It is a story that still haunts the first generation of Canadian cryptocurrency users today. Four years ago, Gerald Cotton, the co-founder of QuadrigaXX, Canada’s then-largest cryptocurrency exchange, died under mysterious circumstances in India. But before its demise, Cotton took virtual keys from digital wallets and kept them cold, causing a permanent loss of $190 million in user funds.
The incident caused a crisis of confidence in the emerging cryptocurrency sector in the country and caused regulators to be deeply suspicious of blockchain technology. Although old wounds heal. Fast forward to today Coinsquare has grown to become one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Canada, with $8 billion in cumulative trading volume since 2014.
In an interview with Cointelegraph Business Editor Sam Bourgie, CEO of Coinsquare, Eric Richmond, explained that There is now a regulatory framework in place to prevent similar incidents in the future:
“Unlike businesses south of the border, all cryptocurrency trading platforms here must be registered with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC). At this time there is a backlog in processing applications, whereas we have been submitted since November 2020 Since then we wanted to be one of the first regulated players”.
Since the regulation came into force recently, all cryptocurrency exchanges have a two-year grace period in which they must register with IIROC during this period. Currently, Coinsquare is the only company in the region that is registered with IIROC. Similarly, the company has a strict set of rules when it comes to listing new tokens to ensure that its users do not fall prey to scams:
We place this through an evaluation of the underlying technology, marketing, the team behind it, analysis of potential legal issues, irregular price movements, etc. We pass your in-depth analysis through various teams like Compliance, Commercial, Legal and Security. It’s really about understanding tokens. And if it passes the test, the listing threshold is set.
Canadian regulators have reportedly taken a tough stance on exchanges that do not comply with the new rules. In March, Binance ceased operations in the province of Ontario and admitted to the province’s Securities Commission (OSC) that it was not registered there. Similarly, the OSC took enforcement action against cryptocurrency exchanges Kucoin and Bybit, alleging violations of securities laws.
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