Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange, has told all of its Canadian users that it will close all of their accounts on December 31, 2024. In an email on September 30, the exchange said that users have 90 days to get their money out of the exchange before it closes.
This choice was made after the Canadian government’s financial watchdogs put in place new rules for crypto trading sites that operate in the country. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) told all crypto asset trade platforms in February that they had to officially pre-register in order to keep doing business in Canada. The goal of this project is to improve safety for investors and comply with regulations.
The CSA has made it so that platforms can’t let customers buy or transfer stablecoins without first getting permission from the CSA. The rules and regulations have changed a lot, which is why a number of foreign exchanges are rethinking their businesses in Canada.
Gemini filed its pre-registration on April 13 in response to the changes in the rules. This showed how important the Canadian market is for foreign growth. Even though they tried, the exchange chose to leave Canada in the end, noting the strict new rules that have been put in place.
Since the new rules went into effect, other big platforms, like Binance, Kraken, and OKX, have also changed how they do business in Canada. Kraken and Binance both applied for pre-registration at first, but Binance pulled out in May, which shows how hard the new rules will be to follow.
Gemini tells Canadian users to quickly take out their money as they get ready to close their accounts. In the email, Gemini told users to either move their cryptocurrencies to other wallets or take out cash from their linked bank accounts.
This shows how hard it is to do business in Canada’s changing cryptocurrency world, where rules at both the federal and local levels are changing all the time. With more attention and new rules coming out all the time, the future of dealing cryptocurrencies in Canada is still unclear for many foreign platforms.
