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Coinbase Says Canadian License Makes It Country's Biggest Registered Crypto Exchange

The U.S. exchange announced it had achieved "restricted dealer" status, furthering its expansion into Canada that began last year.

CEO Brian Armstrong's Coinbase has obtained a registration in Canada. (CoinDesk archives)
CEO Brian Armstrong's Coinbase has obtained a registration in Canada. (CoinDesk archives)
  • Canadian regulators have granted Coinbase a "restricted dealer" registration, that clears a path for the exchange to operate there.
  • Coinbase has been seeking to expand in Canada since last year, even as it fights U.S. regulators for similar considerations.

Coinbase's expansion into Canada has cleared the hurdle of a "restricted dealer" registration, the company said on Thursday, making it the biggest registered crypto exchange in that jurisdiction.

The U.S. exchange had been seeking this status from the Canadian Securities Administrators since the country set up new crypto policies last year, and the new registration signed by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) sets Coinbase on a path of government-approved operation that has so far eluded it in the U.S.

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“This is a significant milestone in Coinbase’s journey in Canada,” said Lucas Matheson, the CEO of Coinbase Canada, in a statement. He said the exchange will keep working with Canadian partners "to accelerate the adoption of digital assets, foster economic empowerment, and reshape the financial system.”

Coinbase had previously hired 200 people to work on a tailored platform for Canada – its second-largest hub globally after the U.S. – and established a payment rails system with Peoples Trust.

Read More: Coinbase Is Talking With Canadian Banking Giants to Promote Crypto

"While registered as a restricted dealer, the Filer intends to apply for registration as an investment dealer, and to seek membership with the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO, formerly IIROC) and registration as an alternative trading system (ATS)," according to the approval dated April 3, making Coinbase the tenth firm to receive the designation.

In the U.S., Coinbase has been battling with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over claims that it's operating illegally and offering unregistered securities to investors. Coinbase has contended in federal court that the SEC is asking for the impossible because U.S. securities laws as-written don't allow for crypto firms to do business.

Jesse Hamilton

Jesse Hamilton is CoinDesk's deputy managing editor on the Global Policy and Regulation team, based in Washington, D.C. Before joining CoinDesk in 2022, he worked for more than a decade covering Wall Street regulation at Bloomberg News and Businessweek, writing about the early whisperings among federal agencies trying to decide what to do about crypto. He’s won several national honors in his reporting career, including from his time as a war correspondent in Iraq and as a police reporter for newspapers. Jesse is a graduate of Western Washington University, where he studied journalism and history. He has no crypto holdings.

Jesse Hamilton