OSC bans KuCoin in Canada and fines Bybit
The decision to terminate the operation of crypto exchanges was made following the court proceedings.
The main claim of the regulator was that Bybit and KuCoin are doing their business without proper permissions and allow Canadians to trade assets on unregistered platforms.
KuCoin paid $1.6 million of fines and fees for violations and to cover the investigation. Bybit lost $7,730 and made a $1.9 million transfer.
Foreign crypto-asset trading platforms that want to operate in Ontario must play by the rules or face enforcement action.said OSC Enforcement Director Jeff Kehoe.
As a result, in addition to fines, the KuCoin exchange no longer has the right to operate in Canada. As for Bybit, since the exchange agreed to settle and comply with all the established rules, it was allowed to work after going through the necessary procedures.
The exchange is not allowed to register new accounts from Ontario until the registration process is completed. Also, the exchange will not offer any new products for accounts from Ontario. Before the end of registration, any advertising or marketing campaigns targeted at residents of the region are also prohibited.the OSC said.
In addition, the regulator noted that if the registration is unsuccessful, Bybit will cease its activities in the region.
It is worth noting that these are not the first crypto exchanges that have faced similar problems in Canada. Earlier, the Binance cryptocurrency exchange shut down its operations in Ontario. Bitfinex did the same.
