Ontario's Proposed Capital Markets Act Fails To Crack The Code For Regulating Crypto

In 2022, the Ontario government released its first draft of the proposed Capital Markets Act (the "CMA"),¹ following an extensive consultation with industry stakeholders and members of the public conducted throughout 2021. If enacted, the CMA will overhaul the Ontario capital markets regime, replacing both the Securities Act² and Commodity Futures Act³ as the governing securities and commodities legislation in the province.

The CMA is the first legislative attempt in Canada to codify the role of the securities regime in regulating crypto. Under the current regulatory regime, companies developing in the crypto space in Ontario must rely on evolving staff notices and interpreting decisions by securities bodies to determine whether their products will be regulated as securities.