Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp is exiting Canada.
The Luxembourg-based firm announced that it will officially discontinue its services for Canadian customers, effective Jan. 8, 2024.
However, Bitstamp USA CEO and global chief commercial officer Bobby Zagotta believes that the exchange has hopes of returning to Canada.
After service termination, all Canada accounts on Bitstamp will be closed, and customers will not have access to their accounts. Users have been directed to withdraw funds by January 2024 and deactivate their Bitstamp accounts.
“The exit is mainly a timing issue and is related to the company’s current expansion priorities,” said Zagotta in Cointelegraph.
The exchange plans to refocus on regions where Bitstamp can align more effectively with local regulations.
The company is trying to raise funds to scale its global operations. For launching derivatives trading in Europe in 2024 and expanding its U.K. services, it has been working towards securing fresh capital since May 2023.
Bitstamp isn’t the only exchange leaving Canadian markets. Binance, Bybit, OKX, Paxos, and dydx also closed operations there.
“Any decisions regarding Bitstamp’s presence in specific countries will largely depend on the rapidly changing regulatory environments and market conditions,” said Zagotta.
In early 2023, Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) provided crypto asset exchanges a deadline of late March to register themselves and meet the pre-registration requirements.
On Oct. 6, the regulatory body announced that it would allow stablecoins to trade if issuers agreed to hold on to an appropriate asset reserve with a qualified custodian. However, these changes will not change Canada’s stance on crypto and it does not mean that an asset is approved.
Bitstamp was founded in 2011 and serves many countries like the U.S., Singapore, South Korea, and Japan.
Based on CoinGecko data, the exchange reports $115 million in 24-hour trading volume with 75 trading coins. Bitstamp boasts a trust score of 9 which is relatively strong as Binance reports 10.
© 2023 Zenger News.com. Zenger News does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Produced in association with Benzinga
Edited by Miriam Onyango and Newsdesk Manager
