David Ripley, who co-leads Kraken alongside Arjun Sethi, told attendees at the Axios AM Live event in Washington, D.C. that nearly all traditional financial services companies will offer cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum to their customers. He characterized this convergence as “a big story of 2026.”
From crypto-native to crypto-everywhere
Ripley’s framing positions Kraken not as a competitor to traditional firms, but as their infrastructure provider. Rather than fighting JPMorgan or Fidelity for retail customers, Kraken wants to be the engine under their hood.
This strategy crystallized in June 2025 when Kraken launched Kraken Prime, a comprehensive trading, custody, and financing solution built specifically for institutional clients. The product is designed to give banks and asset managers the plumbing they need to offer crypto without building everything from scratch.
Kraken’s evolution under Ripley
