[jeremyrwelch]

VP Product at Kraken here. Have questions on the Kraken SPDI? Add them to this thread and I'll answer over the next few days.

If you want to build the SPDI with us -- we're actively hiring for Engineering, Product, Design and more.

[scottmsul]

Will Kraken provide bitcoin savings accounts? I'm thinking something where you deposit some BTC, it gets loaned out for several months to a year (and you're not allowed to withdraw during that time), and you get paid an interest rate denominated in BTC. Would be nice to get a positive real rate given the 21M supply cap.

[jeremyrwelch]

Too early to go into details, but yes there are many possible yield bearing products we could build out comparable to what you describe.

[rahimnathwani]

Hi Jeremy! Congrats on the new role.

Given that an SPDI isn't a deposit-taking license (like a traditional banking license), what building blocks will the Kraken SPDI give you, that you don't have today? Is it mainly the ability to interface with the banking system/plumbing, without being subject to a third-party's AML and risk management processes? Or something else?

[jeremyrwelch]

Possible to plug directly into the banking system, and also provide common savings/checking bank account experiences to customers. The key difference is in being fully reserve backed (no fractional reserves). David Kinitsky and Marco Santori from Kraken talk some of these details in a podcast called "On The Brink", if you'd like to learn more.

[rahimnathwani]

Podcast episode link for anyone else who's interested: https://lnns.co/RiQ2wjI8VHh

[seibelj]

If I get paid in crypto can I custody it with you and use it to pay bills, buy a house, etc.? Are you trying to make this like a real bank? My normal bank will cancel my account if I start wiring in large amounts of fiat that originated from a crypto exchange. Also, if I have a crypto business, can you be my crypto business banker? Thanks.

[jeremyrwelch]

Yes, all of those scenarios will be easier with what we are building.

[seibelj]

Thanks! When can I become a customer?

[jeremyrwelch]

You're welcome! You can sign-up for a standard Kraken account now, or wait until we announce more about the SPDI bank experience. We should have more details out before the end of the year.

[seibelj]

I have a Kraken account - but I am a Poloniex engineer :) but I will be happy to use your banking services in the future! Amazing work. I don’t think most people outside of crypto (and especially HN) understand the value proposition for what you are providing. This is huge!

[jeremyrwelch]

Ha! Thanks for your work there, and glad to hear it. We are all in this together -- building a better overall financial and computing systems. More people will understand as we launch more features and products.

[tgsovlerkhgsel]

What does this move mean for European users?

Is it a no-op? Does it increase safety of fiat and/or crypto deposits, or increase e.g. the risk that you'll be forced to lock an account for months to comply with some banking laws?

[jeremyrwelch]

Most customers, including those in Europe, shouldn't see any noticeable change. The longterm improvements customers will see is for more/better funding options (for everyone) and new banking products (for some regions).

[optimiz3]

Do you folks support WA yet? WA has one of the highest concentrations of engineering talent in the country.

[jeremyrwelch]

Are you referring to supporting customers in WA? Or hiring engineers from WA?

Unfortunately our service does not currently support residents of WA. The SPDI should help with this in the future.

Re: working at Kraken, we hire in all US states including WA and most countries globally. We're one of the few global companies that was already fully remote before Covid19. Any engineers in Washington state are encouraged to apply!

[tayo42]

Going to go way off topic for a sec... Are you guys adjusting pay based off location?

[jeremyrwelch]

We do slightly adjust pay based on location, but most positions stay within a range regardless of your location. Our CEO Jesse and CBO Christina recorded a whole podcast on our compensation philosophy and distributed workforce approach.

[Karunamon]

Are you hiring for any positions in Cheyenne as a result of acquiring the license there, or is everything purely remote? The jobs site makes it look like the latter.

[jeremyrwelch]

Yes! We are excited to invest in Cheyenne and Wyoming. Several members of the Kraken team are moving to Cheyenne, and we will be hiring more locally. You should expect to see more job postings there over the coming year.

Some of our team has also expressed interest in visiting Cheyenne to work for a period of time, even if they are not moving there full-time! We will continue to have many fully remote positions open for hiring globally (as we always have).

[vel0city]

That's awesome. In today's decentralized world I'd love for more companies to encourage hiring in the smaller cities of the US. It would really increase our competitiveness globally if the average US programmer wasn't trying to cover rent on a 500 sqft $2k/mo flat in San Francisco.

[jeremyrwelch]

Agreed!

[1337biz]

Congratulations! Are there any plans for international customer bank accounts in the pipeline or is it US centric so far?

[jeremyrwelch]

Can't go into details yet, but we do expect the SPDI setup to benefit all our global customers in various ways -- from easier funding options to totally new banking products. Stay tuned.