Canada, North America’s third most populous country, is on its way to being home to the world’s largest cryptocurrency companies.
In comparison to its North American rival, the United States of America, Canada’s regulatory environment has been more beneficial to cryptocurrencies.
The government has made history by approving the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Purpose Investments’ ETF, which is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker BTCC, first became available to investors in February of this year.
Other ETFs have swiftly followed in the footsteps of the original. The CI Galaxy Ethereum ETF, Evolve Bitcoin ETF (EBIT), and Purpose Ether ETF are three of the most popular. According to a Bloomberg survey, cryptocurrency funds account for one-third of the 25 most regularly traded ETFs on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Still, in the spirit of the adoption of BTC, CEBL – the Canadian Elite Basketball League announced that its professional basketballers would be able to receive their salaries in Bitcoin. Bitbuy, a cryptocurrency exchange, will facilitate the payment by converting the participants’ Canadian Dollar salaries to cryptocurrencies if they so wish.
Meanwhile, if and when the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launches the first Bitcoin ETF, there have been predictions that trading volumes will be “astronomical.” The SEC said last week that it would postpone a decision on a Bitcoin ETF proposal presented by Van Eck, a financial services firm based in the United States that provides active and passive investment strategies to its clients.
Despite achieving ground-breaking steps with cryptocurrency acceptance, there are still many obstacles to overcome. One example is the rising frequency with which Canadian regulators are slamming bitcoin exchanges.
Bybit, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has been charged by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) for “running an unlicensed crypto asset trading platform.” If the charges are proven, the exchange could face fines of up to $1 million. Earlier this year, a similar legal action was taken against cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin.
The Bank of Canada, Canada’s central bank, recently stated that it is not ruling out the possibility of producing a Central Bank Digital Coin. According to Timothy Lane, the bank’s deputy director, the bank is looking at greener energy options for use in a digital currency.
Though the bank has no plans to issue a digital currency anytime soon, if it does, the digital money will have a lower carbon footprint than Bitcoin. If this happens, Bitcoin adoption in the country is expected to stall significantly.
Overall, Canada appears to be adopting digital currencies at a faster rate than many other countries. While regulation remains a major issue, the growth of institutional interest in the country might propel Canada to the forefront of Bitcoin adoption if it is properly funded.