Popular and well regarded Canadian crypto exchange Coinsquare has ambitious goals and announced today it’s planning to enter the European market by the end of this year.
In a press release the crypto exchange indicated that it will be offering Europeans access to the same interface and coin options that it currently provides to its Canadian users.
Coinsquare currently offers Canadians the ability to trade Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Dash, and recently added XRP (Ripple).
The Toronto-based company was founded in 2014 and provides a trading platform for digital currencies and recently launched both a technology licensing division and an asset management subsidiary.
Coinsquare Expanding to US — Next to Take on Coinbase
While adding business in Europe is a strategic move to grow the business, Coinsquare expanding to the US is clearly the company’s ultimate goal. According to an interview with CEO Cole Diamond from January, the crypto exchange thinks it can take on the current industry leader south of the border:
Coinsquare expanding to try and take on Coinbase would require significant capital, which is likely why the company was considering a $120 million Initial Public Offering (IPO) according to reports earlier this year.
Capital from an IPO would be in addition to the $30 million the company already raised in February this year led by financial services firm Canaccord Genuity which was likely used to fund Coinsquare expanding to Europe.
Canadian Companies Punching Above their Weight In Crypto
Canada has started to become an interesting place for the emerging crypto ecosystem. Not only does the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum, have deep Canadian connections through several of its founders, but both the government and private companies are exploring Canadian crypto opportunities.
The Bank of Canada, the nation’s central bank has been involved in research and projects related to digital assets since 2016 and has been recently warming up to the concept of crypto assets as being secure. Also, earlier this week, Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) began exploring the use of blockchain technology for business and even built their own blockchain explorer on the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS).
On the private side, there have been a wave of companies who used Canadian capital markets to raise funds. Crypto-related firms ranging from Bitcoin and Ethereum miners such as Hut8 and Hive to crypto merchant bank Galaxy Digital have listed on Canadian stock exchanges.
Canada has also become a destination for crypto miners looking for access to cheap electricity and a friendlier regulatory environment than the previous location of choice, China. The cooler climate in Canada also helps miners reduce the costs for operating, but some regions such as Quebec have began to clamp down on access to power.
Given the proliferation of development and attention that the crypto ecosystem has enjoyed over the past year, Canada has been able to establish itself as a crypto player. While perhaps not the sexiest place to launch a crypto project, Canadian cities such as Toronto have become a hub for crypto and blockchain development.
First up in our semi-finals, two influential research hubs and hotbeds of start-up activity, Singapore and Toronto!
— Don Tapscott (@dtapscott) July 13, 2018
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