Coinbase, Kraken Eye Continued Canada Operations As Country's Regulatory Rules Change

Coinbase and Kraken, two of the world's largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange platforms, have announced their intent to continue operations in Canada as regulatory rules in the country change.

Coinbase, the American publicly traded company, said in a new blog post this week that it has signed an enhanced pre-registration undertaking with securities regulators in Canada.

"On Friday, March 24th, Coinbase Canada signed an enhanced Pre-Registration Undertaking (PRU). We continue to work with policymakers on a strong crypto regulatory framework for Canadians," the company said.

"We are investing significant resources in local Canadian innovation," Coinbase further said, adding that it has built "a tech hub in Canada with over 200 engineers who are supporting our global product portfolio."

Also, Coinbase assured the public, especially those in Canada, that its "global leadership team will be making frequent trips to Canada to engage with regulators, partners, and the community, to better understand the Canadian market and its unique needs."

The CEX's announcement underlined that its communications with Canadian authorities were successful and favorable, with its recent statements highlighting that the country's regulatory framework works to protect its customers and is friendly to crypt businesses.

"We applaud the Canadian securities regulators' efforts to bring clarity to the industry and look forward to continuing our collaboration with them on regulation that protects consumers while embracing innovation," Coinbase said, noting, "our goal is to provide the most trusted and secure platform for Canadians to buy, sell, and trade crypto and we are grateful for a thoughtful and responsible regulatory review process."

Like Coinbase, Kraken, another U.S.-based crypto exchange platform, also announced that it has submitted pre-registration requirements with Canada's Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and intends to be a registered Restricted Dealer in the country.

"This undertaking demonstrates Kraken's commitment to comply with the Canadian Securities Administrators' recently enhanced investor protection guidance," Kraken said.

"Canada as a geography is critical to our mission to empower people with new ways to connect and transact," David Ripley, Kraken's Chief Operating Officer and incoming CEO, said.

"Trading platforms that prioritize compliance and secure trading experiences will have more success advocating for crypto's economic benefits and transformative potential for crypto traders and investors," the executive added.

Both Coinbase and Kraken have been in the crosshairs of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this year.

Kraken agreed to pay $30 million in disgorgement, civil penalties and prejudgment interest to the SEC on Feb. 9 and immediately ceased to offer its crypto staking program for its U.S. clients after the regulator charged that the exchange failed "to register the offer and sale of their crypto-asset staking as a service program, whereby investors transfer crypto assets to Kraken for staking in exchange for advertised annual investment returns of as much as 21 percent."

Coinbase, on the other hand, recently received a Wells notice from the SEC, centering on the company's staking and asset listing.

Its CEO Brian Armstrong confirmed the notice from the financial regulator and claimed that the company is prepared to appear before the court defending its name and reputation. "We are right on the law, confident in the facts."