The news was revealed via an email sent to customers in which Crypto.com motivated its decision by referring to a series of instructions from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). The decision to delist USDT in Canada also has something to do with Crypto.com’s pre-registration efforts for a restricted dealer license.
The email also noted that all USDT trading pairs, transactions, deposits, and withdrawals will be delisted by 1 p.m. ET on 31 January 2023. After that, all USDT user deposits on the exchange will convert to Circle-issued USDC. The exchange also warned that users should no longer make deposits or withdrawals beyond the deadline and that they might incur a retrieval fee if deposits of USDT are made from external wallets after the suspension period. The company highlighted that fund retrieval might not be possible in some cases.
Crypto.com urged its users to take urgent action and review their USDT balances in order to withdraw or convert their stablecoins before the effective date.
This decision by Crypto.com was made in the context of regulators stepping up their scrutiny when it comes to centralised exchanges following the fall of FTX. Moreover, the increasing competition between the most popular stablecoins also contributed to USDT’s removal according to coindesk.com.
In December 2022, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) announced that it would strengthen its approach to crypto oversight in the context of current market events. The body consists of securities regulators from each of the 10 provinces and three territories in Canada, and it stated that it plans to expand its existing requirements for platforms that are operating in the country.
Since FTX filed for bankruptcy, regulators from all over the world changed their attitudes when it comes to crypto, especially since other crypto companies and coins have collapsed in the past year. These include crypto lender Celsius Network and Terra's algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD (UST), both of which incurred losses that amounted to billions of dollars.
According to coindesk, the Canadian Securities Administrators emphasised that crypto trading platforms that are registered as a security or have applied for a PRU are banned from permitting Canadian clients to trade or obtain exposure to crypto securities or derivatives.
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