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Global Coinbase (NASDAQ: MONEY) has obtained a limited dealer license in Canada, according to a media report on Thursday, allowing the US-based cryptocurrency exchange to operate legally in the country.
The Brian Armstrong-led company, which is facing a regulatory crackdown in the United States, did so has been registered in Ontario as a limited broker-dealer under the Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”).
Compared to the United States, Canada’s regulatory clarity is far better for cryptocurrency companies, one of the main reasons Coinbase (COIN) considered moving out of the United States last year. Last year, for example, Canada established new guidelines for cryptocurrency exchanges that place a limit on how much some investors can invest in cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase (COIN) had filed its pre-registration undertaking with the Ontario Securities Commission in March 2023, the article said, and subsequently opened stores in the country in August.
The cryptocurrency and the exchange have been locked in a legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for nearly a year, with both sides suing each other. In the latest development, a US judge has ruled that the SEC’s lawsuit against Coinbase (COIN) can move forward.
“We currently believe this case will be a long legal battle and will likely go to the Supreme Court for a final decision,” Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau wrote in a note to clients.