Crypto Exchange Bitstamp To Cease Canadian Services In January 2024

European crypto exchange Bitstamp has announced that it will halt its services in Canada from January 8, 2024. The crypto firm did not give a clear reason for the departure. Bitstamp USA CEO and global chief commercial officer Bobby Zagotta expressed gratitude to their Canadian clients and stressed that it was “not a decision we took lightly.”

All Canada accounts on the exchange will be closed, and customers will no longer be able to access their accounts after the mentioned date, Bitstamp stated. Additionally, clients have been given a deadline of January 8 to withdraw their assets and deactivate their accounts.

Bitstamp noted:

“We are committed to reaching out to any customers who were unable to close their accounts themselves to ensure the return of their funds.”

Zagotta hinted at the possibility of re-entering the Canadian market. He stressed that the exchange remains committed to serving its global user base, and any step regarding its presence in specific regions would likely depend on evolving regulatory market conditions and environments.

Established in 2011, Bitstamp is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges globally. The platform serves many countries, including Singapore, South Korea, the United States, Japan, and others. As per CoinGecko, Bitstamp’s daily trading is about $114 million. This is much less compared to major rivals like Binance, which handles nearly $4 billion in daily trades, as stated by CoinGecko.

Bitstamp has become the latest cryptocurrency exchnage to leave Canada, following other firms such as Paxos, DyDx, Binance, Bybit, and OKX. Notably, Binance, in its departure announcement, pointed to new guidelines related to stablecoins and investor limits as the primary cause. Other firms also cited the country’s strict regulations as the reason for discontinuing their operations.

CSA Sets Registration Deadline For Crypto Exchanges

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) had previously set a deadline for crypto companies to register and meet pre-registration requirements by late March. So far, only 12 crypto firms have received permission to provide the services in Canada, including VirgoCX, Newton Crypto, Coinsquare, Coinberry, Bitbuy, and Fidelity Digital Asset Services.

Moreover, on October 6, the CSA issued a statement indicating the possibility of allowing the trading of particular stablecoins. This new initiative mandates the exchanges and stablecoin issuers to maintain an “appropriate” asset reserve with a qualified custodian. This change doesn’t indicate any shift in the CSA’s perspective on cryptocurrencies.