Ontario Securities Commission Fines Bybit And KuCoin For Violating Securities Laws

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) of Canada has issued financial penalties against Bybit and KuCoin.

In an official announcement on June 22, Canada’s top financial regulator punished two cryptocurrency exchanges, Bybit and KuCoin, with enforcement actions for not complying with securities laws in Ontario. The OSC determined that both exchanges are operating unregistered cryptocurrency trading platforms.

Bybit cooperated with the investigation and reached a settlement with the regulator. As part of the settlement, Bybit had to pay a fine of nearly $1.9 million to the OSC and agreed to work with the agency to get the registration valid.

In the meantime, Bybit will not accept new accounts for customers in Ontario or market its services in the area. Recently, Bybit has also cut staff to maintain business operations due to the declining situation of the market.

Unlike Bybit, KuCoin was accused of not cooperating with the OSC investigation. As a result, the Seychelles-based exchange has been permanently banned from participating in Ontario’s capital markets. OSC fined the exchange $1.5 million and $77,000 in costs related to the investigation.

Jeff Kehoe, Executive Director at OSC said:

“Foreign crypto asset trading platforms that want to operate in Ontario must play by the rules or face enforcement action”

The regulator’s move is the latest in a series of warnings and regulatory actions taken against many crypto exchanges that provide services to Ontarians. In March 2021, the OSC issued a deadline for crypto companies operating in the province to register to comply with securities laws. According to the regulator, crypto platforms will have to stop operating in Ontario if the company fails to comply.

DISCLAIMER: The Information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

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Harold

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