Last week, the Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (“IIROC”) jointly published their third staff notice this year targeting crypto-trading platforms (“CTPs”) that are registered or have applied for registration as securities dealers. This staff notice 21-330 (the “Notice 21-330”) provides guidance on the types of advertising activities, social media content, and marketing strategies by CTPs that may breach securities requirement.
Continue Reading CSA & IIROC Warn Crypto-Trading Platforms Against Misleading Marketing Activities

On March 7, 2018 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a “Statement on Potentially Unlawful Online Platforms for Trading Digital Assets”. The statement is a warning to investors, service providers operating platforms through which digital assets are traded, and those providing ancillary services involving the transfer or maintenance of digital assets

With regard to investors, the SEC’s principal suggestion was to conduct diligence to ensure online trading platforms with which investors engage are SEC-registered and regulated marketplaces, whether as national securities exchanges, alternative trading systems, or broker-dealers.Continue Reading Review of SEC’s Statement on Potentially Unlawful Online Platforms for Trading Digital Assets