On Thursday, David Ripley, the incoming CEO of the Kraken crypto exchange, said that they have no plans of delisting the tokens that have been labeled as securities by the US SEC.
He also added that they did not have any immediate plans of registering with the securities regulator as a market intermediary.
The SEC challenges
Based in San Francisco, the crypto platform has more than nine million users and it stance only highlights the challenges that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is facing when it comes to regulating the crypto industry.
Earlier this year, Kraken had made headlines when it refused to block digital wallet addresses of its Russian clients, after the country invaded Ukraine.
The exchange has been a champion of the libertarian values associated with crypto and its new chief executive said that he would continue to keep up with the culture.
On Wednesday, Kraken had announced that Jesse Powell, its often-controversial co-founder, would step down from the position of CEO.
Ripley is currently serving as the chief operating officer of the exchange and he will take the position of the CEO, once a replacement COO has been found.
The plans
Ripley will take his position as the CEO at a time when the crypto market is facing a downturn, as bitcoin has lost almost 60% of its value.
Moreover, it is also a time when the rapidly growing industry has found itself at odds with regulatory authorities like the SEC.
In an insider trading lawsuit in July, the SEC had identified a number of tokens as securities. There were reports that it was investigating Coinbase for listing the said tokens on its platform.
Despite these reports, Ripley stated that Kraken will not remove the tokens from its platform. He added that the exchange was not interested in registering with the SEC either.
Gary Gensler, the chairman of the SEC, has called on crypto platforms to get themselves registered, but Ripley said that they do not plan on doing so because they do not offer any securities.
No securities
He stated that there are no tokens out there that are classified as securities and that Kraken wants to list.
He went on to say that there could be a new token that might be classified as a security and if that happens, then they might be interested.
The summer season has been a tough one for the crypto market, as crypto giants like Celsius Network and Voyager Digital had to file for bankruptcy.
Similarly, exchanges like Coinbase have had to lay off their staff, but Kraken has been able to stay safe from the market downturn. Instead, the exchange is now looking into opportunities.
Ripley stated that they had not made any moves as yet, but they were looking for opportunities of mergers and acquisitions in this environment.
He added that the exchange would consider those acquisitions that can help it in boosting its tech and product portfolio because it wants to expand its offering.