Government of Canada Issues New Crypto Trading Rules Following FTX Bankruptcy

CEO of Bitvo Pamela Draper, relieved not to be acquired by FTX. (photo: Twitter @BitvoCrypto)

JAKARTA – The government in Canada is taking steps to better protect cryptocurrency investors in the country following the FTX collapse and its spread and contagion.

Securities Administrators Canada (CSA), Canada's provincial and territorial securities regulatory boards, issued December 13 an update for crypto trading platforms operating in the country.

CSA says the authority has strengthened its approach to oversight of crypto trading platforms by expanding existing requirements.

According to the statement, all crypto trading companies operating in Canada – whether local or foreign – must comply with recently expanded provisions, which prohibit them from offering margin or enhanced trading services to any Canadian clients.

The expanded provisions also require crypto exchange service providers in Canada to segregate custodial assets from the platform's own business.

“A custodian would generally be deemed eligible if regulated by a financial regulator in Canada, the US, or a similar jurisdiction with a supervisory regime for financial conduct and regulation,” CSA said in a statement.

The Council emphasizes that even with the implementation of these measures, any crypto-asset or financial product related to crypto-assets is a high-risk investment, urging investors to only invest using platforms registered with CSA members.

Meanwhile, CSA did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph's request for comment.

In its most recent statement, CSA mentions a prior communication to crypto trading platforms operating in Canada, issued on August 15, 2022. The authority stated that they expect commitments from unregistered crypto trading platforms operating in Canada while they carry out registration in pre-enterprise forms. -registration.

The CSA communication comes shortly after FTX signed an agreement to buy Canadian crypto platform Bitvo in June 2022. FTX initially planned to use the acquisition as part of its global expansion plans. However, Bitvo was eventually successful in stopping acquisitions by the now-defunct exchange, allowing the company to continue operating even after FTX collapsed.

Bitvo CEO Pamela Draper told Cointelegraph in November that the acquisition is yet to be finalized as the company seeks to meet closure requirements, the most significant of which is regulatory approval from the Alberta Securities Commission.