Coinbase rolls out e-transfer integration, says Canadian crypto regulations encouraging

financialpost.com:

TORONTO — Coinbase is rolling out Interac e-transfer integration as part of its Canadian offerings as it says it’s encouraged by the regulatory approach in the country.

The added feature, which will make it easier to move money in and out of Coinbase accounts, comes after the company hired Lucas Matheson as country director and ramped up its staff to over 200 engineers in its Toronto and Vancouver offices in the past year.

The company says the moves signal its commitment to Canada, and come at a time when other trading platforms including Binance, the world’s largest crypto platform, have said they were pulling out of the country.

Binance, along with Bybit and others, said in May their departure was related to tightening regulations around cryptocurrencies as the Canadian Securities Administrators looks to increase oversight in the sector.

The CSA rolled out rules earlier this year requiring crypto-trading platforms to agree to numerous terms as their registration applications are being reviewed.

The umbrella organization for provincial securities regulators said the move, along with restrictions on who can invest and in what kind of crypto assets, was prompted by a string of high-profile bankruptcies in the global sector.

Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong says the company has had a positive working relationship with regulators and is encouraged by the direction they’re taking.

“We’ve found the Canadian regulators to be really amenable to work with and there’s a real genuine interest, I think on both sides, to have regulatory clarity about how both consumers can be protected in this environment.”

Coinbase signed on to the required pre-clearance rules with regulators in March, one of 11 crypto trading platforms