Category: NEXV Insights
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Testing the Substance of the “Tokenized Collectible Defence”
On September 30, 2026, the Capital Markets Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) issued its decision in respect of an enforcement proceeding brought by the Ontario Securities Commission (“OSC”) in 2024 against a digital asset trading platform that offered fractionalized ownership in assets (“LMP”). For businesses operating in the digital asset space, this decision may be of particular…
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OSC Regulatory Update: UDP Suspension Reinforces Role is Not Symbolic
A recent Director’s decision of the OSC[1] to suspend the registration of a CEO from acting as the UDP for multiple registered firms should serve as a reminder that CSA staff do not consider this role to be merely symbolic. While the designation of the UDP is generally limited to the registered firm’s CEO (or…
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CSA Issues Guidance on Prediction Markets
On August 27 2026, CSA staff issued regulatory guidance concerning prediction markets. This is an important development in the regulatory landscape for prediction market platforms in Canada. CSA and CIRO staff announced that: (1) event contracts based on sports or entertainment events/outcomes should not be regulated within securities/derivatives legislation, and (2) are not appropriate for…
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CSA Tightens Net Over “Immediate Delivery” Platforms & Stablecoins
On July 30, 2026, the Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) granted exemptive relief to a global financial infrastructure company (“the Filer”) from the dealer registration requirement in the context of certain stablecoin transactions that are “immediately delivered” to Canadian clients (i.e., client assets are not held by the platform). This decision suggests that the CSA is…
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All or Nothing: Examining the Canadian Ban on Prediction Market Platforms
With the announcement in April that certain CIRO[1] dealer members have received regulatory approval to offer event contracts,[2] there has been a consistent stream of public commentary regarding the permissibility of prediction markets for retail Canadian clients. Much of this commentary has been focused on potential consumer protection concerns while others have argued for the…
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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…