July 1^st represents Canada Day in the Great White North.  As such, we thought that a quick look at a few Canadian companies involved in digital securities would be appropriate today.

To date, Canada has been one of the leading countries surrounding anything blockchain related.  We have seen government adoption, the creation of Ethereum, the first Bitcoin fund listed on a major exchange, and rumblings of a potential central bank digital currency.  The following are a few examples of Canadian based endeavours.

Bank of Canada

The Bank of Canada is one of the few of its kind to release official statements regarding the release of a CBDC.  It has been established that, while there are no immediate plans for the release of a CBDC, the bank fully intends on being prepared for this, eventuality.  This was first made apparent through job postings, such as ‘CBDC Project Manager’, but later through direct commentary.

In recent weeks, the Bank of Canada has gone so far as releasing an ‘analytical note’, which discusses the privacy needs of a potential CBDC.  While they note that the goal is to attain privacy, akin to what cash affords its users, currently technology, such as zero-knowledge proofs, are not appropriate, and that both maturation and national-scale implementation first need to occur.

While it may be years before a Canadian CBDC is actually launched, the Bank of Canada is at least making sure the nation is ready for that day.

Blockstation

Operating out of Toronto, Blockstation is a young company, rife with potential.  The team behind Blockstation has developed a suite of services which leverage blockchain technology.  These services were built to allow “…the traditional financial ecosystem to get in on digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ether, and Tokenized IPOs (Security Token Offerings, or STOs)”

The hard work that went in to establishing these capabilities has not gone unnoticed, as Blockstation has successfully partnered with multiple stock exchanges.  One such pilot will soon see the launch of at least 4 tokenized IPOs on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

To learn about Blockstation in more detail, make sure to peruse our exclusive interview with CEO, Marko Hafez.

Interview Series – Marko Hafez, CEO of Blockstation

TokenGX

This Canadian outfit has recently received the greenlight by the regulatory body ‘Ontario Securities Commission (OSC)’, for the launch of a secondary marketplace.

Dubbed FreedomX, this anticipated marketplace will be one of the first of its kind in Canada.  It will offer a home for digital securities to actively be traded, providing higher levels of asset liquidity in the process.

Beyond just operating a regulated secondary marketplace, TokenGX is also working to establish, and deploy, a stablecoin.  This will be utilized as the primary means of settlement on FreedomX, and would be tethered to the Canadian Dollar.

Canadian Stablecorp

On the topic of stablecoins, a pair of Canadian Companies (3iQ and Mavennet) have joined forces to create ‘Canada Stablecorp’.

The first release by Canada Stablecorp is known as QCAD.  This is a CAD backed digital asset, which was structured as such for 3 main reasons.

1. Provide its users with easy access to a digital asset, which can provide a reprieve from market volatility.
2. Give Canadians a ‘home-grown’ variant; A trait which should appeal to Canadian investors looking to support Canadian companies.
3. Leveraging the strength, and stability, of CAD. The Canadian dollar is typically accepted on a world stage, and benefits from a nation which typically remains removed from divisive world events.

While QCAD has not established itself to the extent shown by Tether, GUSD, and USDC, the potential is there.

Onwards and Upwards

Unfortunately, not all of the promising companies coming out of Canada could be discussed here today.  Those discussed represent a fraction of the activity taking place in the great white north.

If one thing is clear from this activity, it is that Canada has been/is playing an important role in the forwarding of blockchain and the digital securities sector.

Happy Canada Day!

June provided us with a steady stream of developments, surrounding the digital securities sector.  We saw new regulations, new platforms and services, and the demise of various others.

Regulatory Advances and Findings

Multiple regulatory bodies made news in June.  This was first evident with the anticipated release of findings by the OSC, pertaining to the QuadrigaCX fiasco.  South of the border, the SEC was no stranger to making waves.  Not only did the Supreme Court weigh in on SEC capabilities, but news broke of the possible exodus of Chairman, Jay Clayton.

OSC Finds Extensive Evidence of Fraud/Theft by Gerald Cotten and QuadrigaCX

Supreme Court Reins in SEC on Disgorgement

SEC Chairman, Jay Clayton, Moving On?

Pivots and Bankruptcies 

Blockchain and digital securities are both in their infancy.  As such, companies developing services around each are still finding their footing.  This was on full display throughout June, as multiple companies announced either their imminent closure, or a pivoting focus.

Neufund Freezes Operations of Issuance Platform

SeedCX Refocuses Efforts on Settlement Service ‘Zero Hash’

Factom Inc. Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in Bid to Survive

Real Estate

DeFi continues to convince many that it is the first ‘killer app’ surrounding cryptocurrencies.  Various companies involved with digital securities are trying to emulate this success, and find the perfect implementation for the technology.  A few of these companies are banking on real estate being the perfect avenue for achieving this.

For examples of this, look no further than the recent actions of companies like Vertalo, Tokensoft, and Tokai Tokyo.

Real Estate Increasingly Popular within Digital Securities – Vertalo and Tokensoft each Launch New Platforms

Investment Activity in Japan Signals Interest in Digital Securitization

In The News

SeedInvest Makes the Best of a Bad Situation

We have touched on the effects of COVID-19 various times since the beginning of the pandemic.  While many have been hit hard by its effects, there are those that have made the best of a bad situation.  A prime example of this is the recent successes of crowdfunding platform SeedInvest.

“Unlike venture capital firms, online fundraising platforms are perfectly situated to help startups in the current, post-COVID-19 world we are in. Online fundraising platforms are not dependent on capital from a handful of pensions and endowments, but rather a large, diverse network of investors (SeedInvest has had over 350,000 investors register for example).” – Ryan Feit, CEO of SeedInvest

 Thought Leaders

Solving the Liquidity Puzzle for Security Tokens

Borys Pikalov, Head of Business Analytics at STOBox, took the time to pen his thoughts on what it will take for security tokens to realize their potential liquidity.  This insightful article elaborates on, not only what constitutes a security token, but why they are important, and how true liquidity can be achieved.

Interviews

Hirander Misra, Chairman of GMEX Group & SECDX

In this exclusive interview, we learn about the bevy of services on offer from each, GMEX Group and SECDX.  Whether discussing custodial services, or strategic investments, Hirander Misra sheds light on why, and how, each company is affecting change. Read More

Around the Web

Nasdaq’s New PLatform Backed by R3, Digital Asset, Symbiont and Microsoft May Not Be What Your Think It – Forbes

To date, much of development behind blockchain and digital securities has been achieved by smaller, flexible companies.  This is changing with time, though, as we are now seeing adoption among more established companies.  Forbes recently touched on this, and the various benefits behind tokenization, which have captivated the imaginations of companies like Microsoft.  Read More

• GBP/USD Struggling after GDP Dip
• EUR/USD Also Sluggish as States Halt Reopening
• Markets Await Key Testimonies After Monday Surge

Major currencies in the forex market are trading slightly lower today. Both the Euro, and Pound have dropped back against the Dollar as concerns over a spike in Coronavirus numbers persist. The final UK GDP figures for the first quarter released today, were also worse than expected. Meanwhile, US markets are looking quiet after a strong rally to open up the week on Monday. This may change as the day progresses and today’s testimony from the Fed Chairman is digested.

UK Suffers Biggest Quarterly GDP Decline Since 1979

Forex trading in the GBP/USD market today was struggling below the 1.23 mark for a number of reasons. One of the major points which seems to have rocked trader confidence in Sterling is the release of GDP figures for the first quarter today. These show a 2.2% drop in GDP, worse than had been expected.

This GDP drop is the largest the nation has seen in more than 40 years. It is compounded by the fact that a double digit drop is expected in the next quarter, and also the fact that a new spike in cases has led to local lockdown in at least one British city. British leader Boris Johnson is due to speak later today where he will introduce plans to inject more than £5 billion into infrastructure in a bid to bolster the economy.

Euro Also Drops Back as Virus Concerns Persist

The EUR/USD is looking to end the quarter in successful territory today although that has been threatened by negative pressure which has pushed the pair down at the beginning of the day. Forex brokers noted that traders are appearing to favor a move back toward the safety of the US Dollar.

This move has largely been led by the uncertainty of the US economic situation as several states have now moved to impose renewed restrictions, or halted their reopening plans as cases of COVID-19 continue to rise again in many areas. This has been the case in New York who have slowed reopening, as well as in Texas and Florida where renewed closures have been put in place on many bars and restaurants after cases in those states showed a heavy increase.

Market Opening Appears Quiet as Traders Await Testimony

Today’s market opening on Wall Street would appear to have hit a lull following yesterday’s great surge to begin the week. The Dow Jones rose more than 500 points yesterday to get the week off to a very positive start. The picture today, pre-market numbers have indicated, is much less active. Many could be awaiting the remarks of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who will address the House Financial Services Committee later today.

These remarks are expected to raise more questions than answers though, with Powell set to comment that the path forward remains very uncertain, and reliant on successfully containing the virus.