Kraken’s 2022 12 months in evaluate

There may be by no means been a boring second in crypto, and this 12 months was no exception.

In 2022, Kraken celebrated 11 years of our mission to speed up the adoption of cryptocurrency so that you simply and the remainder of the world can obtain monetary freedom and inclusion. It’s been fairly a journey.

Our singular deal with this mission has allowed us to face the take a look at of time and endure greater than a decade of highs, lows, frenzies, and FUD whereas establishing ourselves as a pacesetter within the crypto trade.

2022 was stuffed with highlights and challenges. We’re thrilled to look again on the 12 months that was as we put together to serve and safe our purchasers within the 12 months forward.

NFT

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) dominated the dialog this 12 months, with a numerous variety of folks getting into the crypto ecosystem thanks to those distinctive digital objects. At all times searching for new methods of empowering our purchasers to attach and transact, we introduced the waitlist to become a beta tester for the Kraken NFT marketplace earlier this 12 months and have been thrilled to see the response from our group.

After announcing 70 NFT Collections for Kraken NFT Beta Testers to discover, accumulate and commerce, we opened Kraken NFT for a select group of beta testers from our waitlist in November. A number of the hottest NFT collections, together with Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, Cool Cats, Doodles, World of Women and plenty of extra, can be found on Kraken NFT at present.

After months of testing and refinement, we opened Kraken NFT to all. Now, it’s your probability to discover, accumulate and commerce with zero gas fees* on Kraken NFT — the NFT market constructed from the bottom as much as be safe, simple to make use of and dynamic.

We’re persevering with so as to add new collections to Kraken NFT every week and encourage everybody to observe the Kraken NFT blog for our newest updates, in addition to our newly launched @KrakenNFT Twitter account, to be the primary to know when new collections can be found.

Kraken Professional

For superior crypto merchants seeking to acquire a aggressive edge, we launched our new and improved Pro trading interface. Constructed with skilled merchants and alpha seekers in thoughts, the brand new Kraken Professional net buying and selling interface combines spot, margin buying and selling, staking, and portfolio administration all in a seamless, fashionable UI. It additionally boasts a highly customizable and scalable entrance finish, so you might have full management to regulate, rearrange, resize, stack, nest in tabs and broaden in pop-outs — so you may make essentially the most environment friendly buying and selling interface that matches your wants.

Lightning Community

Kraken has all the time been identified for constructing world class merchandise and delivering essentially the most ahead wanting instruments that empower monetary freedom and inclusion. We actually upheld that status this 12 months.

Earlier in 2022, we introduced that we now support instant Lightning Network BTC transactions. The Lightning Community permits folks everywhere in the world to rapidly and cost-effectively transact utilizing bitcoin. Kraken Intelligence, our in-house crew of crypto analysts, mentioned how Lightning Community is supporting Bitcoin’s evolution from a retailer of worth to a medium of change of their report, The Lightning Network: Bitcoin’s Evolution to Medium of Exchange.

If you’re new to the advantages of the Lightning Community and wish to learn how it really works, you’ll be able to try our Study Middle’s information to What is the Lightning Network?

To get began utilizing the Lightning Community, you can even try our Assist Middle guides for Connecting to Kraken’s Lightning node and our information on How do I send bitcoin on the Lightning Network?

Staking

Although Kraken has all the time — and can proceed — to advocate for self custody of crypto assets and encourage our purchasers to keep their crypto safe themselves, 2022 was a giant 12 months for crypto staking at Kraken. We even added staking to our Pro mobile app so you’ll be able to stake on-the-go and earn rewards in your crypto from wherever.

Over the previous 12 months, we’ve enabled our purchasers to stake a number of new cash utilizing Kraken, together with:

With Kraken, you’ll be able to stake dozens of cryptoassets and earn a number of the most dependable reward charges within the trade via our streamlined staking companies.

ETH Merge

With so many trade defining moments occurring over the previous 12 months, it’s simple to neglect that some of the hotly anticipated occasions within the historical past of crypto befell just some months in the past!

The Ethereum Merge was an enormous success, because the world’s second largest cryptocurrency accomplished the ultimate section of its transition from a proof-of-work to proof-of-stake blockchain. The occasion befell at block top 15,537,393 on September 15, 2022.

Kraken was one of many first exchanges to re-open buying and selling of ETH after the transition. We have been additionally one of many first exchanges to list and distribute the newly created EthereumPoW (ETHW) token that adopted.

Wish to study extra concerning the Ethereum Merge and what it means for the way forward for one of many world’s largest blockchain protocols? You may get began with the Kraken Study Middle’s article What is The Ethereum Merge?

After that, you’ll be able to take an excellent deeper dive into the Ethereum Merge with Kraken Intelligence’s report Ethereum 2.0: Does ETH become deflationary post-Merge? or take a extra nuanced look into the assorted professionals, cons and tradeoffs of each proof-of-work and proof-of-stake with their report PoW vs. PoS: Securing the Chain.

Token listings

2022 was a robust 12 months for token listings at Kraken. Merely put, we listed extra tokens than we’ve ever listed in a single 12 months.

Within the course of, we greater than doubled the quantity of cryptocurrencies you should purchase, commerce, and promote on Kraken in comparison with final 12 months.

We now provide more than 200 cryptocurrencies on Kraken and proceed so as to add essentially the most revolutionary tasks shaping the crypto trade.

However don’t simply take our phrase for it. Take a look at every of the bulletins marking the launch of greater than 130 tokens we listed over the previous 12 months:

Bear markets are for constructing

Undeterred by the headwinds, we stored constructing it doesn’t matter what the market threw at us. Our over the counter (OTC) desk announced a new AutoRFQ and OTC portal for instant block trading, permitting purchasers to independently request and settle for automated block commerce quotes through the Kraken OTC desk.

At all times seeking to assist our institutional clients, we made it simpler than ever to get began because of a number of new pages tailor-made to investment funds, corporate treasuries, crypto miners, trading firms and wealth managers we serve.

We additionally added native assist for a number of blockchain protocols. We have been thrilled to assist deposits and withdrawals of USDC via the Solana and Tron networks, in addition to MATIC deposits and withdrawals on the Polygon Network.

Bear markets aren’t only for constructing, they’re additionally for accumulating. That’s the reason we added recurring buy performance, so you’ll be able to persistently construct your crypto portfolio mechanically. Often known as dollar cost averaging, recurring buys refers to a easy, beginner-friendly funding technique whereby an individual makes small, recurrently scheduled investments in a specific asset over a time frame, as a substitute of investing your complete sum directly.

No mission however The Mission

Kraken has constructed a status for not simply main the crypto trade, however supporting others making an impression throughout the trade as nicely.

This 12 months, we continued our commitment to maintaining the Bitcoin Rust repository by funding developer Tobin Harding (tcharding),who will now be absolutely devoted to coordinating Bitcoin Rust code evaluate, encouraging and sponsoring new contributors, facilitating important contributor conferences, and bettering the infrastructure powering the worldwide Bitcoin community. The information adopted Kraken’s September 2021 announcement of a Bitcoin Rust growth fund, began in reminiscence of our late colleague and early Bitcoin Rust contributor Tamás Blummer.

Extra just lately this 12 months, we additionally donated $100,000 to Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative, a U.S.-based nonprofit that harnesses intelligence to assist monetary establishments, expertise companies and cryptocurrency exchanges fight human trafficking and youngster exploitation.

Sadly, one in all our largest highlights of the previous 12 months got here within the wake of some of the unthinkable tragedies, the invasion of Ukraine. Our response? Kraken Distributed Over $10 Million in Aid to Clients Impacted by Ukraine Crisis.

Kraken purchasers who created an account from Ukraine previous to March 9, 2022 have been eligible to obtain $1,000 in bitcoin that could possibly be instantly withdrawn from our change. The response was overwhelming, as we received an outpouring of support from those affected:

“Now we have a child and we left our dwelling in Kharkov and misplaced our job[s]. It is a important assist for us in such a tough time. I can purchase meals for us and every thing we’d like. At such moments, we perceive that the world is crammed with form folks and assist us.”

“You helped me loads, I purchased a bulletproof vest at your expense.”

As we proceed our mission to ship monetary freedom and inclusion worldwide, these two testimonies, amongst a whole bunch of messages in response to our assist, have been undoubtedly a number of the brightest moments of the 12 months.

Our purchasers in Ukraine weren’t the one ones to acknowledge the trade defining requirements Kraken continues to set. We celebrated excellence in cybersecurity with a new accreditation as we earned our ISO 27001 certification, a worldwide cybersecurity customary that demonstrates our continued dedication to our purchasers’ info safety on our platform.

Moreover, the European Customer Centricity Awards acknowledged Kraken’s because the winner within the Buyer Success class. We have been thrilled to see our Account Management win out towards 176 rivals with our trade main NPS rating of 83 and a CSAT rating of 99.999% from their institutional and VIP purchasers, Within the course of, we as soon as once more proved our themselves finest in school — not simply throughout all crypto exchanges, however all and monetary service corporations.

As we continued to assemble our govt crew of world class professionals this 12 months, from Chief Financial Officer Carrie Dolan to Chief Marketing Officer Mayur Gupta, we additionally took a second to strengthen our crypto-first tradition.

Kraken Culture Explained laid out “The Tentaclemandments of Kraken,” strengthened The Mission and defined what it actually means to embody the values of a Krakenite. The response was overwhelming and 1000’s flocked to our careers page for the chance to hitch us on this mission.

As our co-founder and CEO Jesse Powell prepares to step up to the Chairman role and pass the helm to COO Dave Ripley, we’re grateful for Jesse’s management, in addition to his dedication to crypto values and Kraken’s mission during the last 11 years — and we’re thrilled to have Dave as our new CEO as we embark on our second decade of progress and international adoption.

It’s been a protracted 12 months. The cryptocurrency trade adjustments day-after-day however this 12 months it felt like a curler coaster. The most effective factor? That change brings us nearer to a future the place crypto is ubiquitous and monetary equality is paramount. And we thanks for becoming a member of us for the journey.

These supplies are for basic info functions solely and aren’t funding recommendation or a advice or solicitation to purchase, promote or maintain any digital asset or to interact in any particular buying and selling technique. Some crypto merchandise and markets are unregulated, and also you will not be protected by authorities compensation and/or regulatory safety schemes. The unpredictable nature of the cryptoasset markets can result in lack of funds. Tax could also be payable on any return and/or on any enhance within the worth of your cryptoassets and you need to search impartial recommendation in your taxation place.