ZachXBT downgrades Kraken, citing poor listings and hack response

On-chain analyst ZachXBT announced on his Telegram channel that he has downgraded cryptocurrency exchange Kraken from its top S-tier rating to B-tier. He cited the exchange's listing of low-quality tokens suspected of manipulation, such as M, RAIN, and RIVER, without sufficient due diligence. ZachXBT also pointed to the absence of any mention of victim compensation in Kraken's recent announcement regarding a hacking incident. He noted that other major exchanges like Coinbase and Bybit have prioritized user compensation following security incidents. "I will increase the bounty to up to $100,000 for whistleblowers who provide internal documents—including business contracts, full conversation logs, and market-making (MM) agreements—related to exchange price manipulation," ZachXBT stated. He added that such practices will likely continue until regulators or the public make an example of one of the teams involved in price manipulation.