“Balance Revolutionizes Canada’s Crypto Custodian Landscape”

A significant stride has been made in Canada’s cryptocurrency realm

With Balance, a reputable crypto custodian within the country, obtaining official custodian status this week. Historically, assets of Canadian Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have been held in the US under sub-custody arrangements with firms such as Coinbase and Gemini. Yet, this new advancement has led Balance CEO George Bordianu to advocate for a repatriation of these assets.

Transforming the Structure of Cryptocurrency Stewardship in Canada

At present, ETF providers such as 3iQ, Purpose Investments and Evolve employ prominent US exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini to protect the crypto assets which underpin their funds, instead of keeping them within Canadian territories. With Balance’s recent elevation to custodian status, Bordianu envisions the domestic retention of these ETF assets. He articulated to CoinDesk, “We have billions’ worth of retail assets within Canada’s crypto ETFs currently held in the United States. We are enquiring to repatriate those assets.”

Whilst other firms depend on sub-custody partnerships, Balance stands apart by attaining qualified custodian status through the power of its proprietary technology stack. Balance rejects the use of third-party technology such as Fireblocks or Digital Vault and instead leans on its homegrown solution.

This recent progression mirrors the rapid expansion of the crypto sector in Canada. Bordianu contended that although the amount of crypto owned by Canada’s ETFs may appear insignificant at the moment, the rising areas of tokenized real-world assets and stablecoins necessitate Canada’s need to fortify its own infrastructure to oversee these digital assets.

Bordianu has compared the present situation to the odd scenario of the Toronto Stock Exchange

Relying on the American Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation for the clearance and settlement of all transactions. He described this as “absolutely bonkers.” By receiving the qualified custodian status, Balance aims to optimize processes for asset managers and make it more economically viable to produce additional ETFs and mutual funds in Canada.

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