Canada Issues Preliminary Guidelines for Stablecoin Trading

• In August, institutional interest in cryptocurrency increased in Canada as per reports.
• The CSA announced regulations on staking earlier in the month of July.

With an emphasis on stablecoins, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has offered guidelines to exchanges and cryptocurrency issuers on its preliminary approach to what it refers to as value-referenced crypto assets.

Canadian provincial and territorial securities authorities issued a clarification on the possible trading of cryptocurrencies that peg their value to a single fiat currency on October 5. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) said in February that stablecoins “may constitute securities and/or derivatives,” making them illegal for trading on Canadian cryptocurrency exchanges.

Setting Standards

The CSA may permit stablecoin trading provided issuers keep sufficient reserves of assets with an approved custodian and stablecoin offering cryptocurrency exchanges publish “certain information related to governance, operations, and reserve of assets publicly available.”

Stan Magidson, CSA Chair and Chair and CEO of the Alberta Securities Commission stated:

“This interim framework, which we will build upon in the future, sets certain standards to help ensure that investors receive the information they need about the assets they are purchasing, including the risks associated with them.”

The CSA warned that even crypto assets backed by fiat currency that meet the requirements are still highly volatile. In August, it was reported that institutional interest in cryptocurrency has increased in Canada. This was as a result of the country’s more streamlined legal framework.

The CSA announced regulations on staking in the month of July. Saying that although the practice was legal, there were restrictions on lending and the percentage of “illiquid” assets that may be held.

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