Front Run The Week 6/2/25
Steve Jabs (aka Jesse Powell)
There’s a reason that Apple’s 1984 commercial still hits. The hammer through the screen wasn’t just rebellion—it was a declaration. “Think Different” wasn’t branding. It was a warning.
And in crypto, we’re seeing our own version of that ad playing out right now.
Kraken recently dropped their “Krak The World” teaser. It was cinematic. Stylized. And instead of a hammer, the figure carries a sword. That’s not a coincidence. That’s a signal.
If Coinbase is the buttoned-up banker playing TradFi dress-up with an on-chain wallet, Kraken is the swordsman kicking down the gate to build the future without permission.
And behind that blade is Jesse Powell—a founder who’s no stranger to division or defiance.
Is Jesse Powell the Steve Jobs of Crypto?
If you’re reading this, you’re miles ahead of the crowd—those who are encouraged to think different from the masses, yet somehow manage to find themselves trapped by the automatic sliding doors of big box stores every Black Friday.
Powell doesn’t just “think different.”
He jabs at the system.
Unlike Steve Jobs, Powell didn’t get forced out by a board and return with a turtleneck and an iPhone. He left Kraken on his own terms, before regulators could try to tame him. That’s not an exit—that’s a pivot. And he did it to make space for the next chapter.
Meanwhile, over in Silicon cosplay land, we had Elizabeth Holmes—who tried to become Jobs. Black turtlenecks. Sparse stage sets. A carefully crafted baritone voice. It was performance. It was synthetic.
Like staking BTC just to mint a synthetic version of it… all to pretend you’re holding the real thing.
Holmes copied the look but missed the lesson:
Real innovation isn’t what you wear.
It’s what you’re willing to break.
And Powell?
He’s breaking things. Compliance orthodoxy. Censorship culture. The corporate-friendly “safe space” that keeps crypto neutralized. He’s not trying to make regulators comfortable—he’s trying to set users free.
He’s not Jobs.
He’s Steve Jabs.
IPOs Are Coming. But What Are You Actually Buying?
Kraken isn’t the only player with momentum.
Circle—the company behind USDC—is reportedly preparing to go public on the NYSE. This isn't the first IPO rumor, but this time it feels different. Especially with Coinbase already in the S&P 500 and TradFi injecting $24B in flows. A Circle listing validates stablecoins at the institutional level. Not to mention the cement poured for Base blockchain!
And if Circle makes it to Wall Street, Kraken will follow.
Readers have asked me if Circle would get purchased by Coinbase or Ripple before the IPO.
My response:
“I don’t see either of them going through that process after narrowly escaping the SEC with Gary G and his gang of goons. I also think Circle wants to be in the Freedom Tower to feel they belong. Like they’ve made it, which they have.”
But here’s the real question:
Are you buying into the company—or the vision?
Because Powell’s Kraken isn’t some polished Web2 IPO with a crypto sticker on top. It’s a culture. A stance. It’s what Apple used to be before it became a trillion-dollar mall brand.
Jobs once said:
“It’s better to be a pirate than join the Navy.”
That’s Kraken.
That’s Powell.
That’s why this moment matters.
This Week on Deck:
I plunder the treasure chest of a travel agency built on AI and ready for a great L1 that isn’t yet at mainnet. Token incoming!
Speaking of Circle, I’ll show you how to get exposure to it right now, on chain!
More on the OTE Stack, like what I recently dropped about Tim Draper and his take on the almighty dollar.
If you’re not already on board—it’s not too late to own the economy instead of renting it from the ones who show up late and make all the rules.
So if it’s true what Jobs once said about swashbucklers and servicemen then maybe Powell knows that, too.
After all, in Kraken’s “Krak The World” ad, the hero doesn’t carry a compliance handbook. He carries a sword.
Not swung like a pirate raiding ships… but held with intention. Like someone rewriting the narrative altogether. And that blade? It’s a nod to something bigger—Kraken’s quiet but strategic acquisition of NinjaTrader. A move that slices right through the myth that Kraken is just another exchange.
Because for years, regulators painted Kraken as the outlaw. The raider. The one who didn’t fall in line. But maybe that’s the point. Maybe Powell was never trying to join the Navy. He was building the ship.
And now, as TradFi lines up for stablecoin IPOs and retail waits for the next bull run headline… the real shift is already underway.
The sword has been unsheathed.
The narrative is changing.
And the pirates are already inside the port.
I can picture Kraken’s next commercial. Maybe around the time of the next Superbowl…
Instead of “Think Different.”
We get: “Think Ink!”
Before I jump ship…
Have you checked out my podcast yet?
I’m now sharing clips with supporters before they go anywhere else. Case in point: my recent interview with Ian Smith, CEO of Quantum EVM. The interview episode is dropping soon, but I’ve already got some Alpha on what he likes and doesn’t as far as tokens are concerned.
And with what BlackRock just announced about the vulnerability of BTC to the impending Q-day, you’ll want to tune in. You’ll be notified on all episodes other than my Front Run The Week recap—I’m now doing mini episodes for listeners out there who haven’t yet caught on to the newsletter.
Here’s a clip from a recent episode where I cover Aethir. I like it for a few reasons, one of which is that it’s a DePin + Cloud project supported by Kraken and Coinbase.
For more info, check out the brand new website for The Chip Mahoney Show. I would appreciate any new ratings and reviews on the big platforms.
Anything less than a 5 star, please let me know how I can steer things in the right direction.
Because if you’re here, your opinion matters.
Stay sharp,
—Chip
P.S.
If you share this with others, I’ll be that much closer to revealing my project to “Own The Economy,” as I say. I’ve been hard at work on the vision.