Canada’s longest operating crypto asset trading platform has had its dealer registration and membership approved by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).
Coinsquare will become the first crypto-only, IIROC registered investment dealer and marketplace member in the Canadian market across all provinces and territories.
IIROC has traditionally overseen all investment dealers and trading activity in Canada’s debt and equity markets, and recently, IIROC has taken on the regulation and oversight of cryptocurrency trading in Canada.
By registering with IIROC, Coinsquare’s more than 500,000 users can trade in over 40 individual cryptocurrencies and over 820 coin to coin pairs and be confident they are protected by the highest level of compliance and regulatory oversight.
Clients’ digital assets will be custodied at Tetra Trust or Coinbase, both of which are licensed trust companies approved by IIROC, independently regulated and insured.
Coinsquare’s competitors will be required to go through the same rigorous path to meet the IIROC regulatory standards within two years of getting their interim, restricted dealer license. Operating with a restricted dealer license allows crypto-asset trading platforms to operate within limited parameters while they prepare for permanent IIROC registration.
“If you trade crypto today in Canada, you are investing outside the fully regulated traditional financial system with its inherent safeguards and protections,” says Coinsquare CEO Martin Piszel.
“Today, Coinsquare became the only registered crypto IIROC dealer and marketplace member. Now, for the first time, Canadians have the opportunity to invest in crypto assets, knowing that they have full IIROC protections.”
In addition to becoming an IIROC investment dealer, Coinsquare has also been approved to operate a regulated Alternative Trading System (ATS).
Coinsquare plans to develop its ATS model over time to provide a liquid and transparent market, in the same way traditional equities are traded. Coinsquare believes this model will address the issue of trading in illiquid books in the current fragmented retail crypto environment.
Last month Coinsquare acquired Toronto-based CoinSmart making it one of Canada’s largest crypto asset trading platforms with a diversified and compliant offering across various business lines including both retail and institutional trading, crypto payment processing, and digital asset custody.
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