Grant Vingoe, CEO of Canada’s Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), reiterated the regulator’s tech-neutral stance on cryptocurrencies, while saying that many Canadians plan to become HODLers in the near future.
The regulatory rationale for stocks and bonds applies equally to cryptocurrencies, he said, and the vast majority of cryptocurrency-based entities fall under the purview of the Ontario Securities Commission. Regulators primarily view bitcoin and ethereum as commodities, while agreements between exchanges and investors constitute securities.
“We know from our own research (to be released later this month) that more than 30% of Canadians plan to buy crypto assets in the next year,” Vingoe said. Banning non-compliant companies from providing services in Canada is a challenge. With limited budgets and limited law enforcement staff to cover our entire capital markets, there is only so much we can do. But we are making progress.