Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) publishes new crypto guidelines

• The Canadian Securities Administrators on 22 February issued new guidelines for the local crypto industry.
• Crypto exchanges and other companies will now be required to follow custody rules for investors’ protection.

The Canadian Securities Administrators yesterday (22 February) issued a press release outlining new guidelines for the local crypto industry. It warned cryptocurrency exchanges and other platforms that they would be held accountable for increased investor protection commitments.

According to the new guidelines, crypto asset trading platforms (CTPs) wishing to operate in Canada must make these commitments via a pre-registration process while working on their actual registrations.

They are given 30 days to comply. Exchanges and other companies will be required to follow custody rules during this pre-registration process, which include segregating crypto assets held for local clients, a prohibition on margin or other forms of leverage, and a prohibition on selling stablecoins without the regulator’s permission.

Recent insolvencies involving several crypto asset trading platforms, according to CSA Chair Stan Magidson, highlight the tremendous risks associated with trading crypto assets, particularly when conducted on unregistered platforms based outside of Canada.

Crypto platforms have been given a deadline

Unregistered crypto trading platforms now have 30 days to publish a revised pre-registration undertaking, which may be posted on the CSA’s website, according to the notice. Companies that are unable or unwilling to comply will be expected to offload Canadian users and block the jurisdiction.

“Specifically, the enhanced PRU will include additional commitments from the CTP to hold assets, including cash, securities, and crypto assets that are not securities, of a Canadian client … In the case of crypto assets, in a designated trust account or in an account designated for the benefit of clients with a custodian that comes within the definition of ‘Acceptable Third-party Custodian,'” said the notice.

According to the notice, crypto trading platforms are not permitted to allow Canadian clients to enter into crypto contracts to buy and sell any crypto asset that is itself a security and/or a derivative.

In several jurisdictions, fiat-backed crypto assets are thought to meet the definition of security or derivative.

The notice mentions that third-party custodians can be Canadian or foreign companies, but they must have a SOC 2 type 1 or 2 report from the previous year.