Canadian Regulator OSC Takes Action Against Crypto Trading Platforms Kucoin and Bybit

June 23, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Canadian regulator takes enforcement actions against Bybit and Kucoin

June 22, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bybit

"Bybit responded to the OSC’s enforcement action, maintained an open dialogue, provided requested information, and committed to engaging in registration discussions," said the OSC.

The Ontario Securities Commission, or OSC, issued financial penalties against Bybit and Kucoin, claiming violations of securities laws and operating unregistered crypto asset trading platforms.

In a Wednesday announcement, the Ontario regulator said it had obtained orders fining Kucoin more than $1.6 million and banning the exchange from participating in the province’s capital markets. In a separate decision, the OSC announced that Bybit had disgorged roughly $2.4 million and paid the regulator $7,724 as part of the costs of its investigation. Both firms allegedly failed to comply with Ontario securities laws, but only Bybit “responded to the OSC’s enforcement action, maintained an open dialogue, provided requested information, and committed to engaging in registration discussions.”

“Foreign crypto asset trading platforms that want to operate in Ontario must play by the rules or face enforcement action,” said OSC enforcement director Jeff Kehoe.

OSC holds global crypto asset trading platforms accountable: https://t.co/TPC9mtvTRE pic.twitter.com/Nl9pGP0U3j
— OSC News (@OSC_News) June 22, 2022

The move by the regulatory body was the latest in a series of warnings and legal actions taken against crypto exchanges offering services to Ontario residents. In March 2021, the OSC issued a deadline for crypto firms operating in the province to register by April. According to the regulator, Bybit will “wind up its Ontario operations” if the firm is unable to register.

Both Bybit and Kucoin allegedly did not comply with the securities regulator, prompting hearings and other enforcement actions starting in June 2021. The OSC had already initiated regulatory actions against crypto exchanges Poloniex and OKEx for similar violations of securities laws.

As of June 1, eight companies are listed as registered crypto asset trading platforms in Ontario, including Fidelity Digital Assets, Bitvo, and Bitbuy.

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KuCoin plugs into Web3 with new decentralized wallet

June 1, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

KuCoin enters the Web3 world with a new decentralized wallet platform featuring cross-blockchain trading, DeFi and NFT functionality.

Cryptocurrency trading platform KuCoin has launched a new decentralized wallet platform as interest in Web3 continues to gather steam.

KuCoin Wallet is now live for users, with the browser-based platform paving the way for a mobile application which is still in development.

The platform plugs into the KuCoin ecosystem and features cross-blockchain integration. Users will be able to buy, sell, trade and send a variety of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether (USDT) in addition to other tokens.

The wallet is self-custodial, giving users full control and responsibility over their private keys.

As the cryptocurrency ecosystem continues to adopt and support decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) functionality, KuCoin Wallet's roadmap will include the addition of DeFi, NFT and GameFi services.

KuCoin's proprietary NFT marketplace Windvane powers this functionality at launch, allowing users to trade and view NFTs in the KuCoin Wallet. Windvane unveiled a $100 million “Creators Fund” in April 2022 to help support and encourage early-stage NFT projects to build on the platform.

KuCoin netted $150 million of investment in a pre-series B round in 2022 - with the firm valued at $10 billion. The firm intends to use the proceeds of the latest fundraising round to continue developing Web3, DeFi and NFT services and offerings within its ecosystem. KuCoin Labs and KuCoin Ventures will spearhead these efforts - which have already come to fruition with the launch of KuCoin Wallet.

A number of prominent cryptocurrency exchanges and service providers have recently launched non-custodial, multi-blockchain wallets in recent months to keep pace with interest in Web3 functionality.

Leading United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase integrated Web3 functionality with a wallet and browser for a select group of its mobile app clients in May 2022. Trading on NFT marketplaces was a big focus, while token swaps and other DeFi services were made available through exchanges like Uniswap and Opensea.

Robinhood promoted an upcoming non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet in May 2022 with cross-blockchain accessibility which will also feature NFT storage and access to marketplaces. American brick-and-mortar gaming retailer GameStop followed suit with the launch of its own blockchain wallet that will also feature NFT functionality.

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Circle

The global crypto exchange KuCoin expects to launch decentralized wallet products later in Q2 2022, also planning to roll out its NFT marketplace Windwave in the near future.

The global cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin aims to go beyond centralized trading services and focus on Web3 with new funding backed by firms like Circle Ventures.

The KuCoin cryptocurrency exchange officially announced on May 10 a $150 million pre-Series B funding round, bringing the company’s valuation to $10 billion.

The latest funding round mainly aims to strengthen the exchange’s partnership with major industry players as well as promote the mass adoption of crypto, KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu told Cointelegraph, noting:

“KuCoin is financially healthy. [...] We are still in contact with many VCs, and we are open to have another round in the near future, as long as we can find partners that share the same value and vision with us.”

The latest KuCoin raise is led by Jump Crypto, the cryptocurrency arm of a major quantitative trading firm Jump Trading Group. Circle Ventures, the crypto investment division of the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, is among the new investors in the round.

Existing investors include major investment firm IDG Capital and the private equity investment firm Matrix Partners, which participated in KuCoin’s $20 million Series A funding round in November 2018.

As part of KuCoin’s plan to focus on decentralized trading services and presence in Web3, the company plans to build and invest in crypto wallets, services related to decentralized finance (DeFi), GameFi and nonfungible token (NFT) platforms. The firm particularly plans to invest in its arms like KuCoin Labs and KuCoin Ventures, as well as the public community chain known as KCC.

“Decentralization is an unstoppable trend, but we believe centralization and decentralization will co-exist in the future. KuCoin hopes to better cater to the needs of all classes of investors,” Lyu said. He added that the firm expects to launch decentralized wallet products later in Q2 2022 and also plans to rollout its NFT marketplace Windwave in the near future.

KuCoin

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