🇨🇦 Canada

Crypto Asset Trading Platforms now require full CIRO Investment Dealer registration, the old lighter-touch interim route closed in August 2024.

Crypto (CASP) E-Money (EMI)

Last verified 2026-07-02 Next review 2026-07-16

Data verified: oldest cell 1 day ago (verified 2026-07-02). Individual cells show their own verification date below.

Licence type

Dual-track regime. Securities: registration as a Crypto Asset Trading Platform (CTP), since 6 August 2024 this requires full 'Investment Dealer' registration plus Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) Dealer Member status (the previous temporary 'restricted dealer' registration and Pre-Registration Undertaking (PRU) route are both closed to new entrants). AML/CFT: registration as a Money Services Business (MSB) or Foreign MSB (FMSB) with FINTRAC under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA).

Verified 2026-07-02 Source: CIRO, Crypto Asset Trading Platforms: Becoming a Dealer Member: https://www.ciro.ca/firms/becoming-crypto-asset-trading-platform

Regulator

Three bodies: Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), umbrella of provincial/territorial securities regulators (e.g. Ontario Securities Commission, OSC) setting policy; Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), the national self-regulatory organization CTPs must join as Dealer Members; FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada), federal AML/CTF regulator for MSB/FMSB registration.

Verified 2026-07-02 Source: CSA, CSA and CIRO expect crypto trading platforms to prioritize applications for investment dealer registration: https://www.securities-administrators.ca/news/csa-and-ciro-expect-crypto-trading-platforms-to-prioritize-applications-for-investment-dealer-registration-and-ciro-membership/

Capital requirement 🔒

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Timeline to authorisation 🔒

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Local substance 🔒

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Application cost 🔒

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Ongoing cost 🔒

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Passporting 🔒

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MiCA CASPs approved 🔒

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Key restrictions 🔒

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Recent changes

6 August 2024: CSA closed the restricted-dealer/PRU interim pathway to new CTP applicants, the most material structural change, pushing all new entrants to full CIRO Investment Dealer membership. December 2024: OSC Staff Notice 33-757 published findings from a compliance review of six Ontario-registered restricted-dealer CTPs. February 2026: CIRO published a Notice on its Digital Asset Custody Framework with tiered custodian capital requirements. March 2026: legislative amendments to the PCMLTFA (via the Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act and Budget 2025 Implementation Act) established a new 'Stablecoin Act' with dedicated AML/CFT requirements for stablecoin issuers. Ongoing FINTRAC enforcement crackdown in 2026, with reports of roughly 50 MSB registrations revoked in a single quarter.

Verified 2026-07-02 Source: CIRO, Notice on CIRO's Digital Asset Custody Framework; amlincubator.com, FINTRAC's 2026 Crypto Crackdown: https://amlincubator.com/blog/fintracs-2026-crypto-crackdown-what-50-revoked-msb-registrations-mean-for-your-business

Difficulty rating 🔒

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Informational only, not legal advice. Entries marked as placeholder or awaiting verification must not be relied on. Confirm all requirements with Canada's regulator and qualified local counsel before acting.