Jesse Powell, CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, told CNBC today, Feb. 13, that crypto traders must be responsible for the risks they take in investing in digital coins.
During an interview at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Powell said that he sees consumers, not exchanges, as playing the primary role in risk evaluation:
"I think ultimately consumers need to look out for themselves, look into the fundamentals of any coin and not rely on any particular exchange to protect them from market volatility."
While Powell said that Kraken does its best to ensure that every coin they list is legitimate, they can’t make any “promises about the future of any coin, things can change when you raise $1 billion in 10 minutes.”
Kraken is currently ranked in 8th place by trading volume on CoinMarketCap, trading a total of about $300 million over a 24-hour period to press time.
Traditional investors have often pointed out that digital currency lacks intrinsic value or that its current trajectory resembles an economic bubble. When asked during the summit about the negative views of crypto held by world-famous traditional investors like Warren Buffett, CEO of Blockchain Technologies Corporation Nick Spanos told CNBC that "Warren Buffett is good at renting furniture and whatever other businesses that he does, but we are in a different business."
Powell’s advice for investors to thoroughly understand their investments echoes similar, but more scare-mongering, advice from global regulators. EU regulators warned consumers again yesterday, Feb. 12, about the high risk of investing in crypto and noted that they are concerned that consumers do not fully understand what they are investing in when they invest in crypto.