Circle Claims Bragging Rights of USDC Becoming First Regulated Stablecoin in Canada

Stablecoin issuer Circle said on Wednesday it has committed to meet tighter regulations in Canada that allows its $40 billion USDC stablecoin to continue to be listed on exchanges.

“USDC is the first stablecoin to achieve this milestone,” the company said in a press statement. “Circle continues to engage with Canadian authorities in their development of a regulated market for global stablecoins, which has the potential to bring significant efficiency gains to Canadian cross-border, retail, and institutional settlement systems.”

Circle’s announcement happened as pressure mounts on crypto companies operating in the country to comply with stricter rules by the end of this year.

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) started to <a href=”https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/02/22/canadian-crypto-trading-platforms-face-enhanced-rules-under-new-regulations” target=”_blank”>roll out</a> tighter regulations to govern digital assets last year, including <a href=”https://www.osc.ca/en/securities-law/instruments-rules-policies/2/21-333/csa-staff-notice-21-333-crypto-asset-trading-platforms-terms-and-conditions-trading-value” target=”_blank”>guidelines</a> for exchanges to offer so-called “Value-Referenced Crypto Assets” (VRCA) which encompasses stablecoins. In anticipation of the stricter rules, Binance <a href=”https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/05/12/binance-announces-exit-from-canada-citing-regulatory-tensions” target=”_blank”>exited</a> the Canadian market, while <a href=”https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/08/17/coinbase-will-suspend-usdt-dai-and-rai-trading-for-canadian-users” target=”_blank”>Coinbase</a> and <a href=”https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/01/10/cryptocom-delists-tethers-usdt-stablecoin-for-canadian-users” target=”_blank”>Crypto.com</a> announced to delist tokens including Tether’s USDT, the largest stablecoin on the market of $135 billion capitalization, from their platforms.

The Ontario Securities Commission, member of the CSA, <a href=”https://www.osc.ca/en/industry/registration-and-compliance/registered-crypto-asset-trading-platforms” target=”_blank”>listed</a> Circle Internet Financial on its website as so far the only issuer under the VRCA rules.

The deadline for exchanges to comply with stablecoin listing standards is Dec. 31, 2024.