OKX, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, has declared that it will no longer offer its services to Canadian users or accept new account requests from the country. In a recent email, OKX urged its Canadian customers to close any open positions in options, perpetual, all margined positions, and future before the deadline of June 22, 2023, at 12:00 AM EST. The exchange also requested that users withdraw any fiat currency or tokens in their accounts before the said date.
Despite the withdrawal, #OKX has assured its #Canadian users that their funds will be safe until they withdraw them. Customers can choose to withdraw tokens to their self-custody wallets or other crypto accounts on different trading platforms, and dollars to their linked bank accounts.
OKX cited "new regulations" as the reason for its temporary exit from the Canadian market, but the exchange expressed hope to return soon. In the email to customers, the OKX official said, "We hope to see you again. Stay tuned."
On February 22nd, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) released a notice that asked all crypto exchange platforms to comply with legally binding undertakings while awaiting registration with the agency. The CSA mandates that all cryptocurrency exchanges register with them before entering the Canadian market. Failure to comply with regulations has resulted in fines for various cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Bybit and KuCoin, which were found guilty of onboarding Canadians without following the country's regulations.
The new regulations will cover several requirements, such as "buying or depositing Value Referenced Crypto Assets (commonly referred to as stablecoins) through crypto contracts without the prior written consent of the CSA." The CSA emphasized that the reforms are driven by investor protection and level-playing-field concerns.
#Bittrex Global, another cryptocurrency exchange, previously withdrew from the Canadian market on July 29, 2022, after providing advance notice of the same regulatory developments. #crypto asset trading platforms are also expected to update their pre-registration undertaking based on the CSA pre-registration undertaking template and implement the systems in the agreement.
In summary, OKX's departure from the Canadian market is a result of regulatory changes that crypto exchanges must comply with before entering the Canadian market.
