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Kraken seeks final judgment over $22 million arbitration award

The exchange says Mazars quit Kraken’s 2022 audit shortly before completion amid heightened U.S. regulatory pressure, and that it later paid millions in legal fees to replace auditors.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Market Structure

Kraken is asking a Delaware court to enter a final judgment against its former auditor, Mazars USA, after an arbitrator awarded Mazars $22 million, according to Bitcoin Magazine. Payward, Kraken’s parent company, filed the request with the Delaware Court of Chancery and disclosed it on July 7 via statements from co-CEOs Arjun Sethi and Dave Ripley.

The dispute began in December 2023, when Mazars withdrew from Kraken’s 2022 audit days before it was finished. Kraken said Mazars had audited it for three prior years and issued two clean opinions, and it added that the auditor previously indicated it had no disagreements with management, no concerns about integrity, and no fraud findings.

Kraken said Mazars cited legal developments, including an SEC complaint filed against the exchange weeks earlier, though the complaint was dismissed with prejudice, with no penalties and no admission of wrongdoing. The exchange argued the abrupt resignation caused significant financial and operational harm, including years of impact and millions of dollars in legal fees to hire new auditors and reassure banks, regulators, and counterparties.

Kraken also tied the episode to its regulatory expansion plans, including pursuing a full European banking license reportedly through Lithuania. Bitcoin Magazine notes this strategy aligns with Kraken’s broader push beyond crypto into mainstream financial services, building on prior milestones such as Federal Reserve payment access and authorization in the UAE.

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