Canada

February 27, 2019 @ 11:57 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Breathe Life, a Canada-based insurtech startup, has recently secured C$4.5 million through its latest seed funding round, which was led by Diagram Ventures with participation from Real Ventures. Founded in 2017, Breathe Life reports that its platform delivers a “modern customer-centric experience” with tools and… Read More

February 24, 2019 @ 2:31 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Lawyers for the Bank of Montreal consulting on the case of Quadriga CX, a Canadian cryptocurrency exchange whose founder, Gerald Cotten, died in December –taking access to exchange’s funds with him– have told a court they are wary about handling funds in the case due… Read More

February 23, 2019 @ 10:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month, the Quebec Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), along with the Financial Markets Administrative Tribunal issued “conservatory orders” against Crypto Technologies Inc. (DBA Make It Mine), and principles David Fortin-Dominguez and Samory Proulx-Oloko for “failures to comply with the Securities Act.” The order was the… Read More

February 21, 2019 @ 6:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

Crowdfunding has been legal in Canada for some time now but in Canada, securities are managed and regulated at the provincial level thus creating a bit of a regulatory mishmash which proves difficult and costly to firms. Issuers must be certain to manage any provincial… Read More

February 20, 2019 @ 9:37 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

CoinField, a Canada-based cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Tuesday the launch of its new cryptocurrency exchange software licensing program. Founded in 2017, CoinField offers users a multi-layer and secure trading platform to trade digital assets such as bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, ripple, dash, and bitcoin cash. “CoinField is… Read More

February 14, 2019 @ 8:51 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Canadian cryptocurrency platform Coinsquare announced on Thursday it has acquired global decentralized cryptocurrency exchange, StellarX. The acquisition of StellarX reportedly comes on the heels of Coinsquare’s December 2018 acquisition of BlockEQ, which will be rebranded to become the anchor wallet for the StellarX platform. According to Coinsquare, StellarX… Read More

February 12, 2019 @ 10:40 am By Cali Haan  |  

The Ontario Securities Commission has stated that it is “looking in” problems at Quadriga CX after it was revealed last week that the Canadian cryptocurrency exchange has been put into credit protection following the December death of its founder, Gerald Cotten. Matters have been further… Read More

February 11, 2019 @ 1:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

There have been innumerable cryptocurrency exchange hacks and failures. A combination of poor security protocols and the lure of digital currency which can be easily laundered has engendered hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. The most recent debacle is the collapse of Canadian crypto… Read More

February 10, 2019 @ 4:42 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Meridian, a Canada-based credit union, announced last week the launch of its new digital platform, motusbank. According to Meridian, motusbank has already received the official go-ahead from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) and will open for business this spring. Its description reads: “motusbank… Read More

February 8, 2019 @ 5:27 pm By Onki Kwan  |  

As I discussed in a previous article, in November 2018, the SEC staff  (the “Staff”) notified Kik Interactive Inc. and the Kin Foundation (collectively, “Kik”) that they would recommend that the SEC file an enforcement action against Kik for violating registration requirements of the securities… Read More

February 8, 2019 @ 2:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

Blockchain trade association and advocacy group, the Chamber of Digital Commerce, recently partnered with the Blockchain Association of Canada (BAC). As part of the new relationship, the BAC has changed its name to the Chamber of Digital Commerce Canada. Tanya Woods, previously the executive director… Read More

February 8, 2019 @ 2:19 am By JD Alois  |  

In an open letter to Canadian securities regulators, leading investment crowdfunding platform FrontFundr pointed a finger at provincial regulators and their inability to foster a robust ecosystem for online capital formation for early-stage Canadian firms. Signed by Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, who is CEO of FrontFundr… Read More

February 7, 2019 @ 10:23 am By Cali Haan  |  

The hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan, where Canadian crypto exchange CEO Gerald Cotten spent his last hours has confirmed that he died there from a heart attack caused by complications from Crohn’s disease, Times of India reports. Cotten’s untimely death may also have devastating consequences for… Read More

February 6, 2019 @ 8:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

Is QuadrigaCX Safe? “QuadrigaCX has been developed by some of the foremost leaders in the crypto currency community, and employs some of the most stringent security protocols that currently exist. Furthermore, Bitcoins that are funded in QuadrigaCX are stored in cold storage, using some of… Read More

February 5, 2019 @ 12:05 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Claims by current operators of the Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX that the company has “lost” cold wallets containing more than $150 million in crypto are being disputed by a researcher at the Zerononsense blog. QuadrigaCX filed for creditor protection last week, and according to Zerononsense,… Read More

February 4, 2019 @ 12:00 pm By Onki Kwan  |  

Kik Interactive Inc. (“Kik”), a company based in Canada, raised close to $100 million selling Kin tokens during the initial coin offering (ICO) boom of 2017, making it one of the most successful ICOs. It first sold tokens to accredited investors through a SAFT (Simple… Read More

February 4, 2019 @ 10:20 am By JD Alois  |  

Cutting the Red Tape. We elect and appoint public officials to represent our best interests. Far too often, these policymakers take this mandate as a carte blanche to enact new laws and craft more rules. Unfortunately, this approach can be misguided as well-intentioned politicians and… Read More

February 2, 2019 @ 12:28 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The board at beleaguered Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX has issued a notice on the exchange’s website stating that the company has filed for credit protection and is struggling to “…locate and secure our very significant cryptocurrency reserves held in cold wallets…(which) are required to satisfy… Read More

February 1, 2019 @ 1:38 pm By Cali Haan  |  

In an effort to better “manage its resources,” Canadian crypto exchange Coinsquare laid off 40% of its workforce yesterday, Canadian-startup news outlet BetaKit reports. The latest layoffs reportedly follow a 20% cutback on employees undertaken by Coinsquare last July. According to Coinsquare CEO Cole Diamond,… Read More

January 29, 2019 @ 9:30 am By JD Alois  |  

In a report this past weekend, Kik – a Canada based company, indicated its intent to battle an anticipated enforcement action by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to WSJ.com, Kik is willing to go to the mat with the Commission in the… Read More