OKX to Halt Services in Canada Due to New Regulations
Zach Anderson Mar 21, 2023 09:14
Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has notified its Canadian users that it will no longer provide services or allow new account openings in Canada, starting on March 24, 2023, due to new regulations. Existing Canadian customers must close open positions in options, margins, perpetual, and futures by June 22, 2023, and fiat or tokens must be withdrawn by the same date.
OKX is a cryptocurrency exchange that was launched in China in 2017 and facilitates trading in a number of different digital assets. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin are some of the cryptocurrencies that are included in this category. As a result of the fact that its daily trading volume is more than $2 billion, it is regarded as being one of the most significant cryptocurrency exchanges in the whole world.
On February 22, 2023, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) issued a notice requiring all cryptocurrency exchanges to make new legally enforceable undertakings while they wait to be registered with the regulatory body. The notification was published online. Due to the publication of this notification, the cryptocurrency exchanges have made the decision to put an end to their business activities in Canada. The new initiative makes it illegal to "purchase or deposit Value Referenced Crypto Assets (often referred to as stablecoins) via crypto contracts without the prior written authorization of the CSA." This action is described as "purchasing or depositing Value Referenced Crypto Assets" in the original sentence.
The decision made by the CSA is a part of a bigger crackdown on trading cryptocurrencies in Canada, which is being carried out by authorities in an attempt to bring the sector under greater control. The authorities' motivation for carrying out this crackdown is stated in the following sentence: At the present, cryptocurrency exchanges are obliged to first register with the regulating authorities of Canada in order to be able to accept new clients from inside the country's borders. On June 22, 2022, after an investigation by the Ontario Securities Commission found that both ByBit and KuCoin were operating "non-compliant platforms" in the country, the commission fined both companies millions of dollars because they were "non-compliant platforms." The investigation was conducted by the Ontario Securities Commission.
OKEx has said that it would only be temporarily withdrawing its services from the Canadian market and that it is now working with the relevant authorities in Canada to find a solution to the issue. The exchange has not issued any indication as to when it believes it will resume operations in Canada, and it has not specified a specific date either.
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