In this post:
- The US presidential election of 2024 was significantly influenced by the cryptocurrency sector.
- Like in the US, Canada’s cryptocurrency business aspires to garner enough attention to have political sway.
- Many cryptocurrency exchanges continue to view the nation’s regulatory standards as stringent.
During the most recent election, which saw Donald Trump win, cryptocurrency’s significance in American politics increased dramatically.
As its own cryptocurrency business aims for more recognition, Canada seems to be paying attention.
With the federal election coming up in a few months, the Canadian crypto sector hopes that politicians will stop ignoring conversations about cryptocurrencies.
The cryptocurrency business in Canada aims to imitate that of the US
Donald Trump positioned himself as the “crypto candidate” during the campaign, promising that his government would enact pro-industry laws.
To win over cryptocurrency enthusiasts and investors, he even made hints about the potential creation of a national Bitcoin reserve.
Trump attempted to appoint proponents of digital assets to his cabinet after winning the election, and even more so, the price of bitcoin has increased by more than 40%, crossing the $100,000 mark for the first time.
In addition to Trump’s active role in boosting crypto’s influence, political contributions from key industry figures further amplified the movement. The crypto sector contributed about $135 million to support candidates, with Crypto’s Fairshake PAC and affiliated super-PACs receiving funding from giants like Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Andreessen Horowitz.
In Canada, however, crypto has yet to stir much controversy in the political arena, especially given the many restrictions on candidate donations.
Nonetheless, Dean Skurka, CEO of WonderFi Technologies Inc., believes it is much easier to have crypto discussions now than a month ago. He expects the current momentum to continue even if crypto players can’t make that many donations to political groups or candidates.
He added:
We’re hopeful, but it hasn’t quite played out that way in Canada historically, and obviously in the US, this is the first time that it’s really become an election issue. Hopefully, the positive response that it has seen will be a signal to Canadian politicians to take it seriously.~ Dean Skurka
In addition, Canada’s cryptocurrency business believes that, like the US, it will have a greater influence and wave during its elections.
Certain cryptocurrency laws in Canada have deterred cryptocurrency exchanges from doing business there.
Canada is eager to implement laws that effectively control and oversee the cryptocurrency sector.
Some cryptocurrency companies, however, avoided the Canadian market because they believed they couldn’t comply with the regulations.
Among the companies that ceased business in the nation in 2023 were Binance, Bybit, dYdX, Paxos, and OKX.
The Canadian government continues to impose laws on the cryptocurrency sector, but it remains to be seen if these policies will benefit the sector. First, the Crypto Asset Framework will take effect in 2026. The framework obligates all digital asset brokers, exchanges, and ATM operators to reveal their full transaction data annually. It also requires service providers to disclose client-specific information, such as names, residential addresses, and taxpayer identification numbers.
Moreover, according to Sophia Cote, head of public policy at Montreal-based crypto trading platform Shakepay Inc., the Canadian government is still looking for ways to regulate stablecoins.
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