The U.S.-based crypto exchange Kraken has announced that, despite the layoffs and hiring freezes among its competitors in the ongoing “crypto winter”, they intend to keep hiring aggressively. They also took the opportunity to announce that they “believe bear markets are fantastic at weeding out the applicants chasing hype from the true believers in our mission”, and that they had “taken this opportunity to align our internal culture around a set of shared values”. They also make it clear that anyone who disagree with the changes can GTFO: “In commitment to these values, we also expanded our permanent benefits program to make moving on a bit easier for anyone who feels it’s time for the next chapter in their career.“These internal values include requiring employees to believe in “The Mission”, “to accelerate the worldwide adoption of cryptocurrency”. Their culture explainer also includes various points (emphasis in the original):“We will engage in lobbying, as a single-issue donor, supporting controversial politicians and legislation that furthers The Mission, possibly to the detriment of other civil rights causes"We will advertise with and sponsor controversial television programs, podcasts, influencers and events, if it furthers The MissionWe may incorporate firearm and self-defense training in to corporate retreatsShould we aim to be exemplary in terms of stereotypical team diversity measurements? No.The culture document goes on to say that “Someone Must be Offended, Some of the Time”:“Krakenites are welcome to request (and deny) personal language and communication preferences of each other"Everyone is responsible for their own feelingsBeing offended doesn’t necessarily make you rightBeing offended doesn’t necessarily make you “harmed"Words nor silence are ever “violence"We do not call someone’s words toxic, hateful, racist, x-phobic, unhelpful, etc.Throughout the document are various notes to clarify that although some of what they’re describing definitely sounds like they might be breaking the law, they’re definitely not breaking the law: e.g., “Note: We are committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination against legally protected groups in every jurisdiction in which we operate.”