Kraken exec Ankur Rakshit just exited the high-profile crypto exchange. Here's why he left, and exclusive details on his new a16z-backed gig's $200 million funding round.
Summary
Other backers for the firm include Andreessen Horowitz, Variant, and Lightspeed Ventures.Theres been a slew of departures in crypto c-suites and upper echelons of management in the past few months, with execs from Celsius, Microstrategy, FTX.US, and Genesis Global Trading exiting.Kraken, a high-profile cryptocurrency exchange, joins the list of industry heavyweights looking to fill top leadership positions. )Rakshit has joined Matter Labs, an ethereum scaling developer, as chief financial officer a role that he says felt like a natural next step in his career. I had a lot of experience under my belt, and I felt like it was the right time for me to move into the CFO ladder," Rakshit told Insider in an interview.Founded in 2018, Matter Labs is best known for developing a scaling protocol, or zero-knowledge rollup called zkSync. This is billed as a way to offer lower gas fees and quicker transaction speeds on Ethereums network, while maintaining more security.On top of the new hire, Matter Labs secured a $200 million Series C round. The startup previously announced a $50 million Series B raise last year.With the capital, Rakshit says the 100-person firm could "reasonably" 2X or 3X its staff by the end of next year.