Canadians are moving past crypto speculative trading: Coinbase country head

cointelegraph.com:

Canadians are starting to look at digital assets as more than just speculative investments, seeing them instead as legitimate assets for everyday transactions, according to Coinbase’s country director for Canada.

Speaking to Cointelegraph in Toronto on Aug. 16, Coinbase’s Canada director Lucas Matheson said he believes that more utility and use cases in daily life will soon be digital asset-backed, something that “everyone in our industry is excited for.”

Matheson believes that as crypto and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) gain more prevalence it’d be helpful for Canadians to understand the concept of decentralization and the reasons why — and how — digital assets could soon be a normal part of everyone's day-to-day life.

In July, a Bank of Canada study reported Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto ownership declined slightly in 2022 following price lows, company collapses and regulatory hurdles.

However, an October 2022 Ontario Securities Commission report claimed over 30% of Canadians plan to purchase crypto by 2024.

He added one of the most important things for the industry to do is build trust and Coinbase is focusing on helping Canadians understand why a shift to a digital economy is happening.

E-commerce was one use case Matheson believes will be significantly changed by NFTs, specifically so-called “phygital” items — when a digital asset is included when buying a physical good.

Sportswear company Puma and luxury brand Dior recently released shoes that either link with an NFT authenticating the product or include an NFT twin.

Regulatory clarity was also an important factor Matheson highlighted that would help more Canadian institutions participate in the digital economy.

Related: Strict Canadian crypto exchange rules allowed Kraken