finance may falter.

Other US cities and states have made clear their intentions to attract crypto capital. Texas, for example, hosts pro-Bitcoin (BTC) Senator Ted Cruz, while Web3 and crypto payments have been lauded by the mayor of Austin.

The post Kraken shuts down world headquarters as a result of ‘San Francisco isn’t secure’ appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

A San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange’s CEO announced the closure of its Market Street headquarters in the city for good — and blasted San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin in the process.

Kraken CEO Jesse Powell, in a statement first shared by Boudin recall organizer and conservative mayoral candidate Richie Greenberg on Twitter, appeared to shame Boudin for employees getting harassed and for “crime, mental illness and drug abuse” in the city.

“San Francisco is not safe and will not be safe until we have a DA who puts the rights of law abiding citizens above those of the street criminals he so ingloriously protects,” Powell wrote in the statement. Powell also praised the police in his statement, saying they were “known to arrest the same offenders dozens of times” thanks to Boudin. (Powell misspelled his own name in the statement provided to Greenberg.)

A Kraken spokesperson confirmed the company’s departure from San Francisco — but notably, did not mention Boudin as the reason for the company’s exit from downtown, only alluding to Powell’s comments by saying that there is a need “to ensure the safety and security of our team members.”

“Kraken was one of the first companies in the world to pioneer the remote-first model. We have team members in more than 70 countries around the world, enabling us to offer a range of round-the-clock crypto services in just under 200 jurisdictions around the world,” the spokesperson said in an email to SFGATE Wednesday.

The spokesperson added, “We have no plans to establish a new, formal global HQ at this time.”

As the district attorney recall approaches, sentiments such as the one raised by Powell will likely only grow louder, as will support Boudin. (On Wednesday, the R&B singer-songwriter John Legend publicly endorsed Boudin.)

San Francisco is indeed experiencing a crisis in increased drug use — and residents do believe that crime has gotten worse over the past year, even if the underlying data supports a more nuanced conclusion. Figures provided by San Francisco police show that reports of violent crimes such as rape, robbery and assault are at lower levels than they were before Boudin took office, but reports of some property crimes are increasing.

As many employees express a desire to continue to work from home, companies across industries and cities are beginning to ditch pricey office spaces. Their decision to close their offices — and not open a new location — certainly has financial benefits for the companies.

Many San Francisco tech companies have embraced the pandemic-induced transition to remote-first work — just as Kraken has. Tech heavyweights from Salesforce to Meta (with one notable exception) are granting employees the option of flexible work, and with that has meant a reduction or total closure of offices, especially in one of the most expensive markets in the United States.

A report from commercial real estate agency Kidder Mathews finds that more than 20% of offices are still vacant. In a recent update, the agency wrote that there is “an uptick in tenant prospects, yet it seems they are not quite ready to make the jump to return to the office.”

Take the company’s word for it: Remote work has been beneficial for Kraken.

“Kraken’s remote-first model has enabled us to take significant strides in bringing global expertise and knowledge to the cryptocurrency industry,” the company spokesperson said.

The post Kraken shuts down HQ as a result of ‘San Francisco isn’t protected’ appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.