On 4 November 2025, the Canadian federal government released its 2025 Budget called “Canada Strong” (“Budget 2025”) which signaled a major step toward regulating crypto assets in Canada. For the first time, and after much speculation that such a proposal was in the works, the federal government announced its intention to introduce legislation to govern the issuance of fiat-backed stablecoins. The proposed framework would aim to enhance consumer protection, strengthen national security safeguards and build…
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have recently issued a reminder to crypto-backed lending platforms regarding their obligations under securities law, reinforcing the importance of regulatory compliance in a rapidly evolving digital asset landscape. In its October 22, 2025 notice, the CSA emphasized that crypto-backed lending platforms (“Platforms”) may be subject to securities legislation and encouraged such Platforms to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, including securities registration requirements, or seek exemptive relief. According to the CSA,…
On July 18, 2025, President Trump signed into law the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act (“GENIUS Act”), marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of digital asset regulation. As the first comprehensive federal framework governing payment stablecoins, the GENIUS Act introduces a robust regulatory regime designed to enhance market integrity and consumer protection. The GENIUS Act will take effect on the earlier of (i) January 18, 2027 (i.e., 18 months following…
Financial industry executives will need to familiarize themselves with the essentials of tokenization, and quickly. After a decade of fits and starts, momentum is building behind the development of markets in tokenized assets. These are not volatile, unbacked cryptocurrencies, but rather tokens that are linked to existing financial or physical assets and that now enjoy a measure of legal certainty, e.g. , tokenized money market funds, tokenized bonds and tokenized commercial bank money. Bullish forecasts…
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. For a complete discussion, click here.
On June 7, 2023, the Canadian Department of Finance issued a public consultation contemplating certain changes to Canada’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing (AML/ATF) regime (“Consultation Paper”), including proposals affecting virtual currency, digital assets, and technology-enabled finance in Canada. The consultation paper can be accessed here and submissions may be made up to August 1, 2023. Click here to access our Alert that discusses the Paper in greater detail