In a move it describes as “proactive”, Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange, has announced its withdrawal from the Canadian market. This decision, shared on Twitter on May 12, comes as new guidelines from Canadian regulators begin to impact the country’s crypto industry. Binance’s departure from Canada follows similar moves by some of its smaller rivals in response to new rules introduced by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) on February 22, which necessitated additional preregistration and imposed more restrictions on these firms.
Despite Binance reportedly filing a new preregistration undertaking, it stated in a tweet that the recent guidance on stablecoins and investor limits provided to crypto exchanges has made the Canadian market untenable for them. The CSA’s rules banned companies from allowing Canadian clients to engage in crypto contracts for buying and selling any crypto asset classified as a security and/or a derivative, and defined stablecoins as a security.
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Previous Market Exits and Binance’s Future Plans
The first to leave the Canadian market was OKX in March, followed by decentralized exchange dYdX in April, and then by blockchain fintech Paxos. Binance has instructed its Canadian users through an email to close their open positions by September 30, 2023. It further cautioned that starting October 1, 2023, Canadian customers would only be able to liquidate their holdings.
Binance stated, “While we do not agree with the new guidance, we hope to continue to engage with Canadian regulators aimed at a thoughtful, comprehensive regulatory framework.” Prior to this, Binance had already ceased operations in Ontario, in March 2022, following a prolonged dispute with the province’s regulators.
Hope for Canadian Crypto Enthusiasts
Despite these exits, Canadian crypto enthusiasts still have options. Kraken, for instance, submitted the new preregistration undertaking in March and affirmed its commitment to the Canadian market. According to the CSA, there are 11 platforms currently authorized to do business with Canadians.
