Kraken Donates $250,000 to Advance Ethereum's

Blockchain Upgrade Efforts

SAN FRANCISCO - August 24, 2021 -  Kraken is excited to announce it will donate $250,000 to the open-source developer teams now working to accelerate Ethereum's ongoing technical upgrades dubbed "Ethereum 2.0."

The announcement follows Ethereum's successful London hard fork on August 5, which saw the network that powers the world’s second most valuable cryptocurrency introduce five highly anticipated changes to its software.

"We believe it’s our responsibility to give back to the open-source innovators who are building the next generation of cryptocurrency," said Jesse Powell, CEO and co-founder at Kraken. "That’s why we're excited to work with the Ethereum Foundation to ensure developers receive funding from an increasingly diverse range of stakeholders."

These developments pave the way for Ethereum’s eventual transition to proof-of-stake and ease operations for the many decentralized applications that are now building on top of its platform.

Kraken clients have already staked over 800,000 ETH, worth more than $2 billion, to secure the Beacon Chain, the coming proof-of-stake version of the Ethereum blockchain. As of late July, clients have earned more than 25,000 ETH (then worth $58 million) in rewards through this offering.

The funds will be distributed to teams by the Ethereum Foundation, and will be awarded as eligible teams reach project milestones.

"We strongly believe that collaborative efforts and support are the most sustainable way to benefit Ethereum in the long-term. This joint effort to support teams and builders that maintain a diverse set of Ethereum clients is not only impactful, but sets a great example," said Ethereum Foundation Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi.

Funds will be awarded to developers working on clients that support the Ethereum software, including Besu, Erigon, Geth, Nethermind and Nimbus, technologies that together power more than 80 percent of the distributed Ethereum network.

To date, Kraken has given grants to projects including Gitcoin, Brink, BTCPay Server and the University of Wyoming, all designed to promote education and development related to the cryptocurrencies traded on our global exchange.

As the first major exchange to list ether for trading, Kraken is proud once again to lead the way by giving back to the courageous builders who are hard at work on the front lines of crypto innovation. We look forward to continuing to list the most exciting Ethereum assets for trading and to grow our available Ethereum services.

For more details on the Kraken's charitable initiatives, visit our official grants page.

Based in San Francisco, Kraken is the world’s largest global digital asset exchange based on euro volume and liquidity. Globally, Kraken’s client base trades nearly 90 digital assets and 7 different fiat currencies, including GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, JPY, CHF and AUD.

Kraken was founded in 2011 and was the first U.S. crypto firm to receive a state-chartered banking license, as well as one of the first exchanges to offer spot trading with margin, regulated derivatives and index services. Kraken is trusted by well over 7 million traders, institutions and authorities around the world and offers professional, round the clock online support.

2021 is already a record year for Kraken. Year-to-date, Kraken has processed more than $320 billion in trading volume, more than three times the volume reported in 2020, our best year on record. Kraken is also the largest centralised staking provider in the world, with more than $10 billion worth of digital assets staked on its secure on-chain staking platform. Total client signups in the first half of 2021 were nearly fivefold the number of signups recorded across the whole of 2020.

Kraken is backed by investors including Tribe Capital, Hummingbird Ventures, Blockchain Capital and Digital Currency Group, among others. For more information about Kraken, please visit www.kraken.com.

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Ethereum and related technologies. As part of a large community of organizations, individuals, and companies that support the network, our mission is to do what only we can to help ensure success for Ethereum in the long-term. The Foundation's role is to allocate resources to critical projects, to be a valued voice within the Ethereum ecosystem, and to advocate for Ethereum to the outside world.

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Staying true to our mission to bring crypto to everyone, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell explains it all in our new video series: Crypto 101.

Recognizing the importance of Bitcoin from the onset, and understanding that the exchange is the most critical part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, Jesse Powell co-founded Kraken to give people the means to quickly and securely invest in the space.