The chief executive of a crypto firm was reportedly kidnapped in Toronto and only freed after a $1 million ransom was paid. According to a new report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Dean Skurka, the CEO of crypto financial services firm WonderFi was kidnapped in downtown Toronto earlier this week and only released after […]
The post Crypto Firm CEO Kidnapped in Toronto, Held for Ransom and Then Freed After $1,000,000 Payment: Report appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka reportedly said in an email that he is “safe” now and that no company funds and data were impacted.
The CEO of Toronto crypto firm WonderFi Technologies was reportedly kidnapped and forced to pay a $1 million ransom for this release, CBC reported on Nov. 7.
Dean Skurka was “forced” into a vehicle in downtown Toronto during “rush hour” on Nov. 6 and made a $1 million electronic transfer to secure his release, a source close to the investigation told CBC.
Skurka reportedly confirmed via email that he was involved in an “incident” on Nov. 6 but is safe and that company funds and data were not impacted.
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.”
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.”
Related: From the U.S. to Japan, regulators are beginning to embrace crypto
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.
A Canadian crypto exchange backed by one of the stars of the hit TV show Shark Tank is closing in on a merger that will create the largest crypto trading platform in Canada. Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, a long-time crypto supporter, is backing Wonderfi, a Canadian exchange that is merging with other major Canadian […]
The post Kevin O’Leary-Backed Wonderfi Closes Merger To Create Largest Crypto Platform in Canada appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
The exchanges are yet to finalize a potential merger, with WonderFi releasing a public statement in response to market speculation and a surging share price.
Crypto exchange WonderFi, which is backed by crypto investor and billionaire Kevin O’Leary, has confirmed it is in preliminary discussions with fellow Canadian crypto exchange Coinsquare for a possible merger.
In a statement on Jan. 12, WonderFi responded to a Bloomberg report suggesting the two exchanges were in "advanced merger talks" to "create a Canadian crypto giant."
WonderFi clarified that the discussions were "preliminary" at this stage, adding that it cannot guarantee that an agreement will be reached.
"In response to the press speculation, the Company acknowledges that it has held preliminary discussions with various third parties with respect to both potential acquisitions and the Company being acquired, which is consistent with past practice and the Company's general acquisition strategy."
"These discussions are preliminary in nature and are ongoing, and no assurance can be given that any agreement or agreements will be reached, or that the terms of a transaction will be agreed upon or that a transaction will be completed," it said.
WonderFi is a crypto exchange headquartered in Vancouver Canada.
Coinsquare is also a crypto exchange operating in Canada and is based in Toronto. A Bloomberg report on Jan. 12 said that although Coinsquare does not disclose assets under management they are estimated to have 500,000 users on its platform.
A potential merger of the two could see the combined entity serving 1.15 million users, making them the argest exchange in Canada.
WonderFi is one of the few publicly traded exchanges in Canada and has seen its share price increase by nearly 30% over the last 24 hours following press speculation of a merger.
News of the two exchange's potential merger comes just days after Coinsquare terminated an agreement to acquire all the outstanding shares for a subsidiary of Canadian crypto exchange CoinSmart, in a deal which CoinSmart announced on Sep. 22 would see them receive $3 million cash and over $26 million in Coinsquare shares as payment.
WonderFi also had a busy year of acquisitions in 2022, announcing on Jan. 4 that they would be acquiring fellow Canadian crypto exchange Bitbuy’s parent company for $162 million, before it continued its Canadian expansion by acquiring crypto exchange Coinberry for $38 million on Apr. 18.
Both of the acquisitions have since been finalized.
Related: Cryptocurrency is headed toward surviving its first age
In an interview at the time O’Leary had mentioned that there would be”several more and even bigger” acquisitions on the way.
It most recently acquired North American blockchain development firm Blockchain Foundry on Sep. 1, 2022, which recently launched a nonfungible technology (NFT) minting platform and marketplace, in addition to a Web3 learning platform.
Canadian crypto exchange Coinberry, part of Kevin O’Leary’s Wonderfi, has sued 50 customers for the return of the bitcoin they obtained without paying during a software glitch. “Coinberry contacted all of the said 546 affected registered users by email and demanded the return of the misappropriated bitcoins,” the lawsuit details. Coinberry Sues Users to Get […]
The millionaire investor thinks that the market bottom will be marked by “total panic,” at which point weak companies with “idiot managers” will be weeded out and the industry can continue to grow.
Millionaire investor from the Shark Tank TV show Kevin O’Leary says there’s going to be “total panic” and “massive volatility” in the crypto markets ahead before the industry swings back toward stronger firms and clearer regulations.
Despite the recent fall of crypto finance firms including Voyager Digital and Celsius, O’Leary told Cointelegraph on July 13 that we’re still missing a “real big event” seen in previous market cycles before we go back to accelerated growth in the space, stating:
“This passion play gets played out over and over again.”
Some investors have pointed to the current market conditions as a result of over-leveraged centralized finance firms such as Voyager and Celsius. O’Leary said the problems with firms like those come from “idiot managers” who needed to be weeded out to make the industry more viable.
“It’s unfortunate that these companies have gone to zero but you end up with much stronger species.”
Ben Samaroo, CEO of crypto investment support firm WonderFi Technologies who was also present during the interview with Cointelegraph said the recent bankruptcies are part of the “second wave of crypto crises” in Canada’s history.
Samaroo explained that the first “crypto crisis” in Canada was characterized by the fall of now-defunct crypto exchange QuadrigaCX in 2019, which saw $145 million in user funds go missing after the sudden death of its founder Gerry Cotten.
The WonderFi CEO believes that this second wave of crypto crises will have regulators focusing on crypto earn products like those from Voyager Digital.
“Canadian regulators are looking at anyone in Canada offering earn products to figure out what it means. They’re looking through the rubble of the collapse to layer in restrictions.”
The duo suggested that stablecoin regulation will be another major hurdle facing the industry. O’Leary stated unequivocally that “we need more stablecoins, as many as there are commodities,” but that they must keep their peg.
Related: Celsius vows to return from bankruptcy but expert fears repeat of Mt Gox
Although he said that what happened with the destruction of the Terra ecosystem in May with the depegging of Terra USD (UST) was “good,” others cannot go down the same path if they wish to exist. He added that Tether (USDT) may experience more trouble after it wobbled on its peg and fell to $0.95 in May.
“Tether breaking peg is going to be a big problem for regulators as they look at what stables are acceptable for platforms for use.”
For now, USD Coin (USDC) is the preferred stablecoin on Bitbuy and Coinberry. However, Samaroo noted that the exchanges could list other stablecoins as long as it doesn’t subject users to a “catastrophic event from a stablecoin that isn’t all that stable.”
O’Leary and Samaroo appear to have their sights set on the long-term growth of the industry however, with WonderFi recently listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange on June 20 and completing a $38.4 million acquisition of Canadian crypto exchange Coinberry on July 4. It now owns Bitbuy and Coinberry in Canada.
Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, says he is not selling any of his cryptocurrencies despite the crypto market downturn. “Long term, you just have to stomach it. You have to understand you’ll get volatility,” he stressed. Kevin O’Leary: I’m Not Selling Anything Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary talked about bitcoin and other […]
WonderFi, backed by Canadian billionaire Kevin O'Leary, is looking to increase its footprint in Canada with the acquisition of regulated crypto exchange Bitbuy.
Kevin O’Leary-backed decentralized finance (DeFi) platform WonderFi Technologies is increasing its footprint in Canada by buying the first regulated crypto exchange in the country.
WonderFi agreed to pay close to 206 million Canadian dollars ($162 million) to acquire First Ledger Corp., the parent company of BitBuy. WonderFi aims to become an end-to-end consumer platform for crypto and DeFi, according to the official announcement.
Founded in 2016, Bitbuy became a fully-regulated crypto exchange in Canada after being licensed by the Ontario Securities Commission last November. The platform has over 375,000 users who transacted more than $3.4 billion. The announcement states that Bitbuy generated over $24 million in revenue in the twelve months ending Sept. 30, 2021.
The transaction details revealed that WonderFi would fund the acquisition by issuing 70 million new shares and paying $15.7 million in upfront cash and $23 million in deferred cash via a vendor-takeback note due in 12 months. “WonderFi will retain substantially all current Bitbuy employees and enter into employment agreements with key members of the management team,” the announcement reads.
Related: Binance gets the green light from Canada and Bahrain
Highlighting the importance of a licensed marketplace as a gateway to the digital asset economy, WonderFi CEO Ben Samaroo said:
“The integration of Bitbuy’s product suite will accelerate and expand the reach and scope that WonderFi can offer to the market, and will drive long-term growth and value for the company.”
Kevin O’Leary, a former Bitcoin (BTC) critic who turned to a crypto advocate, commented that the acquisition would enable two teams to “have the bandwidth, assets and licenses to provide an institutional-grade compliant crypto platform to investors interested in exposure to centralized and decentralized financial services.”
In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, the Shark Tank celebrity said if stablecoin regulations become more precise, he'd b ready to increase his crypto allocations up to 20%. O’Leary is more interested in the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins as he sees them as an effective hedge against rising levels of inflation.
