Kraken, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, disclosed Monday it is facing an extortion attempt after two separate insider incidents gave a criminal group access to limited client support data — the latest in a pattern of insider-recruitment attacks accelerating across the crypto industry.
Kraken Chief Security Officer Nick Percoco said the exchange identified and shut down two instances of inappropriate access to internal support tools, one in February 2025 and a second more recently. Both involved individuals within Kraken’s own support team. Approximately 2,000 accounts — 0.02% of clients — potentially had data viewed. No core systems were breached, and no funds were at risk.
After the second access was terminated, the criminal group began issuing extortion demands, threatening to distribute videos of internal systems showing client data to media outlets and social platforms.
“Our systems were never breached; funds were never at risk; we will not pay these criminals; we will not ever negotiate with bad actors,” Percoco said. Kraken said affected clients have already been notified.
The exchange is working with federal law enforcement across multiple jurisdictions and believes it has gathered sufficient evidence to identify and arrest those responsible. Kraken linked both incidents to a broader coordinated campaign of insider recruitment targeting crypto, gaming, and telecommunications firms.
Kraken confidentially filed for an IPO in November 2025 but quietly delayed those plans earlier this year amid difficult market conditions.
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