Canada welcomes its first cryptocurrency exchange Wealthsimple following regulatory approval by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) .
The exchange is powered by the Winklevoss twins’ Gemini Trust Company and has been regulated by the federal government as well as regulators in 13 provinces and territories in Canada.
Wealthsimple exchange launch
Investment firm Wealthsimple announced on Tuesday, September 29, that the company has launched a crypto trading platform. The firm announced the exchange as Canada’s first regulated exchange. The platform offers “no minimums or fees for deposits and withdrawals.”
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The company’s cryptocurrency arm, Wealthsimple Digital Assets Inc. (WDA), received the regulatory green light from CSA in August.
Wealthsimple will not hold any cryptocurrencies that are traded on its platform; instead, the assets traded on the exchange’s platform are held by Gemini Trust Company, a crypto custodian holding $200 million in cold storage insurance.
Exchange Features
Users can trade and store cryptocurrencies on the platform by simply creating an account on the exchange. Users can use the dedicated account to trade cryptocurrencies, stocks, bonds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the Wealthsimple Trade app.
However, deposits and withdrawals can only be made in Canadian dollars.
The exchange operates in all thirteen jurisdictions of Canada and allows users to buy and sell Ethereum and Bitcoin. WDA is registered as a derivatives dealer in Quebec, but in all other jurisdictions, WDA is registered as a restricted dealer.
Prior to its public launch, the platform was available in beta, allowing people to join a waitlist. Reportedly, the number of people on the waitlist surpasses 130,000.
