Bitbuy and Coinsquare, two prominent Canadian cryptocurrency exchanges, have reached a significant milestone by surpassing 1 billion Canadian dollars ($736 million) in assets under management.
Bitbuy and Coinsquare, two prominent Canadian cryptocurrency exchanges, have reached a significant milestone by surpassing 1 billion Canadian dollars ($736 million) in assets under management.
The parent company, WonderFi, made the announcement on December 6, disclosing that the two platforms now hold over 1 billion CAD in cash and digital asset deposits, showing substantial growth from the previous quarter's 695 million CAD ($512 million).
According to WonderFi, the platforms experienced notable expansion in November, with a combined 16% increase in monthly active users compared to October and an impressive 54% surge in total trading volume.
Dean Skurka, President and Chief Executive Officer of WonderFi, said:
“As two of Canada's largest and most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges, Bitbuy and Coinsquare continue to be the preferred partners for Canadians looking to access and purchase digital assets in a safe and secure way.”
Bitbuy obtained full regulatory approval from the Ontario Securities Commission in November 2021, becoming a licensed crypto exchange in Canada. Similarly, Coinsquare became the first Canadian crypto exchange to receive broker-dealer status from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada in October 2022.
In July 2023, Bitbuy and Coinsquare merged with WonderFi, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, creating a collective user base of 1.6 million Canadians across all subsidiaries. WonderFi reported a combined revenue of 9.9 million CAD ($7.3 million) in Q3 2023 and claims to have achieved positive cash flow in October.
Currently, Canadian regulators require all crypto exchanges to register or sign legally binding agreements while awaiting licensing, leading to some offshore exchanges to exit the market.
Additionally, Canadian regulators mandated the delisting of unapproved stablecoins in February, leading exchanges such as Kraken and Coinbase to remove Tether and other stablecoins, with USDC being the exception.