Overview
- A retired-judge arbitrator awarded Payward Inc., Kraken’s parent, $22 million and Payward filed on July 7 to have the Delaware Court of Chancery enter final judgment and enforce that award.
- Kraken says Mazars USA walked away from its nearly finished 2022 audit in December 2023 despite reporting no fraud, no management disagreements, and no integrity concerns, and the firm later received subpoenas from the SEC and a grand jury.
- The arbitrator concluded Mazars’ exit created a “licensing crisis” for Kraken and allocated about $12.5 million of the award to costs tied to Kraken’s purchase of TradeStation Crypto.
- Kraken’s leaders frame the withdrawal as part of what they call Operation Chokepoint 2.0 and point to the SEC’s earlier enforcement posture and the March 2025 dismissal of the SEC case as context for their push to pass the CLARITY Act.
- The case could set a precedent that pressures auditors to complete engagements and reduce ‘de‑auditing’ risk, and the next immediate developments to watch are the Chancery Court’s ruling on enforcement and whether this changes how accounting firms handle crypto clients.