# David Ripley

> David 'Dave' Ripley is Co-CEO of Kraken, one of the world's largest and longest-running cryptocurrency exchanges. He joined via Kraken's 2016 acquisition of Glidera, a bitcoin wallet service he co-founded, and rose from COO to CEO to Co-CEO as Kraken expanded aggressively — completing $1.5B acquisitions, raising $800M in 2025, and filing confidentially for a U.S. IPO. A former BCG principal and electrical engineer turned crypto operator, Ripley has shepherded Kraken from a 50-person startup to a 2,600+ employee global exchange while navigating major SEC enforcement actions and a shifting regulatory landscape.

- **Role:** Co-CEO at Kraken (Payward)
- **Organizations:** Kraken, Payward, Glidera
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** MBA, Strategy, Marketing, and Technology Management, Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- **Known for:** Scaled Kraken from 50 to 2,600+ employees as COO and CEO, Led 16 acquisitions including the $1.5B NinjaTrader deal — the largest TradFi-crypto acquisition in history, Oversaw Kraken raising $800M across two rounds in approximately two months (late 2025)

## Career timeline

- **pre-2005** — Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- **2005-2007** — MBA at Northwestern Kellogg; specialized in Strategy, Marketing, and Technology Management
- **2007-2014** — Principal at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), advising Fortune 500 companies across technology, healthcare, financial services, and consumer goods
- **pre-2015** — Software engineering and product management roles at Syclo (mobile enterprise software, later acquired by SAP)
- **2015** — Co-founded Glidera, a non-custodial Bitcoin wallet and buying/selling service integrated with 10 top Bitcoin wallets
- **2016** — Kraken acquired Glidera (rebranded as Kraken Direct); Ripley joined Kraken leadership
- **2016-2023** — Chief Operating Officer at Kraken — scaled company from 50 to 3,000+ employees, led 16 acquisitions
- **2023-04** — Appointed CEO of Kraken as Jesse Powell transitioned to Executive Chairman
- **2024-10** — Became Co-CEO alongside Arjun Sethi to accelerate execution and reduce organizational layers
- **2025** — Oversaw $1.5B NinjaTrader acquisition (largest TradFi-crypto deal ever), $800M in new funding at $15B-$20B valuations
- **2025-11** — Kraken confidentially filed Form S-1 with SEC for potential IPO
- **2026** — IPO paused due to market conditions; Kraken operating at ~$20B valuation

## Achievements

- Scaled Kraken from 50 to 2,600+ employees as COO and CEO
- Led 16 acquisitions including the $1.5B NinjaTrader deal — the largest TradFi-crypto acquisition in history
- Oversaw Kraken raising $800M across two rounds in approximately two months (late 2025)
- Guided Kraken through and resolution of major SEC enforcement actions (2023-2025)
- Co-founded Glidera, a Bitcoin wallet service integrated with 10 top Bitcoin wallets, successfully exited via Kraken acquisition
- Helped grow Kraken to one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges with over $1.6B in annual revenue
- Led Kraken to confidentially file for U.S. IPO at approximately $20B valuation
- Navigated Kraken through multiple cryptocurrency market cycles while maintaining financial stability

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Kraken paused its IPO plans due to difficult market conditions, with Co-CEO Arjun Sethi noting the company was approximately 80% IPO-ready.
- **2025-11** — Kraken raised $200M from Citadel Securities at a $20B valuation and confidentially filed Form S-1 with the SEC for a potential IPO.
- **2025-09** — Kraken raised $600M at a $15B valuation from Jane Street, DRW Venture Capital, Sequoia Capital China (HSG), and others.
- **2025-03** — SEC officially dismissed its enforcement action against Kraken with prejudice.
- **2025-03** — Kraken announced acquisition of NinjaTrader for $1.5B — the largest TradFi-crypto deal ever.
- **2024-10** — Ripley transitioned from sole CEO to Co-CEO alongside newly appointed Arjun Sethi.

## Links

- Website: https://kraken.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidripley
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/DavidLRipley
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/krakenfx

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/david-ripley
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-30