On Thursday, Fidelity Canada officially launched the Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) and the Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF Fund (mutual fund), marking the first such assets to be made available in the country and confirming earlier reports on the matter. The funds have the tickers FBTC and FBTC.U, denominated in Canadian and United States dollars, and are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Fidelity's Bitcoin ETFs seek to track the performance of Bitcoin's (BTC) spot price. Fidelity currently manages CA$208 billion ($162.27 billion) in assets in the country. The ETFs will have an annual management fee of 0.4%. Operating …

It's been a bumpy ride for Bitcoin (BTC) investors. While waiting on the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to make their decision about whether or not they will approve a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), U.S-based investment firm Fidelity Investments is reportedly launching a spot ETF in Canada subject to regulatory approval. According to a tweet shared by Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Erick Balchunas, the fund "Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF" is currently pending listing on a Canadian exchange. Balchunas also pointed out that if the new fund succeeds, it would become the largest asset management firm that offers …

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) do not pose any significant risk to the financial system at their current level of adoption, according to Bank of Canada’s Deputy Governor Paul Beaudry. Beaudry spoke about the risks to the stability of the Canadian financial system at the Ontario Securities Commission Dialogue 2021 on Nov. 23. When asked whether cryptocurrencies are a risk, the deputy governor responded that the Bank of Canada doesn’t think that crypto is “developing in a way that creates a systemic type of risk for a financial system” up to now. This is because cryptocurrencies are “quite removed from a …

Those unfamiliar with blockchain may be quick to assume that its uses are focused on financial services. However, this is only a single application of how the technology can help accelerate traditional business practices. Among other examples are the safe storage and transfer of records in the medical industry, providing transparency to records in the food supply chain and accelerated processing in the insurance industry, to name a few. These uses are possible due to the blockchain being set up as a distributed ledger that is connected by many nodes. Since each node stores a copy of this ledger, the …

As reported by The Globe and Mail, Fidelity Clearing Canada received approval from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada on Wednesday to launch a Bitcoin (BTC) trading and custody platform. It is designed for use by institutional investors — such as pension funds, portfolio managers and mutual funds — and would be a first-of-a-kind service in the country. The firm also plans to cater to retail investors with its regulatory filing for a Bitcoin exchange-traded funded and mutual fund, which was submitted earlier this week. As of September, Fidelity has over $4.2 trillion in assets under management around the …

In its third-quarter earnings release, Canadian cryptocurrency miner Hut8 announced that it surpassed its goal set earlier this year of holding 5,000 Bitcoins (BTC) in reserves through mining. Its Bitcoin balance now amounts to 5,053, for a total market value of $430 million. During the quarter, Hut 8 generated 50.34 million Canadian dollars (CA$) in revenue and CA$23.37 million in net income, up from CA$5.75 million in revenue and a loss of CA$0.90 million in the prior year's quarter. The company hosts a sizable fleet of Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, or ASIC, machines used for Bitcoin mining. In addition, it deploys …

MintGreen, a Canada-based cleantech cryptocurrency miner, will be partnering with the Lonsdale Energy Corporation to supply heat to residents of North Vancouver in British Columbia starting in 2022. In a Thursday announcement, MintGreen said its “digital boilers” — which it claims can recover more than 96% of the electricity used for Bitcoin (BTC) mining — will prevent 20,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases per megawatt from entering the atmosphere during its arrangement with North Vancouver. The recovered energy will be used to heat 100 residential and commercial buildings in the Canadian city with a population of roughly 155,000. Colin Sullivan, …

Link Global Technologies, a Bitcoin (BTC) mining company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange, is facing major potential penalties for operating unauthorized power plants in the province of Alberta. The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), the province’s power utility regulator, issued on Sept. 24 another enforcement submission against Link Global, with enforcement staff recommending several penalties for violations of Alberta’s legislative requirements. According to a document shared with Cointelegraph, the AUC’s enforcement staff recommended that Link Global should pay an economic disgorgement of about 2 million Canadian dollars ($1.6 million) for financial gains from unlawful electricity generation. The regulator is seeking …

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) continues investigating the development of the global central bank digital currency (CBDC), publishing a new joint report with seven central banks. Released on Thursday, BIS’ latest CBDC report refers to joint efforts with the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the United States Federal Reserve, Sveriges Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank to explore a retail CBDC. The report provides an executive summary of progress made by the investigation since the October 2020 publication of a report that pointed out the common foundational principles and …

The Canadian Securities Administrators, or CSA, and Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, or IIROC, have issued guidelines for crypto trading platforms operating in the country to avoid “advertising and marketing materials that could mislead investors.” In a Thursday publication, the Canadian regulators’ guidelines warn crypto companies not to advertise “gambling style” promotions in which an investor is encouraged to sign up within a given time limit to take advantage of a reward or opportunity. Though the guidance was seemingly vague on restrictions concerning social media posts, the regulators recommended trading platforms designate an individual to review and approve communications …

Online streaming platform and production company Netflix will be producing a film on deceased crypto exchange QuadrigaCX founder Gerald Cotten. In a Thursday tweet from Netflix, the platform announced that the documentary Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King will premiere in 2022. The story, which follows “a group of investors turned sleuths,” will focus on the events around the death of Cotten, who reportedly died while doing volunteer work at an orphanage in India, leaving QuadrigaCX users out of pocket for roughly $190 million in crypto. Details are sparse regarding the casting or direction the documentary takes, …

Maxime Bernier, founder and leader of the People's Party of Canada, has said he supports the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the country. In a Tuesday tweet, Bernier said cryptocurrencies are “another new and innovative way” to counter the actions by central banks, which he claimed are “destroying our money and economy.” The Canadian politician has criticized the Bank of Canada for “printing money” and called out Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his economic policies. Bernier, a former cabinet minister known by some as Mad Max, has been outspoken in his criticism of vaccine mandates in Canada at a time when …