American crypto giant Coinbase officially announced its launch in Canada earlier today. The California-based crypto exchange marked its launch in Canada’s crypto market by rolling out the Interac payment rails for Canadian users. The exchange partnered up with Vancouver-based Peoples Trust Company for the Interac integration.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Coinbase’s launch in Canada was encouraged by the country’s approach towards crypto regulation. Over the past year, the crypto exchange boosted its headcount in Toronto and Vancouver by 200. Chief Executive Brian Armstrong stated that his company had a positive working relationship with Canadian regulators.
Speaking on the regulatory landscape in Canada, Armstrong added:
We’ve found the Canadian regulators to be really amenable to work with and there’s a real genuine interest, I think on both sides, to have regulatory clarity about how both consumers can be protected in this environment.
Bloomberg reported that Coinbase had signed on to the pre-clearance rules with the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) in March 2023. The CSA reportedly cleared 12 other crypto trading platforms to conduct business in Canada after they went through the same formalities. The rules were issued by the CSA earlier this year following turbulence in the global crypto market.
As per a press release by Coinbase, Interac was the most requested feature by Canadian users, given its efficiency and security. Over the past month, half of the deposits made on Coinbase were through Interac e-transfers. The crypto exchange’s venture arm also invested in several crypto startups across Canada over the past year.
Coinbase’s Canadian debut came just two months after rival crypto exchanges, including Binance and Bybit, departed that crypto market in Canada. The departures, which came in May 2023, were attributed to the regulatory developments in the country, including the CSA’s Pre–Registration Undertaking (PRU) policy.
