OKX notified Canadian consumers via email on March 20 that the exchange “would no longer offer services or enable users to establish new accounts in Canada as of March 24, 2023, 12:00 AM EDT,” citing “new rules.”
Existing Canadian clients of OKX are required to close open contracts in options, margins, perpetuals, and futures by June 22, 2023. In addition, fiat or tokens must be removed by the specified date.
“Your funds will remain safe in your account until you withdraw them. You will be able to withdraw dollars to your linked bank account and cryptocurrency to your self-custody wallet or your cryptocurrency account on another exchange. “
OKX said that its removal from Canada is “temporary,” and the exchange is collaborating with authorities to resolve the situation.
“We look forward to seeing you in the future. Remain current,” the OKX crew wrote. Earlier, on July 29, 2022, the cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex Global off-boarded Canadian customers after providing an early warning that also cited regulatory changes as grounds for departing the nation.
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) issued a notification on February 22 asking crypto exchanges to sign legally binding agreements while they await registration with the regulator.
The new endeavor restricts, among other things, “purchasing or depositing value-referenced crypto assets (commonly known as stablecoins) via crypto contracts without the CSA’s prior written authorization.” However, stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) seems to be unaffected by the decision.
Presently, all cryptocurrency exchanges are required to register with Canadian authorities before accepting Canadian customers.
The cryptocurrency exchanges ByBit and KuCoin were fined millions of dollars on June 22, 2022, after the Ontario Securities Commission concluded that both were operating in the nation as “non-compliant platforms.”
