Setting the record straight
Payward, the parent company of Kraken, has secured a $22 million arbitration award against Mazars USA following the auditor's abrupt withdrawal from a nearly completed 2022 audit. Kraken characterizes the withdrawal as part of a broader, coordinated regulatory and institutional pressure campaign against the crypto industry, which it claims has since been dismantled. The company is now calling for Congress to pass the CLARITY Act to establish clear digital asset market structure rules in the United States.
The arbitration award highlights the historical challenges crypto firms faced regarding access to essential financial infrastructure, such as auditing and banking, due to perceived regulatory pressure. It serves as a public account of the industry's struggle against what it terms 'informal pressure' and underscores the ongoing push for legislative clarity in the U.S. market.