Canadian crypto exchanges face deadline for CIRO membership

August 6, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Canada’s regulatory clarity is bringing institutions to crypto — WonderFi CEO

August 16, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Canada

Dean Skurka stated that although regulations have increased costs, they have also led to greater interest in crypto from institutions.

Canadian financial institutions are increasingly taking an interest in crypto as regulatory clarity emerges in the country, according to WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka, who met up with Cointelegraph at the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto.

Skurka claimed that his exchange had seen an uptick in trading by institutions as opposed to retail investors. “What we have seen in the first half of this year is growth in our OTC institutional segment,” he stated, referring to over-the-counter trades. “These institutional investors, more sophisticated investors, are [more] immune to sentiment and trends in the market, and they’re more fundamental in their investment approaches. [...] We’re starting to see, [...] through clear regulation, that the segment of our client base is shifting quite a bit.”

*Cointelegraph’s Sam Bourgi (left) and WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka (right) at the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto, Aug. 16, 2023. Source: Cointelegraph*

The Canadian government has been criticized for allegedly making regulations that are too difficult for crypto exchanges to follow, and some major crypto exchanges have left the market altogether. For example, Bybit announced on May 30 that it would no longer allow new Canadian accounts to be opened due to “recent regulatory development,” and Binance closed its service to Canadians on May 12, citing new stablecoin regulations as the reason.

But in Skurka’s view, clear regulations in Canada have been a boon for WonderFi. He stated:

“Through the platforms that we own and operate, having the licenses that we do, there are fewer venues that can offer [crypto services] to an institutional audience. [...] We’ve seen an increase in activity, not only on the institutional side, but also on products that we’ve rolled out that are catered to long-term holders like staking.”

Skurka emphasized that until recently, long-term holders in Canada were left without services that suited their needs, as lending platforms like Celsius and Voyager had gone bankrupt. On the other hand, new regulations created in reaction to these bankruptcies have increased the cost of running an exchange. In Skurka’s view, this meant that the crypto market needed to consolidate in order to be able to handle the new costs. He said WonderFi has been attempting to “use this opportunity to bring these platforms together really on the basis that [...] you're creating a clear market leader that has the scale to operate in a compliant environment.”

WonderFi has been gobbling up smaller Canadian crypto exchanges over the past two years. It acquired Bitbuy and Coinberry in 2022, then announced a merger with Coinsquare and CoinSmart in April 2023.

The WonderFi CEO stated that he thinks this new trend of institutional interest will continue into the future, thanks to the direction the Canadian government is taking. “As that infrastructure is established, you’re going to see institutional participants continue to take it more seriously,” he claimed.

This article is based on an interview conducted by Sam Bourgi.

Kevin O’Leary-Backed Wonderfi Closes Merger To Create Largest Crypto Platform in Canada

July 11, 2023 The Daily Hodl

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.

IIROC-registered Canadian crypto exchange Coinsquare suffers data breach

November 26, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Canada

On Nov. 19, Coinsquare had to temporarily shut down operations to investigate an unusual activity on its platform.

Just a month after becoming the first Canadian crypto trading platform to get registered by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), Coinsquare suffered a data breach that compromised users' personal information.

On Nov. 19, Coinsquare had to temporarily shut down operations to investigate an unusual activity on its platform. However, several days of proactive measures allowed Coinsquare to resume operations gradually.

We will be re-enabling crypto deposits shortly after the maintenance window with crypto withdrawals to follow shortly after.
— Coinsquare (@Coinsquare) November 22, 2022

In a follow-up email to investors, Coinsquare admitted that their customer database with personal information was exposed during the incident, which a third party most likely accessed.

The leaked database included users’ personal information, such as names, email addresses, residential addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, device IDs, public wallet addresses, transaction history, and account balances. Coinsquare further confirmed that no passwords were exposed, adding that:

“We note that your assets have always been, and remain, secure in cold storage and are not at risk.”

While the exchange has not detected any bad actors from accessing the breached information, the official communication cautions users to change their passwords, enable 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) and use different credentials for different platforms.

Coinsquare has not yet responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

Canadian crypto exchange Bitvo was able to back off its acquisition agreement with FTX thanks to the deal’s long approval process by local regulators.

The firm emphasized that its operations have not been affected, as Bitvo has no material exposure to FTX or any of its affiliated entities.

Coinsquare chief operating officer shares thoughts on being the first regulated crypto dealer exchange in Canada

August 10, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Canada

The past actions of bad actors has forced the country's regulators to take a tough stance on crypto exchanges.

It's a story that still haunts the early generation of Canadian crypto users to this day. Four years prior, Gerald Cotten, co-founder of Canada's then-largest cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX, died under mysterious circumstances in India. But, before his passing, Cotten took virtual keys for digital wallets and moved them into cold storage, leading to the permanent loss of $190 million in user funds.

The incident triggered a crisis of confidence in the country's emerging crypto sector and made regulators deeply skeptical of blockchain technology. However, old wounds eventually heal. Fast forward to today, and Coinsquare has taken over to become one of Canada's largest crypto exchanges, with $8 billion in cumulative trading volume since 2014.

In an interview with Cointelegraph business editor Sam Bourgi, Coinsquare chief operating offic Eric Richmond explained that a regulatory framework now exists to prevent similar incidents in the future:

“We've taken a much different approach than the U.S. Unlike firms south of the border, all crypto trading platforms here need to be registered with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC). There is a backlog with processing applications at the moment, while we had ours submitted from back in Nov. 2020 as we wanted to be one of the first regulated players out there.”

As the regulation only came into force recently, all crypto exchanges are given a two-year exemption where they must register with the IIROC during this period. Currently, Coinsquare is the only firm in the space that is IIROCregistered. Similarly, the company has a strict set of rules in place when it comes to listing new tokens to ensure its users do not fall victim to scams:

“We put it through evaluating the underlying technology, the marketing, the team behind it, analyzing potential legal issues, irregular price movements, etc. We go through his in-depth analysis across different teams, such as compliance, business, legal, and security. It's about genuinely understanding the token. And if it passes the tests, then the listing threshold is set."

Canadian regulators have taken a harsh stance on exchanges allegedly not abiding by the new rules. In March, Binance ceased operations in the province of Ontario and admitted to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) that it was unregistered there. Similarly, the OSC took enforcement action against cryptocurrency exchanges KuCoin and Bybit, claiming a violation of securities laws.

Coinsquare

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

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