Kucoin and Bybit face regulatory trouble in Canada as the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has taken action against them. This is major as Kucoin has been permanently banned from offering its services in Canada. On the other hand, Bybit has gotten the chance to comply with the regulations and register with the OSC. If Bybit doesn’t do it soon, they might also be banned like Kucoin.
Ontario Securities Commission takes strict actions against Kucoin and Bybit
OSC had taken enforcement actions on Kucoin and Bybit because they both operated unregistered crypto-asset trading platforms. These exchanges allowed Ontario investors to trade securities without a prospectus or any exemption from the prospectus requirements.
The outcome of the investigation has been announced recently, and Kucoin, apart from being banned from operating in Canada, is also required to pay CAD 2,000,000 as a penalty and CAD 96,550.35 that the OSC spend on investigating the exchange.
In contrast to this, Bybit faced a higher penalty charge of CAD 2,468,910 with an additional CAD 10,000 as investigation costs towards OSC. However, they weren’t banned. This is because the exchange responded to the enforcement action taken by OSC, provided the information they requested, and committed to registering with the OSC. They have signed an undertaking that will hold the platform accountable for not complying with the regulations.
The actions taken by the OSC are justified because they already informed exchanges offering derivatives and securities trading to register with them in April 2021. Despite that, neither of these exchanges initiated any contact with the authorities and kept operating.
About Kucoin
Kucoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange that was established in 2017 and has over six million members using its services. They provide crypto loans, staking options, futures, spot, margin, and peer-to-peer trading. KuCoin also has support for over 400+ cryptocurrencies and is a one-stop destination for users looking to invest in multiple coins.
About Bybit
Bybit has more than 1.6 million registered customers and was launched in March 2018. It is one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges. Bybit claims to focus on the needs of the consumer first and bring an intuitive and innovative trading experience to its retail and institutional clients.
What are your thoughts as Kucoin and Bybit face regulatory trouble in Canada as they weren’t registered with the OSC? And seeing Kucoin’s approach to the situation, does it look like they take authorities for granted? Let us know in the comments below. Also, if you found our content informative, do like and share it with your friends.
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