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Canada must stop dragging its feet on crypto regulation
Coinbase Canada CEO Eric Richmond urges Canada to stop delaying its crypto rules, citing fragmented oversight across provinces.
Key points
- The Stablecoin Act provides a federal framework for government-backed stablecoins and treats them as payment instruments rather than
- Six of Canada's largest banks announced a joint initiative to build shared infrastructure for tokenized deposits.
- An Ontario Securities Commission survey found crypto ownership has more than doubled since 2023, with one in four Canadians holding digital
Why it matters. Fragmented provincial rules and the lack of a national securities regulator may keep digital-asset firms facing friction and delays, which could limit consumer access to regulated products.
Coinbase Canada chief executive Eric Richmond writes that the Stablecoin Act, recently in force, is a major achievement, but rules remain fragmented across provinces. Proposed regulations were released on Oct. 23, and the consultations still needed to bring the framework into force will take another two months. Canada is the only G7 country without a national securities regulator, and the Canadian Bitcoin Consortium says issuers must navigate both regimes.
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Canada must stop dragging its feet on crypto regulation
Regulation remains a patchwork, with no standardized framework designed specifically for cryptocurrencies and digital assets Open this photo in gallery: A sign advertises a Bitcoin ATM at a shop in Halifax in 2020. Crypto regulation is fragmented in Canada, with provinces and territories ultimately setting their own rules. Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press Eric Richmond is the chief executive officer and country director of Coinbase Canada. The Stablecoin Act recently came into force, and proposed regulations were released on Oct. 23. The act provides a federal framework for government-backed stablecoins and recognizes them as payment instruments rather than securities. Until now, all cryptocurrencies have been regulated by securities watchdogs. The law itself is a major achievement for financial innovation in this country. It is already having an effect on the rest of the market. Six of Canada’s largest banks recently announced a joint initiative to build shared infrastructure for tokenized deposits after a ruling by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions that such deposits – those issued on a blockchain – are legally equivalent to traditional deposits. But for the most part, if you want to launch a digital assets-related business in Canada in 2026, you’ll still run into friction and delays, owing to the amount of contradictory and cumbersome regulation inv.