Top Coinsquare executives asked to step down as settlement agreement with OSC

Two top Coinsquare executives have been asked to withdraw from their positions in the company, following a recent case with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). A few days ago, the Canadian digital company was accused by the regulator for manipulating its trading volume over the past years. 

Coinsquare executives step down as settlement agreement with OSC

As BNN Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, the two top Coinsquare executives, namely, Cole Diamond and Virgile Rostand, will withdraw from their positions in the Toronto-headquartered crypto trading platform. Respectively, they serve as the CEO and President of Coinsquare.

The decision is part of the settlement agreement reached by the Canadian regulator on Tuesday. Additionally, the Coinsquare executives are required to pay nearly $2 million in fine for the OSC investigation. Precisely, Diamond was fined $1 million, while Rostand was fined $900,000, according to the report.

OSC accused Coinsquaire of inflating its trading volumes

The development today steems from the recent accusation of the Canadian regulator on Coinsquare. The regulator claimed the trading company engaged in some market manipulations. OSC argued that the company inflated about 90 percent of its trading volumes with fake trades. This happened from July 2018 to the end of 2019.

A spokesperson for the cryptocurrency company noted in the report:

The company [Coinsquare] acted on wrong legal advice, but the company put clients, employees, and shareholders first, and that the increased volume did not impact cryptocurrency prices.

Meanwhile, the decision to dismiss the Coinsqure executives from their position as part of the settlement is a milestone, as opined by the director of enforcement with the OSC, Jeff Keho. According to Keho, the settlement agreement will mark the first time wherein a firm will be disciplined under 2016 laws, barring reprisal against a whistleblower.