Gemini to Shut Down All Canadian Accounts by End of 2024 as Crypto Exchange Withdraws from Canada

The cryptocurrency exchange Gemini is poised to cease its operations in Canada, planning to shut down by the year’s end—echoing the actions of other platforms that have exited due to stringent regulatory requirements.

A

notification

delivered to Gemini’s clientele in Canada on September 30 informed them of the impending closure on December 31 and provided a 90-day window for the withdrawal of their assets. The move by Gemini follows the Canadian financial regulators’ implementation of cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform regulations.

“Your Gemini account will be terminated on December 31, 2024, except for certain limited cases. As such, we’re notifying you of the upcoming closure of your account,” the exchange indicated in the correspondence.

Gemini encouraged its Canadian clients to relocate their digital currencies to external wallet addresses, adding that clients holding fiat funds could transfer them out to their linked banking establishments.

Tightening of Regulatory Controls in Canada

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) released a

directive

on February 22, demanding crypto trading platforms undergo a mandatory pre-registration undertaking (PRU) to continue Canadian operations. Among other limitations, such platforms cannot offer stablecoin purchases and custodial services to Canadians without CSA approval.

“Given the solvent challenges faced by a number of CTPs, including Voyager Digital, Celsius Network, the FTX group, BlockFi, and Genesis Global, we are launching new investor protection measures within the standard PRU,” the CSA explained.

On April 17, 2024, the Canadian government introduced the new Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, set to be enacted in 2026. This will mandate crypto brokers, exchanges, and ATM operators to annually report all transaction details.

This framework also requires the disclosure of personal client details, such as names, home addresses, and tax identification numbers.

Other Prominent Exchanges Exiting the Canadian Market Prior to Gemini

The exit of Gemini is another testament to the ongoing withdrawal of crypto platforms from Canada. On March 20, OKX issued a

notification

to its Canadian users regarding the discontinuation of its services, beginning from March 24, 2023. OKX called upon its clients to finalize open options and positions and to withdraw any fiat or tokens by June 22.

dYdX, a cryptocurrency derivatives platform, also declared its plan to

cease operations

in Canada beginning April 2023, starting with halting new user registrations. 

Paxos revealed their exit timeline in April, notifying customers of their inability to perform transactions after June 2, save for withdrawing funds.

Bybit announced on May 30 via a

blog post

that Canadians would no longer be able to set up new accounts from May 31. Current users were given until July 31 to increase existing positions or make deposits, after which services would cease and remaining balances liquidated by September 30.

Binance, another leading exchange, decided to exit the Canadian marketplace and communicated this decision via an

announcement

on May 13, citing discrepancies with the CSA’s guidelines. Binance subsequently instructed its Canadian users to close all trades by September 30.

“Our aspirations for the broader Canadian blockchain sector were high. Alas, the latest CSA guidelines regarding stablecoins and investor limits compel us to withdraw from the Canadian market. We delayed our decision to explore alternatives that might safeguard our Canadian clientele, but none proved viable,” claimed Binance.

Despite these major withdrawals, international platforms such as Crypto.com, Coinbase, and Kraken continue to operate across Canada.