Coinbase Canada Boss to Carney Gov’t: Speed Up Crypto Strategy or Get Left Behind
Canada’s crypto future hangs in the balance as Coinbase’s local chief pushes regulators to ditch bureaucratic delays. With institutional adoption accelerating globally, hesitation now could cost the Great White North its seat at the digital economy table.
Key pressure points:
- Regulatory clarity needed to prevent brain drain of blockchain talent southward
- Banking partnerships remain stuck in ’proof-of-concept’ purgatory
- Retail investors already bypassing traditional finance—with or without permission
The clock’s ticking: while Ottawa debates perfect legislation, crypto markets will happily settle for ’good enough’ frameworks (and take the tax revenue with them). After all, when has moving at government speed ever made anyone rich?
’Stand With Crypto’
To further advocate for policy change, Matheson pointed to the "Stand with Crypto" initiative.
This aims to educate lawmakers about blockchain’s benefits and address misconceptions. He noted that the initiative is gaining traction among industry leaders and aims to build support among the members of Parliament.
As Canada transitions to a new government led by Mark Carney, Matheson expressed Optimism about the new administration’s new mandates regarding innovative technology.
"They [Liberals] are mandated to build Canada to find economic growth and opportunities for us to embrace technology. And we have a government that is highly motivated to think of opportunities to help our country gain more economic advantage. And I think crypto and other technologies will need to be embraced, and to do that, we need to educate them," he said.
However, Matheson cautioned that Canada risks being left behind in the global race to integrate crypto into the financial system unless it takes swift action.
He compared the current challenges in Canada as "a square peg, round hole, legal definitional problem," due to several different layers of securities regulators.
This means that Canadians are forced to look elsewhere for crypto-related services, potentially resulting in a loss of opportunity for the country and opening users to risks.
"We’re at risk for not moving fast enough to embrace the types of technology and products and services in Canada, and as a regulated financial institution, it’s a priority for us to make sure that we can introduce these products and services in a compliant way, so that Canadians aren’t just using a VPN and jumping off and using non compliant platforms around the world."
