The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) included a number of crypto firms in a consumer alert that called out companies not registered to deal in the Canadian province.
The OSC’s investor warning encompasses possible harmful or illegal activity. The commission maintains a “warning list” of companies and individuals that may be putting investors at risk. In today’s notice, Kucoin, PhenoFX, Crestswiftrade.com and FX-BTC Trade are listed as unregistered firms in the jurisdiction.
The crypto firms that made the list were among other firms purporting to be foreign exchange brokers or other forms of broker-dealers. Some are facing claims of scams against them.
In June, the OSC barred Kucoin from operating in Ontario. The move came as part of a wider crackdown on crypto exchanges following a decision from Canada’s securities regulators in 2021 to treat custodial exchanges as securities exchanges regardless of whether the digital assets are securities. The OSC has since gone after unregistered exchanges, most recently settling with Bybit, which has committed to working with the OSC to register.
Earlier this month KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu dispelled rumors suggesting the company might halt withdrawals.
© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
About Author
Aislinn Keely joined The Block in the summer of 2019. She is a member of the outlet’s policy team, holding down the legal beat. Before The Block, she lent her voice to the NPR affiliate WFUV, where she reported and anchored newscasts in addition to some podcast work. Aislinn is a proud Fordham Ram and editor-in-chief emerita of its newspaper. When she isn’t writing or reporting, Aislinn is running and rock climbing.
Source: https://www.theblock.co/post/161003/ontario-regulator-includes-crypto-firms-in-latest-consumer-protection-alert?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss