The decentralized derivatives exchange, dYdX, announced on April 7 that it would no longer provide its services in Canada.
As of April.7, the registration of new users was disabled. Current users can continue trading on the dYdX platform for the next week. After the April 14, they can only exit their current positions. However, withdrawals will still be available.
It has been hypothesized that a shift in the regulatory climate was the primary factor for dYdX halting their services to Canadians.
We hope that the current regulatory climate in Canada will evolve, allowing us the opportunity to provide our services across the country.
dYdX press release
US watchdogs doubling on crypto
After a run of defaults in the cryptocurrency market in 2022, the Canadian Securities Agency (CSA) is strengthening restrictions in response to the situation.
United States watchdogs, who are now dumping bitcoin, are also cracking the whip on crypto firms, with Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance all falling victim to recent actions.
In February 2022, CSA communicated to staff members the changes in regulatory processes that had been implemented. They added that investing in bitcoin via platforms outside of Canada and not registered as businesses in Canada presents a unique danger to Canadian investors.
As of December 2022, the Canadian Securities Administration (CSA) still requested that bitcoin trading platforms separate client assets and prohibit margin and leveraged trading.
Regulators maintain that trading cryptocurrencies pose significant amount of risk, mostly due to the lack of certainty around compliance on the part of exchanges, the interconnection of the industry as a whole, the potential for hacking and insolvency, price volatility, and other considerations.
This week, Australian regulators, worried about crypto derivatives and dangers it present to retail clients, suspended Binance’s license and asked the exchange to wind down its derivatives business.