Canadian Crypto Broker Fined $65K and Suspended for Secretly Managing $1.2M in Client Assets

A Vancouver-based broker has been hit with a four-month suspension and $65,000 in fines after regulators discovered he secretly managed $1.2 million in cryptocurrency for clients without proper oversight. The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) uncovered the scheme, which involved over 6,000 trades executed between 2019 and 2022.

The broker, operating through an unregistered entity, deposited client assets into his personal crypto wallet and traded on their behalf—a clear violation of securities regulations. Notably, no clients filed complaints, suggesting the activity might have gone undetected without regulatory intervention.

This enforcement action underscores the tightening scrutiny of crypto asset management in Canada. The 2025 penalty reflects regulators' growing sophistication in tracking off-book crypto operations, even when participants attempt to avoid detection.