Kraken, one of the world’s longest-standing and most trusted cryptocurrency platforms, has filed a pre-registration undertaking with the Ontario Securities Commission in order to become a registered Restricted Dealer across Canada—Kraken notified Cryptopolitan.
This move reflects Kraken’s dedication to complying with the Canadian Securities Administrators’ recently improved investor protection guidance and is an important step forward in providing services within the region.
“Canada as a geography is critical to our mission to empower people with new ways to connect and transact. Trading platforms that prioritize compliance and secure trading experiences will have more success advocating for crypto’s economic benefits and transformative potential for crypto traders and investors.”
David Ripley, Kraken’s Chief Operating Officer and incoming CEO
“We want both existing and prospective clients to know Kraken remains committed to Canada. As we forge this new regulatory path, we’ll continue engaging with our local regulators to enhance our understanding of crypto’s economic benefits and transformative potential. We believe in offering clients a compliant trading platform that leverages our robust security protocols, unrivaled 24/7, live customer services support, industry-leading liquidity, and a superior product offering.”
Mark Greenberg, Managing Director for Canada at Kraken.
Cryptopolitan reported Coinbase is in negotiations with Canadian regulators to obtain the license to remain in operation within the country. Also, OKEx has already confirmed their departure while Crypto.com and Blockchain.com plan to stay in the region.
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) is the national umbrella organization encompassing Canada’s 13 regional securities regulators. As there is no overarching federal regulator, registration with one CSA member offers a ‘passport’, enabling firms to conduct business in other provinces or territories.
In February 2021, Kraken was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to register its staking-as-a-service program as a security and was subsequently required to pay $30 million in penalties and disgorgement. Despite this, Kraken announced it would still offer its staking program to customers outside of the United States.
