The OKX cryptocurrency exchange has announced that it will no longer serve users or accept applications for new accounts from Canada.
OKX will stop operating in Canada
In a March 24 email, OKX requested all of its Canadian users to close open options, perpetual, all margined and future positions by June 22, 2023 at 12:00 am EST.
OKX also asked users to withdraw fiat currency or tokens in their accounts before said date.
However, the exchange assured its Canadian users that their funds would remain safe until they were withdrawn. Clients can withdraw tokens to their self-custody wallets or crypto accounts on other crypto asset trading platforms and dollars to their linked bank accounts.
The company said its withdrawal from the Canadian market is a temporary step for regulators to address the issue of ‘new regulations’. The OKX official signed: “We look forward to seeing you again. Stay tuned.”
The company sent an email to its customers about the upcoming cessation of services on March 20, 2023.
Previously, Bittrex Global, a cryptocurrency exchange, stopped serving Canadians on July 29, 2022, after giving advance notice for the same regulatory development reasons.
CSA Notice on Cryptography
Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published a warning on February 22 calling on all crypto exchanges to agree to legally binding commitments while they wait to be registered with the agency.
The new commitments involve many regulations, including the “purchase or deposit of value-referenced crypto assets (commonly referred to as stablecoins) through crypto contracts without the prior written consent of the CSA.”
However, the changes may not affect the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin. The agency stated that investor protection provisions and level-playing-field concerns are the main drivers behind these reforms. Regulators require all cryptocurrency exchanges to register with them before entering the Canadian market.
These regulations have brought fines to various cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Bybit and KuCoin, who incurred millions of dollars in fines after the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) found them guilty of incorporating Canadians without registering as compatible platforms in the country. .
Crypto trading platforms are also expected to provide the CSA with an updated pre-registration commitment based on the CSA pre-registration commitment template and implement the systems in the agreement.
