China’s regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrencies continues to alienate major miners. Dubai-based investment company IBC Group reportedly plans to end Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) mining operations in China following ban announcements from the different provinces across the country. The group has major mining operations in China and plans to distribute its operations to the United Arab Emirates, Canada, the United States, Kazakhstan, Iceland and various South American countries, according to sources. IBC Group recently relocated its headquarters to Toronto, Canada. Commenting on the crackdown on crypto with a focus on mining activities, IBC Group chairman and iMining CEO Khurram Shroff …

The world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform, Binance, has faced regulatory upheaval over the past week as jurisdictions clamped down on the use of unauthorized exchanges and warned citizens against accessing them. For Binance, adopting the moniker of “global exchange” has done very little to appease regulators that require specific licenses to offer financial services to their citizens. Below is a brief recap of recent regulatory actions surrounding Binance. Japan On June 25, Japan’s Financial Services Agency, or FSA, accused Binance of operating in the country without proper registration – potentially setting the stage for a protracted legal battle with regulators. …

Toronto-based crypto mining firm Hut 8 said it plans to increase its self-mined Bitcoin holdings based on its expectation it will be able to expand its hashrate by 400%. According to a Monday announcement, Hut 8 said it expects to hold 5,000 self-mined Bitcoin (BTC) — roughly $172 million — by the end of 2021, a more than 31% increase over its current 3,806 BTC. The company said the anticipated crypto holdings were based on it being able to increase its hashrate to “2.5 – 3.0 EH by the end of 2021 and to approximately 6 EH by mid-2022” — …

On the tails of a warning from Japanese regulators on Friday, Binance has announced in a short statement yesterday that it will cease providing services to users located in Ontario. “As part of our continuing compliance efforts, Binance has updated its Terms of Use to provide that Ontario (Canada) has become a restricted jurisdiction, effective 2021-06-26 at 3:59:59 AM (UTC). Regrettably, Binance can no longer continue to service Ontario-based users. Ontario-based users are advised to take immediate measures to close out all active positions by December 31, 2021,” a statement on their website reads. Binance did not return a request …

Digital currencies are quickly becoming more mainstream within the Canadian financial landscape. Alongside this increased adoption, Canada has been relatively successful at creating a stable regulatory environment. In 2014, Canada established itself as a leader in the global digital asset space when the Canadian Parliament became the first government in the world to pass a national law on digital currencies. Since then, Canadian regulators have remained fairly proactive in their approach toward cryptocurrency, taking a cautious-yet-optimistic stance in an attempt to promote innovation while still protecting investor interests. Regulatory support for digital asset innovation Especially in comparison to other international …

Canada’s largest digital asset investment fund manager, 3iQ, is expanding its reach to global investors by listing its public Bitcoin (BTC) fund on a major market in the Middle East. 3iQ rolled out its Bitcoin Fund (QBTC) for trading on Nasdaq Dubai, according to an official statement by the exchange. Trading went live on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Dubai time. The new listing marks the emergence of Middle East’s first indexed digital asset-based fund, 3iQ chairman and CEO Frederick Pye previously said. Pye was optimistic about BTC price, predicting a new all-time high in 2021: “I believe that, whether it …

A Canadian business has become the world’s first publicly listed company to be entirely focused on the Lightning Network. LQwD FinTech Corp. trades under the symbols TSXV:LQWD, OTCQB: LQWDF. In November 2020, it was announced that Interlapse planned to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares in LQwD, a Bitcoin company that aims to provide enterprise-grade infrastructure, tools and liquidity to support the growth of the Lightning Network ecosystem. The Lightning Network is a layer-two solution that is built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain — delivering scalable, off-chain, instantaneous and cheap payments. According to LQwD, this technology “is …

The Ontario Securities Commission has issued a notice stating that it will be holding a hearing against Bybit regarding the crypto exchange allegedly “flouting” Canadian securities law. In a Monday notice from the Ontario Securities Commission, or OSC, the regulatory body alleged Bybit had “failed to comply with the registration and prospectus requirements under Ontario securities law” despite the OSC issuing an April 19 deadline for crypto exchanges operating in the province. As a result, the commission will be holding a hearing as early as July 15 to address the matter. “A process is in place for crypto asset trading …

The Canadian Elite Basketball League will be allowing players from its seven teams to accept a portion of their salaries in Bitcoin starting next week. According to a Thursday announcement, the Canadian Elite Basketball League, or CEBL, has partnered with Toronto-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitbuy to convert part of basketball players’ existing salaries from Canadian dollars to Bitcoin (BTC) on request. The league said it will arrange for the funds to be delivered to the players’ personal crypto wallets. More than 70 players on the active roster from the Edmonton Stingers, Fraser Valley Bandits, Guelph Nighthawks, Hamilton Honey Badgers, Ottawa Blackjacks, …

At a meeting in London earlier this month, the finance ministers from the G7 — the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada — unanimously agreed to begin creating the framework for a global corporate tax rate. The framework laid out a “two pillar” principle. The first pillar ensures that companies that make a 10% profit margin would be subject to the tax rate. The second pillar ensures that countries will charge a 15% minimum tax rate. Under all of this, the new rules will focus on where the profit was made and not where the company is …

The big crypto news out of Miami over the weekend may have been Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s decision to proceed with making Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender, but another figure connected to a world leader made his own mark in supporting Dogecoin (DOGE). In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph at the Bitcoin 2021 conference, Kyle Kemper, the 37-year-old half brother of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — resplendent in a banana costume — said he was launching a Dogecoin project. The initiative, called the “Million Doge Disco,” is — according to Kemper — a combination of the smartphone game Pokemon Go, …

The Ontario Securities Commission, or OSC, is taking stern action against two companies associated with KuCoin for allegedly failing to comply with local securities laws, setting the stage for further regulatory action against the cryptocurrency platform. The companies targeted by the OSC are Seychelles-based Mek Global Limited and Singapore-based PhoenixFin Pte. Ltd. Collectively, the companies operate KuCoin, one of the world’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency exchanges. As of Tuesday, KuCoin had processed more than $1.3 billion worth of crypto transactions over the previous 24 hours, according to industry data. That puts it in the 35th position globally among cryptocurrency exchanges. “KuCoin is …