Canada Embraces its First Regulated Crypto Exchange

Canada’s cryptocurrency space is one of the most progressive and regulated in the world. Now, it is breaking new ground as a government-regulated exchange is finally opening in the country. Today, Wealthsimple Crypto, a local exchange, will finally launch its services in Canada.

Wealthsimple Goes Live in Canada

Wealthsimple is an online investment management service based out of Toronto. The company will be launching its crypto exchange in the country today, marking the first regulated exchange to launch in Canada.

Per reports, users will be able to operate Wealthsimple Crypto in all 13 Canadian provinces. The service has a mobile app, from which users can buy and sell Bitcoin and Ether for now. Deposits and withdrawals are only possible in Canadian dollars as well. It’s still unclear whether the company plans to expand its service level in the future.

The platform’s public rollout is coming following the regulatory approval from the Canadian Securities Administrators. A representative confirmed to Cointelegraph that the firm’s platform has been available on a beta launch, and that over 130,000 people have signed up to join the waiting list already.

Wealthsimple is also using a crypto custody service provided by Gemini, the U.S.-based exchange founded by crypto entrepreneurs Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. The custody service will hold all customers’ cash, so Wealthsimple won’t interact with any funds. Blair Wiley, the company’s general counsel, explained that the collaboration with Gemini was one of the top reasons why Canadian regulators approved the company’s operations in the country. 

The Gemini Foundation is one of the most famous names in the crypto industry. However, the company has also distinguished itself for its focus on regulatory-compliant operations. That has allowed it to maintain a cordial relationship with regulators both at home and abroad. Since Wealthsimple was working on a similar path, it made sense to partner with the firm.

Crypto Trades And Nothing Else

Wiley also pointed out that the company managed to get approval because of its singular service focus. As she explained, many companies tend to focus on doing different things with their platform and therefore need to get permission from various agencies. By focusing on just cryptocurrency buying and selling, the approval process for Wealthsimple was much more comfortable.

The singular focus leads to the belief that Wealthsimple doesn’t plan to offer any additional services to users in the future. While it is a bold approach to operation, it forces the question of how the company intends to keep its customers in the long run.

Still, the news of the platform’s opening is good news for the country’s crypto space. It also shows that crypto exchanges can toe the same line, even though Canadian regulators appear to have been purging the industry recently.

Last month, a representative from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) confirmed to Cointelegraph that it had asked top derivatives exchange BitMEX to cease its operations in the province. The representative pointed out that BitMEX doesn’t have any right to operate in Ontario, and that the agency had asked the exchange to cease operating there.