- Kraken raised $800M at a $20 billion valuation, led by Tribe Capital and Citadel Securities.
- Co-CEO Arjun Sethi revealed Kraken was shortlisted for FTX 2.0 but rejected by lawyers.
- Sethi cites “conviction” during the 2022 crash as the key driver for the firm’s current success.
Kraken has secured one of the largest funding rounds in the current crypto cycle. The exchange raised $800 million, achieving a confirmed valuation of $20 billion. This milestone arrives alongside a new revelation: Kraken was shortlisted for the FTX 2.0 restart tender but was rejected by bankruptcy lawyers.
Co-CEO Arjun Sethi shared the strategy behind this raise. He detailed the years of discipline and risk required to build a resilient financial institution. His account illustrates how conviction, rather than favorable market cycles, shaped Kraken’s trajectory.
Related: Kraken Raises $800 Million to Advance Strategic Roadmap at $20B Valuation
Long Road Built on Data, Resilience, and High-Conviction Bets
Sethi explained that his worldview formed long before the fundraise. He spent years working with quantitative experts who helped build major technology companies. Hence, he relied on data-driven frameworks when he co-founded Tribe Capital in 2018. The firm expanded from early-stage investments into crypto by 2020 because the evidence pointed to a shift in global financial infrastructure.
However, the environment changed dramatically in 2022 when markets crashed. Many institutional partners urged Tribe to scale back its crypto exposure after significant losses. Sethi noted that several investors acted from reputational fear rather than long-term logic.
Consequently, he and his team moved in the opposite direction. They deployed more capital through 2022, 2023, and 2024 as valuations reset. Entry levels improved, and conviction deepened. The strategy later produced strong returns, including the creation of Kapital, a regulated Latin American bank now valued above $1.5 billion with more than $400 million in revenue.
Raising $800M: From Tribe Capital to Citadel Securities
During the downturn, Sethi strengthened his relationship with Kraken founder Jesse Powell. Both leaders increased their commitments when others hesitated. Moreover, Sethi joined Kraken as co-CEO and invested personal and family capital into the company. Tribe Capital added more support, and early investors backed the first tranche of funding with more than $100 million.
Citadel Securities later joined the second tranche, lifting the total raise to $800 million. The partners aligned around Kraken’s long-term vision, which now focuses on a unified liquidity system and new financial architecture for global users.
Why Lawyers Rejected Kraken’s FTX 2.0 Bid
Sethi also addressed Kraken’s exclusion from the FTX 2.0 tender. He noted that three well-funded companies, including Kraken, were shortlisted. However, they were rejected by the lawyers involved in the process.
This decision reflected legal preferences rather than financial strength. It also demonstrated that Kraken could expand without relying on distressed assets. Sethi stressed that the real achievement was maintaining values while scaling through volatility.
Related: Kraken CEO Shrugs Off Bitcoin Slide as Tokenized Stocks Hit $10B in Volume
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