[Thread] A look at Kraken's announcement of a culture overhaul, eschewing “stereotypical team diversity measurements”, as the crypto exchange touts hiring plans
for the simple reason that no one (including the owner) would be permitted to make political statements or gestures of any kind on the job. It would be a place to work, and not an extension of the culture war. https://twitter.com/... @gidmk : Amazing. Crypto bros continue to out-crypto themselves https://twitter.com/... Grady Booch / @grady_booch : Kraken has the kind of brogrammer development culture that is a stain on the entire computing industry. https://twitter.com/... Alex Svanevik / @asvanevik : gotta love this @krakenfx energy https://blog.kraken.com/... Ryan Mac / @rmac18 : Ahead of our story on Kraken, its CEO said we were working on a “hit piece... devoid of context.” I disagree. We tried to present what has happened at his company since April fairly. But if he wants context, maybe he should publish his Slack logs. https://twitter.com/... Mike Solana / @micsolana : i've not spoken with a single serious founder who isn't struggling with a small group of workplace activists. two ways out: 1. don't hire crazy people 2. if you accidentally hired crazy people, initiate a “no more crazy stuff at work” policy and pay the crazy people to leave https://twitter.com/... Liz Wolfe / @lizzywol : It is so confusing to me how such small groups of woke sociopaths manage to so frequently hijack companies, publications, and universities. “Stop being crazy” seems to be an appropriate approach, with a “you're fired” closely behind that, if behavior isn't remedied. https://twitter.com/... Pierre Rochard / @pierre_rochard : To clarify, my departure from Kraken is despite its incredibly based culture, not because of! I'll be cheering them on as they continue to accelerate global, inclusive #bitcoin adoption 💜🙌 They have lots of great career opportunities in all areas: https://blog.kraken.com/... https://twitter.com/... Jason Zweig / @jasonzweigwsj : some serious libertarian flexing going on here https://twitter.com/... Rory Cellan-Jones / @ruskin147 : Well the CEO of this crypto firm is going for Boss of the Year. Can't wait for the whistleblower documentary about its inevitable implosion https://twitter.com/... @iron_spike : Ten bux says everyone involved in the implementation of these measures were sneering at/dunking on “safe spaces” and/or “echo chambers” within recent memory. https://twitter.com/... George D. Bousis / @gbousis : Spot on thread by @jespow https://twitter.com/... @antoniogm : I love that corporate management's reaction to the now inevitable woke micro-rebellion that happens at any company is just “it's a tiny number of people, not representative of the whole that wants to work and build.” We will now proceed to ignore them while managing them out. https://twitter.com/... Austen Allred / @austen : So I think there's something deeper here than standard US culture wars: Companies being international trying to share the same values is a fundamentally different problem. https://twitter.com/... Hannah Murphy / @mshannahmurphy : New trend: crypto CEOs being openly unhappy about their employees being openly unhappy The below from CEO of crypto exchange Kraken follows this similar thread from Brian Armstrong of Coinbase last week - https://t.co/VE9zG6RoZB https://t.co/u5CqNBsqFS Steve Parks / @steveparks : Tech bros are gonna tech bro... but I wonder if there's some reading to do between the lines here? They don't want the market confidence hit of making layoffs, but they could do with quite a few staff ‘choosing’ to quit, so are trying to trigger that? https://twitter.com/... Chris Pollock / @chhopsky : like clockwork, the people who cry about freedom, decentralization, and call people snowflakes actually just want to be able to do whatever they feel like with no repercussions, and will have a little tantrum when they get pushback https://twitter.com/... @human_not_bees : The crypto bros have decided that you increase openness by banning the word “racist” https://twitter.com/... @eyilanke : You can see the red flags from Saturn. https://twitter.com/... Ben Bleything / @bleything : From just this one tweet you might think to yourself “wow, that sounds... pretty bad?” and you'd be right but if you don't read the full thread you're really missing out on exactly bananas this whole thing is https://twitter.com/... Rich Burroughs / @richburroughs : All of this shit makes a lot more sense when you understand that cryptocurrencies are a concept deeply rooted in libertarianism. I was on the Cypherpunks email list in the 90s when the initial round of digital currencies were being used (DigiCash, CyberCash, etc.). https://twitter.com/... Jackson Palmer / @ummjackson : Great thread from Molly on the bizarre trajectory of Kraken. https://twitter.com/... @ijbailey : Acceptance of a “diversity of thought” - except for those who want to call out sexism and racism. How convenient. https://twitter.com/... Whitney Merrill / @wbm312 : Diversity of thought, but you can't call out racism or bigotry. https://twitter.com/... John Voss / @heyjovo : This thread is fucking wild and I hope it goes as well for them as it did Coinbase. https://twitter.com/... @tangotiger : If I am reading this thread correctly: Expect Joseph Gordon-Levitt to play the CEO of Kraken on HBO soon... https://twitter.com/... Jules Glegg / @heyjulesfern : Crypto proponents: everyone is welcome in crypto 😊 Crypto companies: we strive to create the least inclusive environment possible. Our culture is precision-tuned to maximally enable dipshits https://twitter.com/... @battymamzelle : Sounds like a cult. https://twitter.com/... Parker Molloy / @parkermolloy : Ah, nothing says “diversity of thought” quite like prohibiting people from acknowledging when they're being attacked. “Diversity of thought” is *always* a way for companies to be like, “Okay, we'll ALLOW [marginalized group] work here, but they're gonna have to let us bully them” https://twitter.com/... Molly White / @molly0xfff : The announcement includes the headings “More Pirate than Professional” and “Differences of Opinion”. They write, “If nobody is ever offended, we either don't have enough diversity of thought or we don't have enough transparency in communication.” Molly White / @molly0xfff : Next section: “Someone Must be Offended, Some of the Time”. “If nobody is ever offended, we either don't have enough diversity of thought or we don't have enough transparency in communication.” Molly White / @molly0xfff : “We do not call someone's words toxic, hateful, racist, x-phobic, unhelpful, etc.” Eva / @evacide : Kraken has several openings in their HR department, which is why I assume there was no one in the room to point out that this “culture overhaul” is just a bunch of labor law violations in a trenchcoat. https://twitter.com/... Molly White / @molly0xfff : “We reject the myopic view that ‘diversity’ can be captured by a short checklist of obvious physical features. Silicon Valley's view of diversity in the world is dangerously limited, a commodification of individuals, and a disturbing reflection of profound ignorance.” @chadstanton : *Whole EEOC office warming up* https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/... @blackamazon : We raise more money when we “own the Libs” and with plummeting crypto we need the infusion from bigotry ( also we ain't making none of the numbers we promised ) https://twitter.com/... Artur / @borrowcheck : Kraken is the most solid company in crypto. I joined in the middle of the 2014-2017 bear market and I'm hitting 6 years this August (!!) Don't despair. Bear markets are for building. Join us! https://blog.kraken.com/... Elizabeth Lopatto / @mslopatto : well, I suppose this is one way to avoid layoffs: “don't call stuff racist. if that bothers you, quit.” https://blog.kraken.com/... @alexhern : This reads an awful lot like Kraken wants a lot of staff to leave very quickly https://t.co/le0m7x7x4x Corey Quinn / @quinnypig : Well I just found another screaming red résumé flag. https://t.co/k2WjMpZh9w
Kraken is pairing its rejection of conventional diversity measurements and restrictions on political statements with hiring plans, making workplace rules part of how the exchange presents itself to prospective staff. Pierre Rochard’s departure puts an immediate personnel marker on that repositioning.
First-order effects
Kraken employees face a narrower boundary for political statements and gestures at work, while its hiring plans signal that candidates will be recruited under the revised culture rules.
Pierre Rochard’s departure gives the overhaul an immediate retention cost alongside Kraken’s effort to expand hiring.
Second-order effects
Coinbase, whose own apolitical-workplace stance drew scrutiny in related coverage, is a direct comparison point for candidates and employees evaluating crypto employers’ cultural expectations.
Kraken’s hiring pipeline is likely to sort more sharply for applicants comfortable with its stated limits on workplace expression, rather than treating culture policy as separate from recruiting.
Third-order effects
If crypto employers continue to formalize apolitical workplace rules, culture policy becomes a more explicit competitive differentiator in talent markets, alongside compensation and product mission.
1/ We recently attempted to summarize what the @krakenfx culture has been over the past 11 years, and what we hope it continues to be. We had a few heated debates and it turns out we have about 20 people out of 3200 who are totally not on board. 👇🧵 https://t.co/Ht6bagQ6T1
10/ Unfortunately, that's not enough for everyone. Someone's likely been sharing internal chat (in breach of their NDA) devoid of context, with a journalist who we expect to publish a hit piece in the next few days. I just want to say we welcome all, and don't believe the news.
What does it all mean? It's time to get back to building! We've got 500+ roles still left to fill this year. Bear markets are the best for recruiting talent that is both aligned with our culture and our mission. Check out Kraken Culture Explained for more. https://blog.kraken.com…
Kraken CEO Jesse Powell also made a tweet thread calling out the current employees who disagree with the culture changes, writing that among other things they are upset about “whether someone can identify as a different race and be allowed to use the N-word” https://t.co/LHt6QkEW…
8/ Then it's about “silencing” people 😂. Funny thing is the biggest activists have the most myopic view of the world. They don't realize how discriminatory they are to others. You want to be “inclusive” by asking an ESL Saudi candidate his pronouns/gender in a job interview?
This is incredible. ‘Bitcoin removes politics from money.’ But also, ‘We will engage in lobbying, as a single-issue donor, supporting controversial politicians and legislation that furthers The Mission, possibly to the detriment of other civil rights causes.’ https://twitter.com/…
If I owned a company it would be neither woke nor anti-woke — for the simple reason that no one (including the owner) would be permitted to make political statements or gestures of any kind on the job. It would be a place to work, and not an extension of the culture war. https://…
Ahead of our story on Kraken, its CEO said we were working on a “hit piece... devoid of context.” I disagree. We tried to present what has happened at his company since April fairly. But if he wants context, maybe he should publish his Slack logs. https://twitter.com/...
i've not spoken with a single serious founder who isn't struggling with a small group of workplace activists. two ways out: 1. don't hire crazy people 2. if you accidentally hired crazy people, initiate a “no more crazy stuff at work” policy and pay the crazy people to leave http…
It is so confusing to me how such small groups of woke sociopaths manage to so frequently hijack companies, publications, and universities. “Stop being crazy” seems to be an appropriate approach, with a “you're fired” closely behind that, if behavior isn't remedied. https://twitt…
To clarify, my departure from Kraken is despite its incredibly based culture, not because of! I'll be cheering them on as they continue to accelerate global, inclusive #bitcoin adoption 💜🙌 They have lots of great career opportunities in all areas: https://blog.kraken.com/... http…
Well the CEO of this crypto firm is going for Boss of the Year. Can't wait for the whistleblower documentary about its inevitable implosion https://twitter.com/...
Ten bux says everyone involved in the implementation of these measures were sneering at/dunking on “safe spaces” and/or “echo chambers” within recent memory. https://twitter.com/...
I love that corporate management's reaction to the now inevitable woke micro-rebellion that happens at any company is just “it's a tiny number of people, not representative of the whole that wants to work and build.” We will now proceed to ignore them while managing them out. htt…
So I think there's something deeper here than standard US culture wars: Companies being international trying to share the same values is a fundamentally different problem. https://twitter.com/...
New trend: crypto CEOs being openly unhappy about their employees being openly unhappy The below from CEO of crypto exchange Kraken follows this similar thread from Brian Armstrong of Coinbase last week - https://t.co/VE9zG6RoZB https://t.co/u5CqNBsqFS
Tech bros are gonna tech bro... but I wonder if there's some reading to do between the lines here? They don't want the market confidence hit of making layoffs, but they could do with quite a few staff ‘choosing’ to quit, so are trying to trigger that? https://twitter.com/...
like clockwork, the people who cry about freedom, decentralization, and call people snowflakes actually just want to be able to do whatever they feel like with no repercussions, and will have a little tantrum when they get pushback https://twitter.com/...
From just this one tweet you might think to yourself “wow, that sounds... pretty bad?” and you'd be right but if you don't read the full thread you're really missing out on exactly bananas this whole thing is https://twitter.com/...
All of this shit makes a lot more sense when you understand that cryptocurrencies are a concept deeply rooted in libertarianism. I was on the Cypherpunks email list in the 90s when the initial round of digital currencies were being used (DigiCash, CyberCash, etc.). https://twitte…
Crypto proponents: everyone is welcome in crypto 😊 Crypto companies: we strive to create the least inclusive environment possible. Our culture is precision-tuned to maximally enable dipshits https://twitter.com/...
Ah, nothing says “diversity of thought” quite like prohibiting people from acknowledging when they're being attacked. “Diversity of thought” is *always* a way for companies to be like, “Okay, we'll ALLOW [marginalized group] work here, but they're gonna have to let us bully them”…
The announcement includes the headings “More Pirate than Professional” and “Differences of Opinion”. They write, “If nobody is ever offended, we either don't have enough diversity of thought or we don't have enough transparency in communication.”
Next section: “Someone Must be Offended, Some of the Time”. “If nobody is ever offended, we either don't have enough diversity of thought or we don't have enough transparency in communication.”
Kraken has several openings in their HR department, which is why I assume there was no one in the room to point out that this “culture overhaul” is just a bunch of labor law violations in a trenchcoat. https://twitter.com/...
“We reject the myopic view that ‘diversity’ can be captured by a short checklist of obvious physical features. Silicon Valley's view of diversity in the world is dangerously limited, a commodification of individuals, and a disturbing reflection of profound ignorance.”
We raise more money when we “own the Libs” and with plummeting crypto we need the infusion from bigotry ( also we ain't making none of the numbers we promised ) https://twitter.com/...
Kraken is the most solid company in crypto. I joined in the middle of the 2014-2017 bear market and I'm hitting 6 years this August (!!) Don't despair. Bear markets are for building. Join us! https://blog.kraken.com/...