Author: Asad Akhtar
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Ontario Securities Commission: 2026 Risk Assessment Questionnaire
Earlier today, the OSC issued the much anticipated (maybe a bit of an exaggeration!) 2026 Risk Assessment Questionnaire (“RAQ”). The RAQ is typically issued every two years and is used to help gather additional information on the firms registered with the OSC. This data may be used to help inform future regulatory policy making (e.g.,…
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Forecasting the Role of State Regulators in Overseeing U.S. Prediction Markets
On April 6, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (“3d Cir”) issued a ruling that considered the issue of whether state gaming and gambling laws apply to designated contract makers (“DCMs”) that are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). Their ruling held that the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”)…
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“Specified Crypto Assets” Expanded to include Solana
Last October, I wrote an article discussing why the CSA needs to pivot away from investment limits placed on crypto assets except for those that are designated as “specified crypto assets” (“SCAs”). At that time, the designated SCAs included: bitcoin, ether, litecoin, bitcoin cash and certain stablecoins. Other than the addition of certain stablecoins, this…
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The Argument for the Hard Fork on Crypto Investment Limits in Canada
For certain jurisdictions of Canada, including Ontario, the application of investment limits for retail clients on crypto asset trading platforms (“CTPs”) remains a departure from the often-espoused messaging by regulators in taking a product-agnostic, technology-neutral, approach to securities regulation. This article examines the existing application of investment limits to CTPs and why this approach is…