To secure a restricted dealer licence in Canada, Coinbase becomes the first cryptocurrency exchange operating globally
The massive US cryptocurrency company Coinbase has announced that it has registered with the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) as a limited dealer in Canada.
By doing this, Coinbase becomes the first—and, according to the company, the biggest—international cryptocurrency exchange to be registered in Canada. Declaring that the business plans to keep collaborating with stakeholders across the nation, Coinbase Canada CEO Lucas Matheson described the announcement as “a significant milestone in Coinbase’s journey in Canada” in a statement.
With the announcement, Coinbase has now joined the list of domestic cryptocurrency trading platforms that are registered with the CSA, which also includes VirgoCX, Wealthsimple, Netcoins, Newton, Shakepay, Bitbuy, and Coinsquare, which are owned by WonderFi. A number of other foreign competitors, like as Kraken, Gemini, and Crypto.com, also want to be among top ranks.
After operating covertly in Canada for a while, Coinbase declared its “official entry” into the nation in 2023. After completing a pre-registration undertaking in March of last year, the company started the process of registering with Canadian securities regulators.
In an August 2023 interview, Coinbase’s Matheson told BetaKit, “We’re really excited to be committing to Canada for the long term.”
Coinbase is not a newcomer to Canada; it has been around for many years providing services for cryptocurrency trading and investment in Canadian. Currently employing close to 200 full-time workers, Canada is its biggest tech cluster outside of the US.
According to Matheson, Coinbase sees room to expand in Canada given the country’s “regulatory clarity,” strong developer ecosystem, and crypto-aware population.
This permission coincides with a domestic regulatory assault on Coinbase and other US cryptocurrency companies. Coinbase is now defending itself against a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly engaging in unregistered securities sales.
The company added that obtaining permits and registrations in France, Spain, Singapore, Italy, Ireland, and the Netherlands is a result of its concentrated efforts over the last 12 months towards worldwide expansion and regulatory approval.