By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 25th, 2024
The OSC has published a list of unregistered crypto firms operating in its jurisdiction and this includes KuCoin and its affiliates.
Ontario Securities Commission has been actively cracking down on unregistered crypto exchanges despite little chance of obtaining fines or enforcing legal judgments. Last year, the Securities regulators issued a cease-and-desist notice to crypto exchanges based in Seychelles and Singapore respectively. In its latest effort, the OSC has published a list of unregistered crypto firms operating in its jurisdiction and this includes KuCoin and its affiliates.
Last year, crypto trading platforms that offer securities and derivative services were asked to register with authorities. However, KuCoin and Bybit failed to meet the deadline but went ahead to operate without any contact with the OSC.
In June, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) also issued a permanent market ban on KuCoin and Bybit. In response, Bybit came to terms with the OSC on a settlement agreement. Bybit responded to enforcement actions and provided the necessary information to authorities.
KuCoin, on the other hand, failed to respond to enforcement actions and has as a result been permanently banned from the Ontario market. In addition, the exchange has been handed a penalty charge of $2 million and another $96,550 for investigation charges.
“Foreign crypto-asset trading platforms that want to operate in Ontario must play by the rules or face enforcement action. The outcomes announced today should serve as a clear indication that we refuse to tolerate non-compliance with Ontario securities law,” said Jeff Kehoe, Director of Enforcement at the OSC.
According to reports, the recent alert includes 13 unregistered crypto firms operating within the jurisdiction. This crackdown comes as authorities began to recognize custody exchanges as securities exchanges in 2021. This is irrespective of whether the traded assets are securities or not. Similarly, Binance has shut down its operation in the Ontario market.
Authorities pledges to go after even more unregistered exchanges, even if enforcing a judgment is less effective. Jean-Paul Bureaud, executive director of Fair Canada, an investor’s rights group, in a comment stated that the operation is not about collecting fines as there are other ways of protecting investors.
According to Bureaud, OSC has three main goals for this operation, which are: sending strong messages to Canadian-based exchanges that are not registered, discouraging off-shore exchanges from offering services to Canadians, and making potential customers hesitate.