{
 "jurisdiction_id": "CA",
 "jurisdiction": "Canada",
 "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/canada/",
 "generator": "render_jid v13.3.0",
 "date_modified": "2026-08-17",
 "schema_version": "crypto-v2.0.0",
 "counts": {
  "modules": 8,
  "sourced_findings": 26,
  "source_register": 44
 },
 "modules": [
  {
   "code": "crypto_licensing",
   "name": "Crypto Licensing",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/canada/#crypto-licensing-crypto-licensing",
   "standing_position": "Canada's crypto licensing perimeter is constructed through securities-law doctrine (the CSA's 'crypto contract' construct) layered with an interim restricted-dealer registration category and a 2023 enhanced pre-registration undertaking, backstopped by FINTRAC foreign-MSB enforcement. Industry (Coinbase Canada) is publicly pushing for a harmonized national instrument to replace the current exemption/PRU patchwork. Almost the entire evidentiary base this cycle is Tier-4 secondary reporting.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "Client contractual claims on exchange-held crypto ('crypto contracts') as securities, regardless of whether the underlying crypto asset is itself a security, bringing exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken under provincial securities registration.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA)",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/27/gary-gensler-you-should-be-watching-how-canada-is-regulating-coinbase",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "An interim, time-limited 'restricted' dealer/marketplace registration category for crypto trading platforms, conditional on no leverage/margin, pending transition to a long-term registration solution.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "CSA and IIROC",
     "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/linked/100245/canadian-securities-regulators-clarify-framework-for-crypto-platforms",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "Unregistered crypto trading platforms operating in Canada to commit, via the enhanced pre-registration undertaking (PRU), to custody segregation, a ban on margin/leverage, and a ban on selling stablecoins without CSA permission, while pursuing full registration, or to exit the Canadian market.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "CSA",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/02/22/canadian-crypto-trading-platforms-face-enhanced-rules-under-new-regulations",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "Peken Global Limited (KuCoin), a Seychelles-based virtual currency dealer, for failing to register as a foreign money services business and for reporting failures on large and suspicious transactions involving Canadian clients.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "FINTRAC",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/09/25/kucoin-faces-usd14m-canadian-action-in-registration-money-laundering-controls-dispute",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "Codification of current CSA exemptive-relief practice into a single harmonized national instrument across provincial securities regulators, describing the present regime as predominantly consultative with only limited pilot-project relief.",
     "instrument_type": "exchange",
     "source": "Coinbase Canada",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/07/28/coinbase-wants-to-be-canada-s-everything-exchange-but-says-clearer-rules-are-needed-first",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "token_classification",
   "name": "Token Classification",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/canada/#token-classification-token-classification",
   "standing_position": "Token classification continues to hinge on the CSA's judicially untested 'crypto contract' doctrine, which captures exchange-held claims as securities while leaving underlying commodity-type tokens like bitcoin outside the securities perimeter. Stablecoins are separately gated by the VRCA authorization framework, under which USDC is currently the only approved issuer.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "A client's exchange-held crypto holding as a contractual claim ('crypto contract'), deemed a security regardless of whether the underlying asset is itself a security.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "CSA",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/27/gary-gensler-you-should-be-watching-how-canada-is-regulating-coinbase",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "Exchange listing of 'Value-Referenced Crypto Assets' (VRCA), a category encompassing stablecoins, with Circle Internet Financial (USDC) listed as the only approved VRCA issuer at time of reporting.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), on behalf of CSA",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/12/05/circle-claims-bragging-rights-of-usdc-becoming-first-regulated-stablecoin-in-canada",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "Underlying commodity-type tokens such as bitcoin as not themselves securities, leaving them outside the securities perimeter even as platform-held claims to them are captured as 'crypto contracts.'",
     "instrument_type": "none",
     "source": "Canadian regulators / market consensus",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/27/gary-gensler-you-should-be-watching-how-canada-is-regulating-coinbase",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "on_chain_activity_regime",
   "name": "On-Chain Activity Regime",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/canada/#on-chain-activity-regime-on-chain-activity-regime",
   "standing_position": "Staking is tolerated within regulated custody/ETF wrappers, illustrated by Tetra Trust's custody of Canada's first staking-enabled ether and solana ETFs. DeFi and mining remain unaddressed by dedicated rules; Coinbase Canada has publicly sought a regulated DeFi pathway, arguing only case-by-case exemptions currently apply.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "Canada's first staking-enabled ether and solana ETFs as a regulated digital asset custodian, indicating staking is operationally permitted within regulated custodial/ETF structures.",
     "instrument_type": "custodian",
     "source": "Tetra Trust",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/05/04/shopify-and-national-bank-of-canada-are-among-backers-of-a-new-digital-currency-built-to-settle-trades-24-7",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "A regulated pathway for DeFi services and higher-yield lending products, arguing no settled DeFi-specific regime currently exists in Canada beyond case-by-case exemptions.",
     "instrument_type": "exchange",
     "source": "Coinbase Canada",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/07/28/coinbase-wants-to-be-canada-s-everything-exchange-but-says-clearer-rules-are-needed-first",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "stablecoin_regime",
   "name": "Stablecoin Regime",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/canada/#stablecoin-regime-stablecoin-regime",
   "standing_position": "Stablecoin regulation is mid-transition: a federal Stablecoin Act administered by the Bank of Canada has been enacted but its implementing rules and in-force date remain unconfirmed, Budget 2025 reserve/redemption/risk-management commitments are enacted-not-yet-effective, CSA VRCA authorization is already binding for exchange listings, and an Alberta-approved CAD stablecoin (CADD) is live under Tetra Trust.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "A federal Stablecoin Act, administered by the Bank of Canada, following the U.S. GENIUS Act model.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Government of Canada",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/07/28/coinbase-wants-to-be-canada-s-everything-exchange-but-says-clearer-rules-are-needed-first",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "Stablecoin issuers to maintain and manage adequate asset reserves, establish redemption policies, implement risk-management frameworks, and protect Canadians' personal information, per Budget 2025 commitments.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Bank of Canada / Government of Canada",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/11/05/canada-begins-march-toward-stablecoin-regulations",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "Exchange-level authorisation for stablecoin listings under the VRCA guidelines, rolled out since 2023.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "CSA",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/12/05/circle-claims-bragging-rights-of-usdc-becoming-first-regulated-stablecoin-in-canada",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "CADD, a CAD-pegged stablecoin approved by Alberta Treasury Board and Finance, with reserves held in trust under Canadian law and dedicated to redemption.",
     "instrument_type": "issuer",
     "source": "Tetra Trust",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/05/04/shopify-and-national-bank-of-canada-are-among-backers-of-a-new-digital-currency-built-to-settle-trades-24-7",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "Amendments to the Retail Payment Activities Act to bring stablecoin-using payment service providers under regulatory oversight.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Government of Canada",
     "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/377743/canada-stablecoin-legislation-budget",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "consumer_protection",
   "name": "Consumer Protection",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/canada/#consumer-protection-consumer-protection",
   "standing_position": "CIRO's tiered Digital Asset Custody Framework and the CSA's enhanced pre-registration undertaking custody-segregation requirement are the two binding consumer-protection pillars this cycle. A proposed nationwide crypto ATM ban, motivated by FINTRAC fraud/money-laundering findings, remains unenacted, and industry commentary describes CIRO's framework as expressly interim.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "A tiered, risk-based Digital Asset Custody Framework for regulated crypto trading platforms, citing the QuadrigaCX collapse as motivation.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO)",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/02/03/canada-s-investment-regulator-rolls-out-crypto-custody-rules-to-avoid-another-quadrigacx",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "Exchanges to segregate cash, securities and non-security crypto assets held for Canadian clients in a designated trust account or with an Acceptable Third-party Custodian, under the enhanced pre-registration undertaking.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "CSA",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/02/22/canadian-crypto-trading-platforms-face-enhanced-rules-under-new-regulations",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "A nationwide ban on bitcoin and other crypto ATMs in its Spring Economic Update, citing FINTRAC findings that the machines have become a primary vector for fraud and money laundering.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Government of Canada (Liberal government)",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/04/29/canada-proposes-ban-on-bitcoin-atms-as-fraud-cases-mount",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "CIRO's custody framework as expressly interim guidance, alongside only limited CSA exemptive relief for pilot projects.",
     "instrument_type": "none",
     "source": "Legal/industry commentary",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/07/28/coinbase-wants-to-be-canada-s-everything-exchange-but-says-clearer-rules-are-needed-first",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "tax_treatment",
   "name": "Tax Treatment",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/canada/#tax-treatment-tax-treatment",
   "standing_position": "Underlying capital-gains/barter tax characterization of crypto transactions is settled, but the CRA has acknowledged an enforcement/identification gap, prompting compelled-disclosure litigation (Dapper Labs) and a proposed dedicated Financial Crimes Agency and tax-evasion legislation whose enactment status is unconfirmed.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "Either barter-transaction rules or capital-gains treatment to bitcoin transactions, depending on whether coins are used as money or bought/sold for speculative purposes.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2013/10/23/all-you-need-to-know-about-federal-bitcoin-law-in-canada",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "It believes there is no reliable way to identify taxpayers operating in the crypto space and assess income-tax reporting compliance.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "CRA",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/12/08/40-of-canadian-crypto-users-flagged-for-tax-evasion-risk-canadian-tax-authority-reveals",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "A Federal Court order compelling Dapper Labs to disclose data on 2,500 of its users (from an initial request covering 18,000), via a 35-person crypto audit team that has worked on over 230 files.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "CRA",
     "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/381627/canada-targets-dapper-labs-users-in-second-ever-crypto-tax-probe-as-enforcement-gap-widens-report",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "New legislation to combat financial crime, including crypto tax evasion, and a dedicated Financial Crimes Agency, targeted for introduction by Spring 2026.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "Department of Finance Canada",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/12/08/40-of-canadian-crypto-users-flagged-for-tax-evasion-risk-canadian-tax-authority-reveals",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "cross_border_transfer",
   "name": "Cross-Border Transfer",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/canada/#cross-border-transfer-cross-border-transfer",
   "standing_position": "FINTRAC foreign-MSB enforcement (Binance, KuCoin/Peken Global) and the corrected 2022 Emergencies Act sanctions-freeze precedent are confirmed cross-border transfer-control mechanisms. A Canada-specific crypto travel-rule threshold under PCMLTFR remains unverified.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "Binance failed to register as a foreign money services business and neglected to report nearly 6,000 transactions over $10,000 involving Canadian clients.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "FINTRAC",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/tag/fintrac",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    },
    {
     "finding": "Financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, to cease trading and freeze the assets of 'designated persons' and associated crypto wallets, under the Emergencies Act's Emergency Economic Measures Order, based on designated-persons information shared by the RCMP.",
     "instrument_type": "regulation",
     "source": "Government of Canada (Emergency Economic Measures Order)",
     "source_url": "https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2022/02/canada-invokes-the-emergencies-act-to-limit-funding-of-illegal-blockades-and-restore-public-order.html",
     "source_tier": "1",
     "retrieved_at": "2022-02-15"
    },
    {
     "finding": "A large penalty on Peken Global Limited (KuCoin) for failing to report large and suspicious crypto transactions, part of 23 fines totalling $25 million imposed over the preceding year.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "FINTRAC",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/09/25/kucoin-faces-usd14m-canadian-action-in-registration-money-laundering-controls-dispute",
     "source_tier": "4",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "aml_cft_regime",
   "name": "AML/CFT Regime",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/canada/#aml-cft-regime-aml-cft-regime",
   "standing_position": "This module's surface (FINTRAC VASP supervisory activity under the PCMLTFA) is subscribed from financial-integrity per fleet architecture. No original AML/CFT analysis is performed within the crypto monitor; FINTRAC enforcement facts material to crypto exchanges are instead surfaced under crypto_licensing and cross_border_transfer.",
   "findings": []
  }
 ]
}