🇨🇦 Crypto licence in Canada

The regime

Canadian crypto trading platforms register as restricted dealers with provincial securities commissions under CSA guidance — securities regulators asserted jurisdiction over custodial platforms in 2021, making Canada one of the earliest countries to force exchanges into securities-style registration.

Pre-registration undertakings (PRUs) bind platforms during onboarding, and custody, leverage and stablecoin-listing limits are conditions of registration. The regime pushed several global exchanges out of Canada in 2023; others registered and stayed.

Requirements

• Registration as a restricted dealer (or investment dealer) with a principal provincial regulator, passported across provinces.
• Pre-registration undertaking binding the platform to CSA expectations while the application processes.
• Custody: customer crypto held with a qualified custodian, majority cold storage; no margin or leverage for Canadian retail clients.
• Value-referenced crypto assets: stablecoins tradable only under CSA conditions (issuer undertakings, reserves, disclosure).

Licensed firms

Registered platforms include:

• Wealthsimple — the first registered crypto trading platform, 2021
• Coinbase Canada — restricted dealer, registered April 2024
• Kraken Canada — restricted dealer, registered June 2024
• Coinsquare — investment-dealer route via CIRO membership

Snapshot, not the register: verify current status against CSA registered crypto trading platforms before relying on it.

Why did some exchanges leave Canada?

The 2023 CSA conditions — no leverage, stablecoin restrictions, custody undertakings — made the market uneconomic for some global platforms (Binance, Bybit, OKX withdrew). Firms that registered accepted those limits.

Is a Canadian registration federal?

Securities regulation is provincial, but the passport system means registering with a principal regulator extends across provinces, with the CSA coordinating the national framework.