Canadian Government Pledges Ongoing Cryptocurrency Enforcement Following 2026 Shutdown of 47 Companies
The nation's financial intelligence agency has cancelled registrations for close to 50 cryptocurrency money services businesses throughout the year, with Canada's finance minister confirming the enforcement campaign will persist.
The financial intelligence agency in Canada has cancelled the registrations of 50 money services businesses (MSBs) in the current year to date, with 47 of these involving cryptocurrency operations, and according to the finance minister, the enforcement campaign will not slow down.
In an announcement made Monday, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC) of Canada revealed its latest enforcement action involved cancelling 23 MSB registrations.
In a Tuesday statement, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne indicated this represents part of the government's most recent initiative to fight money laundering, noting that FINTRAC is also "strengthening enforcement and increasing transparency on compliance actions."
Champagne further noted that the 23 registration cancellations demonstrated "a significantly increased pace of action, and our government will maintain this momentum."
Our government will continue to monitor and pursue new measures to address risks posed by virtual currency businesses, such as cryptocurrency MSBs and crypto ATMs, which can be used to facilitate money laundering and fraud
François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance
Conventional financial infrastructure, including wire transfer systems, has historically been employed for money laundering and various fraud schemes because of their extensive reach and broad acceptance.
According to estimates from the Financial Action Task Force, between 2 to 5% of worldwide GDP gets laundered via conventional financial infrastructure, while Chainalysis data suggests that fewer than 1% of cryptocurrency transactions have connections to illegal activities.
Two crypto platforms fined near the end of last year
The enforcement activities against cryptocurrency companies by FINTRAC have been intensifying, with the agency levying a $126 million fine against the crypto platform Cryptomus in October for numerous alleged violations, including the failure to report suspicious transactions on 1,068 separate occasions in July 2024 and the failure to develop and apply written compliance policies.
The crypto exchange KuCoin was also hit with a $14 million penalty a month earlier for violations, including the alleged failure to register as a foreign money services business with FINTRAC and the failure to report large crypto transactions with the required information.