Cryptocurrency exchange OKX will be ceasing its operations in Canada, and exiting the country by June 2023 due to “new regulations”.
The Canadian users of the cryptocurrency exchange OKX were notified via email on March 20 that the company, claiming “new restrictions,” “would no longer provide services or enable users to establish new accounts in Canada starting on Mar. 24, 2023, 12:00 AM EST.”
By June 22, existing Canadian users must close all open positions in options, margins, perpetual contracts, and futures, according to OKX. By that time, all fiat money as well as tokens must be gone.
“Your funds will remain safe in your account until you withdraw them. You will be able to withdraw dollars to your linked bank account and cryptocurrency to your self-custody wallet or your cryptocurrency account on another exchange.”
OKX declared that its departure from Canada is “temporary” and that it is collaborating with regulators to find a solution. “We look forward to your return in the future. Keep tuned, the OKX crew advised.
Prior to this, cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex Global gave advance notice of its off-boarding of Canadian users on July 29, 2022, and did so while citing legislative changes as one of its reasons for doing so.
While they wait to be registered with the regulatory body, Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published a notice on February 22 requiring cryptocurrency exchanges to execute additional, legally enforceable undertakings.
The new regulation forbids, among other things, “purchasing or depositing Value Referenced Crypto Assets (commonly known as stablecoins) through crypto contracts without the prior written authorization of the CSA,” yet it appears that the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC $1.00) is unaffected by the rule.
At the moment, all bitcoin exchanges are required to register with Canadian regulators before accepting customers there. ByBit and KuCoin, two cryptocurrency exchanges, were fined millions of dollars on June 22, 2022, by the Ontario Securities Commission for operating as “non-compliant platforms” in the nation.
