Canadian crypto exchanges reach $1B in assets under management
Canada-based Bitbuy and Coinsquare, the largest crypto exchanges, have more than 1 billion Canadian dollars ($736 million) in assets under management.
According to a Dec. 6 announcement by parent company WonderFi, the two entities currently hold more than CAD 1 billion in customer cash and digital asset deposits, with CAD 695 million ($512 million) in the third quarter.
In November, the platform saw a 16 percent increase in monthly active users compared to October's monthly actives. The platforms recorded a 54% increase in the total volume of business transactions,” the company wrote.
In July 2023, Bitbuy and Coinsquare merged with decentralized finance (DeFi) platform WonderFi, which was founded by Canadian businessman Kevin O'Leary, aka “Mr. Awesome” combination has created a combined user base of 1.6 million Canadians among the distributions.
In the year In November 2021, Bitbuy became a fully regulated crypto exchange in Canada after receiving a license from the Ontario Securities Commission. Similarly, in October 2022, Coinsquare became the first crypto exchange in Canada to receive broker-dealer status from the Canadian Investment Industry Regulatory Organization. During Q3 2023, WonderFi brought in combined revenue of 9.9 million CAD ($7.3 million). The firm said it was cash flow positive in October.
Currently, Canadian regulators require all crypto exchanges operating in the country to be registered or legally pending approval. Popular offshore exchanges such as Binance, ByBit and OKX have ceased operations in Canada as part of the new rules. In February, Canadian regulators began requiring crypto exchanges to delist unauthorized stablecoins, independent of the USD Coin (USDC). Following the announcement, exchanges like Kraken and Coinbase canceled Tether (USDT) and other stablecoins for Canadian users.
Related: Kevin O'Leary-backed WonderFi to buy Bitbuy parent company for $162M
