Two cryptocurrency firms have hit new milestones for client holdings in Canada.
Today, Toronto-based WonderFi revealed its Bitbuy and Coinsquare crypto trading platforms have achieved a new record in client assets under custody that surpasses the $2.1 billion CAD mark. San Francisco-based crypto exchange Kraken also announced last week that its Canadian operation has exceeded $2 billion CAD in combined assets under custody.
Assets under custody refer to the total value of digital assets that an entity holds on behalf of clients. This includes cryptocurrencies, tokens, and other digital assets stored in wallets managed by the custodian.
“Reaching the $2 billion milestone is testament to our ongoing effort to provide Canadians with a superior crypto trading experience.”
Alex Mehrdad, Kraken Canada
WonderFi, which trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker WNDR, said its latest assets under custody figure marks an increase of over 65 percent since the end of Q3 2024 and a 110 percent increase compared to year-end 2023.
The company also reported that its customers’ cash balances have increased by 66 percent since the end of Q3 2024.
WonderFi owns two of Canada’s largest registered and regulated crypto exchanges, Bitbuy and Coinsquare, as well as crypto payments platform SmartPay and a stake in crypto custodian Tetra Trust. Earlier this year, WonderFi registered to provide crypto trading services in Australia, and has been eyeing a US expansion since October 2023.
In a statement, WonderFi said the total value of assets staked on Bitbuy and Coinsquare now exceeds $120 million, an increase of 165 percent year-to-date. The firm also reported that Bitbuy and Coinsquare have seen increases in revenue in recent weeks.
RELATED: WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka kidnapped, released after reportedly paying $1-million ransom
“We’re extremely pleased with the new market confidence demonstrated by investors,” WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka said in a statement. “Consumers have long been optimistic about the value in the industry and their confidence has now been bolstered through the recent moves by multiple global jurisdictions and institutional-level investors to treat digital assets as a viable long-term investment option.”
The new record comes three weeks after reports that Skurka was kidnapped and held for ransom in Toronto. The incident was part of a growing trend known as “$5 wrench attacks,” where individuals holding significant amounts of crypto are threatened or assaulted in an attempt to obtain their private keys. Skurka was fortunately unharmed in the ordeal.
Kraken is a San Francisco-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange that offers over 175 digital assets for trading, as well as tools like margin and futures trading, staking rewards, and non-fungible tokens marketplace, among others.
The company first entered the Canadian market in 2016 following its purchase of Halifax-based CaVirtEx. Kraken grew and expanded initially in Nova Scotia, and began building a dedicated Canadian team in the fall of 2022.
“Reaching the $2 billion milestone is testament to our ongoing effort to provide Canadians with a superior crypto trading experience,” Kraken Canada’s general manager Alex Mehrdad said in a statement. “As we’ve doubled in size within Canada, we’ve also steadily invested in our product offering to ensure Canadians can explore the breadth of the crypto ecosystem through our range of innovative products.”
RELATED: Kraken appoints Alex Mehrdad as new leader of crypto exchange’s Canadian operations
In 2023, Kraken entered into a pre-registration undertaking with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), which granted it conditional approval to operate in the province while pursuing full registration. At the time, David Ripley, Kraken’s then-CEO, described Canada as “critical to our mission to empower people with new ways to connect and transact.”
“While we’re pleased with this progress, we’re aware that our mission is not complete and that most people have still not made their first crypto transaction,” Mehrdad added.
Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Dmitry Demidko.