We’re excited to share a crucial milestone in Coinbase’s journey in Canada. Coinbase has officially been registered as a Restricted Dealer by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). This makes Coinbase the largest and first international cryptocurrency exchange registered in Canada.

This milestone, following our formal launch in August 2023, reinforces our commitment to Canada as a Go Deep market. The registration is the culmination of months of hard work, starting in March 2023 when we signed an Enhanced Pre-Registration Undertaking that signified our dedication to regulatory compliance and operational excellence.

Throughout this process, Coinbase has closely collaborated with Canadian regulators to establish a policy framework that serves as a global benchmark. We applaud their efforts to bring clarity to the industry. Furthermore, we’ve collaborated with Canadian banks, investment advisors, and pension funds to demonstrate our dedication to facilitating their successful navigation of the evolving digital asset realm.

We believe that regulating centralized crypto intermediaries is essential for building trust and fostering innovation in the cryptocurrency market. And it’s clear that Canadians agree. A new survey Coinbase conducted in partnership with Angus Reid found that 72% of Canadians think that the regulation of cryptocurrency exchanges is important. Nearly a third of Canadians (29%) said they would be more inclined to buy cryptocurrency if there was more regulation in the industry.

And among those who did purchase crypto, nearly half (49%) said they were driven by their curiosity in digital assets, while 39% said they wanted to diversify their investments and just over half (53%) said they were interested in investing to make money.

Canada as a Go Deep Market

Our commitment stems from a significant opportunity for the cryptocurrency market to grow and thrive in Canada. Ranked as Coinbase’s third-most crypto-aware nation globally, Canada boasts an enthusiastic tech ecosystem that has the potential to be a leader in the global cryptoeconomy.

The registration is one step of many we’ve taken in recent months to grow in Canada. These include:

Announcing our official Canadian launch in August 2023: This was marked by the completed roll-out of Interac payment rails in partnership with Peoples Trust, empowering all Canadian Coinbase users to seamlessly deposit and withdraw funds (CAD) to and from their Coinbase wallets through Interac e-transfers. This is helping make crypto more accessible to millions of Canadians.

Brian’s visit to Canada: Our CEO, Brian Armstrong, visited Toronto in November 2023 to meet with our local team, our partners and the wider crypto community. He participated in two fireside chats: with Sid Paquette, Head of RBCx, and Tobi Lütke, Co-Founder and CEO of Shopify and Coinbase board member. Brian also met with Canadian media and held a Q&A session with our team. The visit was an important signal in our commitment to the Canadian market

Expanding our Canadian presence: Our commitment to fostering a user-centric crypto platform tailored for Canadians is exemplified by our robust Canadian tech hub. Boasting nearly 200 full-time local employees, Canada is Coinbase’s largest tech hub outside the US. We are developing products that are built by Canadians, for Canadians.

Investing in Canada’s thriving tech and developer ecosystem: This has been paramount to our strategy. Through Coinbase Ventures, we’ve nurtured local startups that contribute to innovation, entrepreneurship, and technological advancement in fields ranging from risk assessment to asset management. Notable Canadian portfolio partners include Dapper Labs, Minerva AI, Axelar, Horizon Blockchain Games, and Zapper.

We’ve made it a priority to work closely with regulators in key countries as part of our international growth. Over the last year, we’ve obtained registrations in France, Spain, Singapore, Italy, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Adding Canada to this list is a huge moment for Coinbase, and one we are very proud of.

We’re excited to continue working with stakeholders across Canada’s crypto ecosystem to accelerate the adoption of digital assets, foster economic empowerment, and reshape the global financial system.

Source: Coinbase