Canadian Exchanges Bitbuy, Coinsquare Reach $1B Milestone

Bitbuy and Coinsquare, two of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges based in Canada, have achieved an assets under management milestone of $1 billion Canadian dollars ($736 million).

The parent company WonderFi announced on December 6 that the combined value of cash and digital asset deposits held by the two entities for clients has surpassed 1 billion CAD.

This represents an increase from the third-quarter figure of 695 million CAD ($512 million). “The monthly active user count across all platforms increased by 16% in November, in comparison to the corresponding figure for October.”

“Total trading volume increased by 54% across all platforms,” the company wrote. In July 2023, the Canadian businessman Kevin O’Leary, also known as “Mr. Wonderful,” merged Bitbuy and Coinsquare with WonderFi, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform.

As a result of the merger, the combined user base of its subsidiaries in Canada amounted to 1.6 million individuals.

Bitbuy was granted complete regulatory status as a cryptocurrency exchange in Canada in November 2021, subsequent to obtaining a license from the Ontario Securities Commission. In a similar vein, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada first granted broker-dealer status to Coinsquare in October 2022.

In the third quarter of 2023, WonderFi generated a total revenue of $7.3 million (or 9.9 million CAD). The company asserts that it achieved positive cash flow in October.

At this time, in anticipation of licensing, Canadian regulators mandate that all cryptocurrency exchanges operating within the nation either register or enter into a legally enforceable commitment.

As a result of the new regulations, prominent offshore exchanges, including Binance, ByBit, and OKX, have ceased operations in Canada.

Canadian regulators began mandating the delisting of prohibited stablecoins by cryptocurrency exchanges in February, USD Coin was exempt. Exchanges, including Kraken and Coinbase, delisted Tether and other stablecoins for Canadian users subsequent to the announcement.