Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit said on May 30 that it plans to discontinue all services and products offered in Canada until further notice due to regulatory developments in the country.
Bybit said Canadian citizens and residents of the country will no longer be able to open new accounts with the exchange from May 31.
“In light of recent regulatory developments, Bybit has made the difficult but necessary decision to pause the availability of our products and services.”
Services end
Meanwhile, existing customers can continue to use Bybit services and products until July 31, after which the exchange will end support for all its services in the country.
Clients will not be able to increase their positions after the deadline, but they will still be able to access their funds and withdraw or reduce their position.
Bybit added that Canadian clients have until September 30 to reduce their positions, and if they fail to do so, all open positions in margin products and derivative contracts will be automatically liquidated.
The Canadian Exodus
Bybit is the latest exchange to leave the Canadian market after the country moved in February to impose new regulations on the crypto industry and gave the exchanges an ultimatum to comply or leave.
Under the new rules, exchanges are not allowed to offer any kind of leverage, including margin or credit. In addition, exchanges are prohibited from allowing the purchase or deposit of stablecoins without prior written approval from regulators.
The de facto ban on stablecoins and leveraged services is the main driver behind the exodus of exchanges from the country.
Earlier in May, Binance announced a similar shutdown of services for Canadian clients, saying the regulatory landscape meant operating in the country was no longer “sustainable” for the exchange.
Binance said at the time:
“Unfortunately, new guidelines regarding stablecoins and investor limits for crypto exchanges mean that the Canadian market is no longer viable for Binance at this point. We have postponed this decision for as long as possible to explore other reasonable avenues to protect our Canadian users, but it has become clear that there are none.”
Similarly, OKX announced it would temporarily cease operating in the Canadian market in March. A month later, in April, dydx and Paxos also announced that they would no longer offer services in Canada.
All three cited the new legal guidelines as the main reason for their decision.
Meanwhile, some exchanges are going the compliance route and have welcomed more regulation for the crypto sector, even if it is restrictive.
Coinbase and Kraken both confirmed their intention to continue operating in Canada and said they would comply with the new regulatory framework despite the drawbacks.
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