On October 5, 2023, the Canadian Securities Administrators published guidance on dealing in Stablecoins, including by imposing updated terms and conditions for crypto asset trading platforms that offer Stablecoins, and requiring issuers of certain Stablecoins to provide undertakings in a form substantially acceptable to the regulators by December 1, 2023.
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Usman Sheikh is Chair of the Blockchain & Fintech Practice. He is a Transactional Partner in Baker McKenzie's Toronto office and is also a member of the Firm's Litigation and Government Enforcement Practice Group. A highly regarded thought leader on blockchain and distributed ledger technology, Usman has briefed the offices of several prime ministers, as well as ministers, on blockchain's disruptive power, and is regularly invited to speak to business leaders and at global blockchain conferences throughout the world. Usman was named as one of the "Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers" by Canadian Lawyer (2018) and as one of the top FinTech lawyers in Canada (Band 1) by Chambers for four consecutive years (2020 - 2023). Most recently, he was recognized in Toronto Life's The Influentials 2021 list, an annual feature that highlights Toronto's most influential people over the last 12 months. Author of over 25 legal and academic publications, Usman is set to publish The Law of Blockchain Technology (Thomson Reuters) in 2023. As a global thought leader on blockchain's disruptive power, Usman has lectured at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). He has also co-lectured with the heads of blockchain for Nasdaq and the TMX, and has also presented to the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), the Mutual Fund Dealers Association (MFDA), the Law Society of Ontario (LSO), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA), and several other regulatory organizations. Since 2019, Usman has also been serving as an Adjunct Professor with the University of Toronto (Faculty of Law), teaching a course entitled "Blockchain, Digital Assets, and the Law".
Michael serves as the head of the Financial Services Regulatory Practice for Canada and is a Transactional Partner in Baker McKenzie's Toronto office. His practice focuses on financial regulation and compliance for fintechs, financial institutions and market participants and their business in Canada. When not acting for clients, Michael lectures students at the University of Montreal on corporate and securities laws and in preparing for case competitions. He is a co-author of the Annotated Bank Act (2023 edition) and the Jurisclasseur en valeurs mobilieres, a leading publication on securities laws. Michael is a chartered professional accountant and has worked as an inspector with the Autorité des marches financiers (AMF) and an auditor with the Office of the Auditor General of Canada.
Jae is an Associate in the Transactional group at Baker McKenzie's Toronto office. Jae's practice focuses primarily on financial regulation and compliance involving fintechs, financial institutions, and market participants and their business in Canada. Prior to joining the Firm, Jae completed her Ontario Articles of Clerkship at the Toronto office of a large multinational law firm, where she returned as an associate. Jae completed her J.D. at the University of Ottawa, where she received both the William J. Miller Prize and the Annaline Lubbe Prize in competition law. Prior to law school, Jae completed her bachelor of commerce at Queen's University's Smith School of Business.