Kraken, based in California, has begun filing a pre-registration undertaking with the Ontario Securities Commission in an effort to become a registered restricted dealer across Canada, according to a press release.
“Canada as a geography is critical to our mission to empower people with new ways to connect and transact,” David Ripley, Kraken’s COO and incoming CEO, said. “Trading platforms that prioritize compliance and secure trading experiences will have more success advocating for crypto’s economic benefits and transformative potential for crypto traders and investors.”
The purpose of the expansion is to make more crypto financial services available to Canadians. According to a report released by the Department of Finance Canada, approximately 15%, or five million Canadians feel underserved by the services that are currently available, and an additional one million have no access to mainstream finances at all. According to a Canadian 2022 Ipsos study, 38% of respondents consider crypto assets to be a crucial component of financial services, while 13% currently own crypto assets.
“We want both existing and prospective clients to know Kraken remains committed to Canada,” managing director for Canada at Kraken, Mark Greenberg, said. “As we forge this new regulatory path, we’ll continue engaging with our local regulators to enhance understanding of crypto’s economic benefits and transformative potential. We believe in offering clients a compliant trading platform that leverages our robust security protocols, unrivaled 24/7, live customer services support, industry-leading liquidity and a superior product offering.”
The platform features over 175 digital assets to trade on a global spot market in both mobile and desktop form. Its clients have access to five CAD trading pairs, transparent fees and tight trading spreads. The platform also offers direct access to crypto trading-related Canadian order books.
Kraken counts with the support of more than 250 team members in Canada. Over the course of the next few months, the company will make various modifications to its services in Canada, and will notify its clients about any trading-related impacts in advance.
“Kraken provides a customizable trading experience for all levels of Canadian crypto traders,” a recent press release states. “Kraken has been registered as a money services business in Canada with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) since 2019.”