Regulators Take Aim At Cryptocurrencies

The emergence of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology over the past several years has shaken up the financial services sector in unprecedented fashion, in a corner of the Canadian economy that has been notoriously slow to adopt and adapt to innovative change. This phenomenon has the potential to significantly re-shape many aspects of the modern economy. We have reported on this blog in the past (see  here and here) on the evolution of blockchain and cryptocurrency and what it could mean for M&A activity in Canada. It looks like that impact could ramp up in the coming months.

At the end of August, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) signaled that regulation could be on the way for virtual currencies and other technology that approximates "securities" for the purposes of provincial securities laws.