Three Canadian cryptocurrency companies announced Monday they are teaming up to create the largest and only fully regulated platform in the country, at a time when authorities are trying to compensate for a lack of legislation to regulate the industry.
The announcement came months after the fall of industry giant FTX, whose founder Sam Bankman-Fried faces charges including bribery and fraud in a scandal that rocked the cryptocurrency world.
When combined, the WonderFi, Coinsquare and CoinSmart companies will have over Can$600 million (410 million euros) in assets on deposit, according to a joint press release.
“This combination will create a safe, secure, scalable and regulated trading platform that can compete with the unregulated global exchanges still operating in Canada,” said Coinsquare CEO Martin Piszel.
The new platform will be able to rely on the reputation of Coinsquare, which in October became the first Canadian platform to be registered with the national regulatory body.
“For years operating a registered cryptocurrency platform was a disadvantage as competitors that provided services without the burden of compliance costs were far more profitable,” said WonderFi strategic investor, Kevin O’Leary, known for his prominent role in the US investment reality show “Shark Tank.”
“Those days are over,” he added. “Investors that see the tremendous potential of cryptocurrencies to make financial services more transparent, less costly, and more productive are seeking investment opportunities that operate in harmony with their regulators.”
In recent months, US regulators have cracked down on players in the cryptocurrency community. Last week, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, was sued by US regulators, plunging the sector into the red.
For its part, the main American exchange platform, Coinbase, revealed that the US market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, said it is going to sue Coinbase for violation of securities regulations.
