Coinbase Canada CEO Eric Richmond says the country needs a long-term regulatory framework instead of temporary exemptions as the exchange looks to expand into products such as crypto derivatives, tokenized assets, and decentralized finance.
TORONTO — Coinbase is seeking to bring a broader range of crypto services currently available to its U.S. customers to Canada, including derivatives, DeFi products, and tokenized financial assets. However, Richmond, the exchange’s newly appointed Canadian CEO, said the country must move beyond temporary regulatory measures and establish clearer rules to support the industry’s next stage of development.
Richmond said Coinbase’s ultimate goal is to evolve from a traditional crypto trading platform into a broader financial services provider powered by blockchain technology.
“We want to have all your financial services in one place,” Richmond said during an interview with CoinDesk at the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto. He described Coinbase’s ambition as becoming an “everything exchange” that uses blockchain infrastructure to deliver financial services that are available around the clock, with fewer barriers and smoother user experiences.
However, Richmond said achieving this vision in Canada depends on creating a clearer regulatory path for launching new products.
“We need to find the regulated pathway to bring these offerings to Canadians, and we have already started working on that,” he said. Richmond brings significant experience in the Canadian crypto market from previous executive roles at companies including Shakepay and Coinsquare.
Coinbase Pushes for Dedicated Digital Asset Rules
Canada has been considered an early leader in crypto regulation, becoming one of the first countries to approve spot crypto ETFs and introduce registration requirements for digital asset trading platforms.
However, Richmond noted that much of Canada’s progress has been driven by regulatory guidance, staff notices, and individual exemption orders rather than legislation specifically built for digital assets.
While this approach helped the country move quickly during crypto’s early years, Richmond believes it has become less suitable as the sector expands into more advanced financial products.
“This is not a new, dedicated legislative framework, and that is something I believe we still need,” Richmond said.
His comments come as Canada and the United States continue to take different approaches toward digital asset regulation.
According to a report from global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, both countries generally apply existing financial regulations to tokenized assets based on their traditional financial equivalents. However, the U.S. has moved further by issuing more detailed guidance covering tokenized securities, custody requirements, collateral rules, and capital treatment.
Canadian regulators, meanwhile, remain focused on consultation and limited pilot exemptions, with custody rules still operating under interim guidance.
Although neither country has introduced a complete regulatory framework specifically for tokenized assets, Norton Rose noted that the U.S. approach could give American companies an advantage in shaping future blockchain-based financial infrastructure.
Regulatory Gaps Slow Product Rollouts
Richmond said Canada’s current framework has also delayed access to certain products that are already available to Coinbase customers in the U.S.
For example, Coinbase One users in the United States can access a stablecoin lending program offering around 7% APY. That service is not currently available in Canada, where users can earn up to 4.5% APY on USDC holdings through Coinbase.
Richmond said his priority is making sure Canadian customers have access to similar products.
“My focus is bringing the products that are available in the U.S. to Canadians,” he said.
Coinbase is also exploring the launch of certain crypto futures products for eligible Canadian users through Coinbase Financial Markets, its CFTC-regulated U.S. subsidiary.
Richmond said the company was able to pursue this opportunity after receiving an international exemption from Canadian regulators. However, offering the product to a broader retail audience would require additional approval in Canada, unlike in the U.S., where the existing regulatory structure provides a clearer expansion pathway.
Richmond said the difference is not simply about regulatory speed but about how each country’s rules are structured.
“It is not just a regulatory issue; the nature of the rules themselves is different,” he said.
Call for a Unified National Crypto Framework
Despite the challenges, Richmond said he remains encouraged by Canadian regulators’ willingness to engage with the crypto industry and consider new frameworks.
He pointed to Canada’s Stablecoin Act as a positive example, describing it as an important development for providing greater clarity around digital assets.
After the legislation was introduced, Tetra Trust launched CADD, Canada’s first regulated Canadian-dollar stablecoin issued by a financial institution. The project has received backing from major companies and institutions, including Wealthsimple, Shopify, and National Bank of Canada.
Richmond said Canada has already demonstrated that crypto companies can operate within a regulated environment. The next step is ensuring the rules can support more advanced sectors such as blockchain-based payments, derivatives, tokenized securities, and decentralized finance.
Rather than requiring companies to interpret fragmented regulatory guidance, Richmond believes Canada should formalize existing practices into a consistent nationwide framework.
He proposed consolidating crypto requirements into a “national instrument” — a unified set of securities rules approved across provincial and territorial regulators.
“When you call it a national instrument, it means every securities commission has approved the same rule, creating consistency across the entire country,” Richmond said.
Such a framework would help Canada move away from a system largely dependent on exemptions and toward one that provides clearer expectations for both regulators and businesses.
The direction Canada chooses could determine how quickly advanced crypto products already offered to U.S. customers become available to Canadian users.
