Bitstamp Crypto Exchange Leaves Canada Market

JAKARTA - Bitstamp, a Luxembourg-based crypto exchange, has announced its plans to stop services in the Canadian market from January 2024. This announcement follows previous decisions by other major exchanges, such as Binance, OKX, and Bybit, to leave Canada.

The CEO of Bitstamp US and the Head of Global Commercial, Bobby Zagotta, announced that the deadline for withdrawing customer funds in Canada is January 8. After that date, Bitstamp will deactivate Canadian user accounts.

"This is not a decision we make easily, and we thank our customers in Canada for their loyalty so far. We look forward to serving Canada again at several points in the future," Zagotta said.

Previously, Bitstamp also stopped Ethereum (ETH) staking services for US customers due to regulatory issues. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has a strict view of staking, which is considered a form of investment contract.

The new regulatory guidelines issued by Canadian authorities have made it difficult for crypto exchange operations in the country. To operate in Canada, crypto exchanges must obtain approval from Canadian Securities Administrator (CSA).

In a separate announcement, Binance, Paxos, Blockchain.com, Deribit, and others also announced their exit from Canada after a new regulation was announced. The regulation demands approval from authorities to trade value-driven stablecoins and other crypto assets.

The reasons behind Bitstamp's decision to leave the Canadian market were not disclosed in detail. Nonetheless, this decision reflects significant changes to the regulations and requirements affecting Canada's crypto exchange industry.