The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has ended its two-year investigation into Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell, returning devices seized during a 2023 FBI raid on his Los Angeles home, per CryptoPotato. The probe, launched in 2022, centered on allegations that Powell hacked and blocked access to accounts of the Verge Center for the Arts, a nonprofit he founded in 2008, not his crypto activities. No charges were filed, and a declination letter issued in April 2025 confirmed the case’s closure, per bitcoinethereumnews.com. Powell, who stepped down as Kraken’s CEO in 2022 but remains chairman, called the raid “devastating” and plans to continue his civil lawsuit against Verge’s board for defamation, per CryptoPotato. @jespow’s X postings show relief: “I’m so happy that this is over. I’m now returning my focus to @krakenfx.
The investigation stemmed from a governance dispute at Verge, where board members accused Powell of unauthorized access to Slack and Google accounts after his 2022 removal, per coinspeaker.com. Powell’s lawsuit claims Verge executives conspired to oust him, withholding key documents, per cryptopolitan.com. The DOJ’s closure, with devices returned, supports Powell’s denial of wrongdoing, per coindesk.com. Industry leaders rallied behind him, with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong calling the probe “baseless” and Binance’s CZ noting the ordeal’s toll, per CryptoPotato. X posts from @ChainGPTAI highlight Powell’s $1M ETH donation to Trump’s 2024 campaign, though no link to the probe’s closure was confirmed.
The resolution clears a cloud over Kraken as it eyes a 2026 IPO, per financemagnates.com. Despite past regulatory hurdles—like a $30M SEC fine in 2024 for unregistered securities and a $360,000 Treasury settlement in 2023 for sanctions violations—Kraken’s operations were unaffected by Powell’s personal dispute, per cryptopolitan.com. The probe’s end aligns with a crypto-friendly regulatory shift under Trump appointees at the DOJ and FBI, per bitcoinethereumnews.com. Bitcoin ($123,091.61) and ETH ($3,811) remain stable, per CoinMarketCap, but Kraken’s native token could see sentiment-driven gains. X posts from @Crypto_Potato note the case’s irrelevance to Kraken’s platform integrity.
BAYC’s floor price is 12.65 ETH ($48,200), with $2.7B in trading volume, per OpenSea, but RR/BAYC’s impact is minimal, with $1.6M in sales, per cryptonews.com. The ruling bolsters NFT trademark enforcement, potentially affecting DeFi and altcoin markets like ONDO ($1.08) and SHIB ($0.000022), per CoinMarketCap, as IP clarity drives adoption. Investors should monitor the trial’s outcome via PACER and BAYC sentiment on X (@yugalabs). A dip in ETH to $3,600 could align with volatility, per TradingView, so diversify into SOL ($197.50) to hedge. Regulatory risks, like SEC scrutiny, persist, per crypto.news, but the precedent favors NFT creators protecting their brands.
