Five percent of Ontarians own some form of “cryptoasset” according to a June 28 study from Canadian provincial financial regulator the Ontario Securities Commission. The study also found that while awareness of cryptocurrencies and digital assets is growing, overall knowledge of crypto is lacking. The report entitled “Taking Caution: Financial Consumers and the Cryptoasset Sector,” was conducted March 14-22, 2018, and involved 2,667 Ontarians. Many respondents showed a lack of understanding of fundamental concepts of crypto. When asked to identify six statements about the major cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) as true or false, 34 percent of respondents provided correct answers for …

The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) has formed a working group to recommend a potential regulatory response to blockchain applications within the capital markets ecosystem. The news comes from a June 25 notice summarizing IIROC’s aims for the 2019 fiscal year. Canada’s IIROC is a non-profit self-regulatory body that aims to serve the public interest by proposing measures to protect investors and support healthy domestic capital markets. As part of its vision and priorities for the forthcoming year, the IIROC outlines what it considers to be the stakes of the emergence of blockchain technology and related applications, including …

Provincial utility Hydro-Quebec has proposed new rules, under which blockchain companies will be required to bid for electricity and quantify the jobs and investment they expect to generate per megawatt, Hydro-Quebec announced in a press release June 21. The new regime seeks to allocate up to 500 megawatts, in addition to 120 megawatts of already existing initiatives. The starting rate is reportedly 1 Canadian cent ($0.0075) per kilowatt hour, which is 20 percent above the industry standard price. The new plan is subject to approval by local energy regulator Regie de l’energie. Hydro-Quebec commented on the new proposal: “The goal …

The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) will list a new blockchain exchange traded fund (ETF) starting Thursday, Bloomberg reported June 20. The Horizons Blockchain Technology and Hardware Index ETF fund will join other ETFs from Harvest Portfolio Group Inc. and Evolve Funds Group Inc. An ETF is a marketable security that tracks an index, commodity, or basket of assets, that are proportionately represented in the fund’s shares. ETFs experience price changes throughout the day as they are purchased or sold on a stock exchange. The new ETF’s holdings include companies developing applications related to blockchain such as Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd., …

A Bank of Canada (BoC) official questioned the effectiveness and security of using blockchain tech for banking at a conference in South Korea today, June 14, according to local reports. As part of a presentation at the 2018 G20 Global Financial Stability Conference in Seoul, James Chapman, senior research director at the BoC’s funds management and banking department, also called cryptocurrency assets “a new opportunity and a threat to the financial market.” Chapman was updating the audience on the BoC’s Project Jasper, a proof-of-concept payment system utilizing so-called ‘distributed ledger technology (DLT),’ of which blockchain is one type. “Digital currencies …

The Canadian government has released an official draft of new regulations on crypto exchanges and payment processors, Canada Gazette reports June 9. According to the draft, the new regulations seek to address a “number of deficiencies” that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) outlined after their evaluation in 2015-16, namely in strengthening Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Regime (AML/ATF). The new regulations will treat crypto exchanges and payment processors as money service businesses (MSB), which requires them to report large transactions — those over $10,000 Canadian dollars ($7700 USD) — and a new Know Your Customer (KYC) threshold set …

Major Canadian electricity provider Hydro-Québec will temporarily stop processing requests from cryptocurrency miners in order for the company to fulfil its obligations to supply energy to the entire province, according to a press release published June 7. Hydro-Québec is experiencing “unprecedented” demand from blockchain companies, which reportedly exceeds the electric utility’s short and medium-term capacity. In this regard, the Quebec provincial government has ordered Hydro-Québec to halt electric power sales to cryptocurrency miners, and announced a new framework for this category of electricity consumers. In the coming days, Hydro-Québec will reportedly file an application to local energy regulator Régie de …

Representatives from multiple central banks discussed whether or not cryptocurrency could spell the end of fiat currencies during the Money20/20 conference in Amsterdam today, June 5. During a panel talk titled “Cryptocurrency, the Central (Bank) Question”, representatives from the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of Lithuania, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Canada took turns responding to the question “Can cryptocurrencies spell the end of fiat currencies?”. Bank of Canada executive James Chapman stated that cryptocurrencies are only a threat to fiat currencies in a “situation of hyperinflation”. Thomas Moser, an alternate member of the governing board at …

The government of Quebec will reportedly lift its moratorium on the sale of electricity to cryptocurrency miners, sources familiar with the matter told local news Le Journal De Montreal May 30. According to Le Journal, the Quebec government wants to “avoid missing the ship” on cryptocurrency, and as such is moving ahead to lift the moratorium. The Minister of Energy, Pierre Moreau, will reportedly introduce a decree on the regulation of electrical power sale to cryptocurrencies miners, who require massive amounts of power for their operations. Back in February, Moreau said that "we must ensure that this type of business …

De Beers Group has announced that the world’s largest diamond jewelry retailer has joined their diamond supply blockchain platform Tracr, according to a press release published May 24. Signet Jewelers joined the project, which aims to bring transparency to the industry, in addition to boosting consumer confidence. Signet will join the Tracr platform in its pilot version, which according to the press release, will enable the platform to complete a “digital link” from diamond production to its retail location. The parties will ensure that the platform corresponds to the needs of manufacturers and retailer, initially focusing on the tracking of …

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an advisory statement for listing virtual currency derivative products, according to a CFTC press release published yesterday, May 21. The advisory statement is aimed at providing clarity for exchanges and clearing houses. The staff advisory, which was jointly issued by the CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight (DMO) and Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR), focuses on the specific areas involved in listing virtual currency derivatives on a designated contract market or swap execution facility. It covers the necessity for more market surveillance, coordination with CFTC staff, large trader reporting, and DCO …

US and Canadian state and provincial securities regulators have opened probes into potentially fraudulent crypto investment programs in what has been dubbed “Operation Cryptosweep”, according to a press release May 21. The latest crackdown on suspicious crypto investment products is reportedly the largest such coordinated investigation by state and provincial officials. Regulators from across 40 jurisdictions coordinated by the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) have initiated up to 70 investigations, with more to come in the following weeks. Securities regulators have reportedly warned as many as 35 companies about violations of state securities laws with some cases resulting in …