Ripple expands Canadian engineering activities with U of Toronto XRP validator

June 12, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Canada

Canada’s largest university is the third in the country to partner with Ripple’s University Blockchain Research Initiative.

The University of Toronto plans to launch an independent XRP Ledger (XRPL) validator, Ripple announced June 12, as the university will become part of Ripple’s University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI). The partnership will support blockchain and crypto technology research at the university.

The partnership will also advance Ripple’s XRPL Campus Ambassador program, which “aims to elevate the impact of college students” by helping "educate other students about crypto and how to start building on the XRPL.” University of Toronto professor Andreas Veneris commented:

“Hosting an XRP Ledger validator matches our goals in both promoting education around the XRP Ledger […] but also the public’s trust in scholars for their long-standing ethos to advance social wellbeing.”

The University of Toronto, Canada’s largest university by enrollment, joins the University of Waterloo and Toronto Metropolitan University as Canadian UBRI participants. Ripple has invested $2 million in research in Canada in the past five years. In total, the UBRI has supported more than 45 universities in 20 countries, according to its website.

Now this is how mass adoption should work.

The University of Toronto, the largest university in Canada by enrollment, plans to start an independent $XRP ledger validator.
This new partnership with Ripple seeks to support the next generation of the crypto industry
— Cryptomom (@MsCryptomom1) June 12, 2023

Ripple opened an office in Toronto in July 2022 to serve as an engineering hub. That office has a staff of over 30 and employs summer interns.

Ripple is in a highly publicized legal conflict with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, but Canada has provided challenges as well. The country introduced new crypto trading rules in February that have shaken up the domestic crypto market, with dYdX, Paxos, Binance and Bybit among the companies choosing to close down their Canadian operations as a result. On the other hand, Canadian regulators have approved several crypto exchange-traded funds recently.

Ripple is closely associated with XRP Ledger, the issuer of the XRP (XRP) token.

Magazine: Best and worst countries for crypto taxes — Plus crypto tax tips

Crypto Exchange Bybit Leaves Canadian Market Weeks Following Same Move by Binance

June 1, 2023 The Daily Hodl

Crypto exchange Bybit exits Canada, citing ‘recent regulatory development’

May 30, 2023 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin regulation

Headquartered in Dubai, Bybit plans to leave Canada while exploring expansion into new markets like Kazakhstan.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has announced it will be pausing its products and services to residents and nationals of Canada following certain developments in the regulatory space.

In a May 30 blog post, Bybit said it will not accept account opening applications from Canadians starting on May 31. Current users of the crypto exchange will have until July 31 to make deposits and “increase any of their existing positions” before these services are phased out, with other positions liquidated after Sept. 30.

Bybit did not offer any explanation for the market exit other than “recent regulatory development” in Canada. The Ontario Securities Commission issued financial penalties against the exchange in June 2022, and Bybit said it planned to introduce mandatory Know Your Customer requirements for all users starting in May 2023.

“As the adoption of crypto continues to grow, our mission is to provide safer and sustainable trading experience to all crypto enthusiasts while maintaining necessary safeguards.” said Bybit.

Headquartered in Dubai, Bybit’s plans to exit Canada came amid the exchange expanding into new markets. On May 29, the company said it had received “in-principle” approval from regulators in Kazakhstan. This move followed Bybit introducing cryptocurrency lending services.

Bybit was the latest crypto firm to announce it would be pulling out of Canada in light of regulations. In April, decentralized exchange dYdX announced a “winding down” of its services for Canadian users in response to the country’s “regulatory climate.” Major crypto exchange Binance said in May it was “proactively withdrawing” from Canada, citing rules by the Canadian Securities Administrators.

Magazine: Your guide to crypto in Toronto: Crypto City

Bitcoin FOMO is gone, portfolio managers are taking BTC seriously — 3iQ CEO

May 20, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Canada

In an interview with Cointelegraph during the Bitcoin 2023, Fred Pye spoke about how Canada's advanced regulation for crypto trading is drawing investors to the digital assets market.

As the hype around Bitcoin (BTC) has faded, institutional investors and portfolio managers have begun looking at the major cryptocurrency as a "serious venue" to invest in, claims Fred Pye, CEO of 3iQ, Canada's first Bitcoin fund issuer.

In an interview with Cointelegraph during the Bitcoin 2023, Pye spoke about Canada's advanced regulation for crypto trading, and how it has been drawing investors to the digital assets market.

According to Pye, fund managers and institutional investors running diversified portfolio assets are looking for alternative investment strategies amid a global inflationary environment and macroeconomic challenges.

"The FOMO in Bitcoin is gone. It's all moved over to AI [artificial intelligence]. So now the institutions and the proper portfolio managers, the people that are responsible for running diversified portfolios, are now starting to take a look at Bitcoin as a serious venue."

It is not just about maximizing profits, says Pye. For institutional investors, crypto use cases will be a growing trend in the next few years. "The theme for 2024 going forward is definitely use cases. So, we've got this beautiful technology, now let's put that beautiful technology to work," he stated.

Regulatory challenges for institutional adoption have been around for a while, but Canada has notably taken the lead on launching crypto ETFs in North America, given the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's reservations towards the crypto space.

ETF refers to the exchange-traded fund that is a portfolio of assets whose shares are traded on a stock market. They blend the characteristics and potential benefits of mutual funds, stocks and bonds.

Canadian regulators have approved several crypto ETFs in the past years, including Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) products from 3iQ, Purpose Investments and Evolve Funds Group, attracting millions of dollars to their crypto products.

"They've never been mispriced," said Pye about running regulated digital assets ETFs in Canada, adding that "there's no difference about running a Bitcoin ETF than running a gold ETF. We track the price of Bitcoin identically. They're low fees, and it works. [...] We can cipher trace where the Bitcoin comes from, so we're only purchasing clean Bitcoin. And I think these are all the characteristics that people are concerned about."

Canada's latest initiative towards digital assets relies on a public consultation about a central bank digital currency (CBDC), with the local monetary authority asking what features the country's citizens want to be included in a potential digital Canadian dollar. Canadians' consultation results are expected to be published later this year.

Magazine: Best and worst countries for crypto taxes — Plus crypto tax tips

Binance Decides To Leave Canada, Citing Regulatory Issues Related to Stablecoins and Investor Limits

May 14, 2023 The Daily Hodl

Binance calls it quits in Canada, blames new rules

May 12, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Binance

Binance is the latest in a string of departures from CEO Changpeng Zhao’s home country; it promises to keep working with regulators.

Binance will withdraw from the Canadian market, the cryptocurrency exchange announced on Twitter on May 12. It called its withdrawal “proactive” as new guidance issued by Canadian regulators continues to take a toll on the country’s crypto industry.

Binance is joining some of its smaller competitors in the Canadian exodus brought on by the introduction of rules by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) on Feb. 22 that required them to file new preregistration undertakings and adhere to added restrictions.

Although Binance had reportedly filed a new preregistration undertaking, it explained in a tweet:

“Unfortunately, new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits provided to crypto exchanges makes the Canada market no longer tenable for Binance at this time.”

The new CSA rules prohibited firms "from permitting Canadian clients to enter into crypto contracts to buy and sell any crypto asset that is itself a security and/or a derivative,” and defined stablecoins as a security.

Unfortunately, today we are announcing that Binance will be joining other prominent crypto businesses in proactively withdrawing from the Canadian marketplace.

We would like to thank those regulators who worked with us collaboratively to address the needs of Canadian users.…
— Binance (@binance) May 12, 2023

OKX pulled out of the Canadian market in March. It was followed in April by decentralized exchange dYdX and then by blockchain fintech Paxos.

Binance sent its Canadian users an email, seen by Cointelegraph, that instructed them to close their open positions by Sept. 30, 2023. “From October 1st, 2023, Canadian customers will be put into liquidation only mode,” it warned. The exchange added:

“While we do not agree with the new guidance, we hope to continue to engage with Canadian regulators aimed at a thoughtful, comprehensive regulatory framework.”

Binance operated in all Canadian provinces and territories except Ontario, which it withdrew from in March 2022 after a protracted disagreement with that province’s regulators.

All is not lost for Canadian cryptophiles, however. Kraken filed the new preregistration undertaking in March and stated its commitment to staying in Canada. The CSA lists 11 platforms “Authorized to Do Business with Canadians.”

Magazine: Your guide to crypto in Toronto: Crypto City

Gemini files for pre-registration undertaking in Canada

April 13, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Canada

All crypto exchanges are required to sign such undertaking if they want to operate in Canada following a February rule change.

On April 12, cryptocurrency exchange Gemini announced it filed a pre-registration undertaking with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), which oversees capital markets in Canada's most populous province. The undertaking is a prerequisite to becoming a restricted dealer in Canada and is necessary for all cryptocurrency exchanges wishing to conduct business in the country. Cynthia Del Pozo Garcia, Gemini's director of strategy and corporate development, wrote:

"As one of the most important and developed markets in the Americas, Canada has played an essential role in Gemini's international expansion."

According to Del Pozo Garcia, Gemini holds holds "many licenses globally," such as state money transmitter licenses, an E-Money License from the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, and an E-Money License from the Central Bank of Ireland. "Related to our licenses, Gemini must undergo annual audits of our financial statements and is subject to bank examinations conducted by the New York Department of Financial Services," the director said.

On Feb. 22, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published a notice requiring all crypto asset trading platforms to sign a legally binding pre-registration undertaking to continue operating in the country. Among many restrictions, exchanges will be prohibited from allowing Canadian clients to buy or deposit stablecoins without prior approval from the CSA.

"In light of recent insolvencies involving a number of CTPs, including Voyager Digital, Celsius Network, the FTX group of companies, BlockFi and Genesis Global (collectively recent CTP insolvency events), we are introducing important new investor protection provisions into the standard form of PRU."

Since the new regulations took effect, cryptocurrency exchange OKX has announced it would cease operations in Canada by June 2023. Meanwhile, fintech company Paxos said it would withdraw from Canada, citing regulatory uncertainty. Binance and Kraken have since stated that they filed the pre-registration undertaking required to continue operations in the country.

Chainalysis and Calgary police launch cryptocurrency investigation center

April 12, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Canada

Calgary’s police department has launched the Western Canada Cryptocurrency Investigations Centre in partnership with blockchain data firm Chainalysis.

A joint task force featuring investigators from the Calgary police department and analysis from blockchain data firm Chainalysis, dubbed the Western Canada Cryptocurrency Investigations Centre, was officially launched on April 12.

In a blog post announcing the partnership, Chainalysis co-founder and chief strategy officer Jonathan Levin remarked that “this demonstration of public-private partnership to solve novel issues in financial services is a model that the rest of the world can learn from.”

Together with @CalgaryPolice, today we’re launching the Western Canada Cryptocurrency Investigations Centre, a partnership that will enable law enforcement action to protect Canadians and build trust in digital assets.https://t.co/exGywqwW6B
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) April 12, 2023

The new center will expand on current efforts to address expanding cryptocurrency-related crime in Western Canada.

According to Chainalysis, Canada has seen a massive uptick in cryptocurrency adoption rates. Per the company’s blog post, “when we look at Canadian engagement with crypto ATMs, decentralized exchanges, and centralized exchanges, we see that Canada has experienced a nearly 213% increase since 2019 as of Jan 2023, with a peak level of adoption around 865% greater than March 2019 in May of 2021, driven largely by interest in DeFi.”

This rapid growth, however, has been accompanied by an increase in crime. Chainalysis reports that more than $41 million in funds were lost to cryptocurrency scams in Canada in 2022 alone. It also notes that “for every 1,000 Canadians, there was at least $1,144 CAD in total exposure to illicit crypto activity” in the same period.

The Calgary police department plans to implement the private-sector expertise from Chainalysis to augment its investigator training programs and, per the blog post, to provide officers with “around-the-clock case support.”

The next steps, according to Chainalysis, involve expanding the program to serve more law enforcement agencies in Western Canada. The company intends to eventually “scale this concept globally, working with law enforcement personnel around the world to offer bespoke, customized offerings depending on the unique needs of the region at hand.”

Crypto Biz: Twitter’s DOGE bet, Canada’s new crypto conglomerate, UK banking news

April 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Canada

This week’s Crypto Biz explores Canada’s new crypto conglomerate, the recent premature passing of the Cash App creator in San Francisco, as well as DOGE news, and U.K. crypto challenges.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk has made another marketing move to bridge the social media platform with the crypto community by switching its logo icon to the Shiba Inu dog — Dogecoin’s (DOGE) digital symbol. The move, however, seems to be more than just an engagement strategy. It comes just two days after Musk asked a judge to dismiss a $258 billion lawsuit alleging the operation of a pyramid scheme to promote Dogecoin.

Whether intended or not, the new icon led to another surge in DOGE prices during the week.

A less optimistic reality faces crypto firms in the United Kingdom, where financial institutions are limiting the ability of crypto-related businesses to access banking services. The move goes in the opposite direction of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plans to prioritize financial technology disruption and make the U.K. a global crypto hub.

This week’s Crypto Biz explores Canada’s new crypto conglomerate, the recent premature passing of the Cash App creator in San Francisco, as well as DOGE news, and U.K. crypto challenges.

Elon Musk changes Twitter icon to Doge after seeking lawsuit dismissal

Dogecoin fans — and investors — welcomed the new Twitter icon with the popular meme token. The social media platform updated its avatar on April 3, two days after its CEO Elon Musk asked a United States judge to dismiss a $258 billion lawsuit filed by investors alleging the operation of a pyramid scheme to promote Dogecoin. Multiple market studies in the past have suggested that Musk tweeting about DOGE tends to drive its price higher. Musk’s lawyers, however, argued that “funny pictures” and “tweeting words of support” do not amount to a fraud claim. In this week’s case, at least, the marketing move positively impacted the altcoin’s price, with the token surging by over 22% one hour after the icon change.

As promised pic.twitter.com/Jc1TnAqxAV
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2023

WonderFi merges with Coinsquare and CoinSmart to form regulated crypto asset platform

A new crypto conglomerate has emerged in Canada as WonderFi Technologies, Coinsquare, and CoinSmart Financial have announced their merger to become the country’s largest regulated crypto trading platform, with over 1.65 million registered users. The newly merged company promises to offer Canadians a wide range of diversified products and services, including retail and institutional crypto trading, staking products, business-to-business crypto payment processing, sports betting and gaming. The companies “transacted over $17 billion since 2017 and have over $600 million in assets under custody.” The new company is estimated to have approximately $50 million in cash and investments and no outstanding debt.

United Kingdom banks are turning away crypto clients

Crypto companies are facing difficulties accessing banking services in the United Kingdom. The few banks still working with crypto firms are requesting more documentation and information about how they monitor clients’ transactions. Challenges include having applications rejected, accounts frozen and overwhelming paperwork. Crypto companies are turning to payment service providers such as BCB Payments and Stripe to maintain business operations in the United Kingdom. Just a few weeks ago, HSBC Holdings and Nationwide Building Society banned cryptocurrency purchases via credit cards for retail customers in the country, joining a growing list of banks in the U.K. to tighten restrictions on digital assets.

Cash App creator dies following stabbing in San Francisco

Tragic news came from San Francisco as Bob Lee, the former chief technology officer of Square and creator of Cash App, was found dead following a stabbing in the early hours of April 4. A notice from the San Francisco Police Department explained officers attended to a report of a stabbing at approximately 2:35 am local time, finding a “43-year-old adult male victim suffering from apparent stab wounds.” Lee was a proponent of cryptocurrencies who gained prominence in the tech industry for being the first chief technology officer of the payments platform Square — later renamed Block — and for creating the popular mobile payment service Cash App.

RIP brother #bobLee pic.twitter.com/Hxd3lZmhyl
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) April 5, 2023

Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse of the business behind blockchain and crypto, delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.

Decentralized exchange dYdX announces ‘winding down’ of services for Canadian users

April 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Business

“We hope that the regulatory climate in Canada will change over time to allow us to resume services in the country," said the exchange.

Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange dYdX has announced it will be restricting Canadian user accounts over the next seven days in a move to exit the market.

In an April 7 blog post, dYdX said it will be “winding down services” in Canada, starting with halting the onboarding of new users located in the country. On April 14, the exchange will move all existing Canadian users to “close-only mode,” allowing them to only withdraw funds.

“dYdX is committed to providing transparency around product decisions and democratizing access to financial opportunity,” said the exchange. “We hope that the regulatory climate in Canada will change over time to allow us to resume services in the country.”

The move followed the Canadian Securities Administrators announcing additional restrictions for crypto exchanges’ registration requirements in the country. The rules required platforms to be “prohibited from permitting Canadian clients to enter into crypto contracts to buy and sell any crypto asset that is itself a security and/or a derivative.”

In September 2022, many dYdX users and those in the crypto space criticized a promotion from the decentralized exchange offering a $25 deposit bonus for confirming someone’s identity using a live webcam image. The exchange later ended the program, citing “overwhelming demand” rather than some of the privacy concerns put forth.

Magazine: Your guide to crypto in Toronto: Crypto City

Canada

Elon Musk changes Twitter icon to Doge after seeking lawsuit dismissal

WonderFi merges with Coinsquare and CoinSmart to form regulated crypto asset platform

United Kingdom banks are turning away crypto clients

Cash App creator dies following stabbing in San Francisco

Share this video