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Summary
- Canadian crypto enthusiasts have increased by almost 192 per cent on Kraken, a US-based crypto trading platform in January.
- Crypto exchange apps have outshined the top Canadian banks on adding new users in the last month.
- Top foreign exchanges have also witnessed an extraordinary demand of crypto traders amid the ongoing record rally.
After Bitcoin flied to an all-time high, Canadians are actively searching for crypto exchange apps to enter the lucrative cryptocurrency market. Retail investors especially have been exploring options for crypto trading accounts.
Bitcoin surged over US$ 48,000 per token on Monday after Tesla invested US$ 1.5 billion in the crypto token.
An interim request for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has already been submitted by investment firm Accelerate Financial Technologies to Canadian securities regulators. The firm said is awaiting approval from regulators to list its Bitcoin ETF on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) in an announcement on February 3.
This bitcoin buying frenzy started last month, after Telsa CEO Elon Musk wrote ‘Bitcoin’ in his Twitter bio. This set off an ongoing crypto rally. Canadians started lining-up to invest in virtual currency.
While crypto enthusiasts are downloading home-developed crypto apps, many of them are also exploring apps from foreign trading platforms such as Coinbase, Binance, Coinbase, Webull, Crypto.com, and Uphold. These crypto exchanges have also witnessed a rise in downloads in 2021.
Influx Of New Crypto Investors
In December and January, US-based crypto exchange Kraken observed 192 per cent month-over-month (MoM) rise in downloads from Canada, as per data from app intelligence platform Apptopia.
Apptopia also noted that the popular crypto apps in Canada such as Wealthsimple, PayPal, Binance, Coinbase, Crypto.com, gained a cumulative 863,000 new Canadian account holders in January alone.
In contrast, the top five national Canadian banks received only 292000 new app downloads in the first month of this year.
Image Source: Kalkine Group @2020
Regulations For Crypto Apps
Going by Google Trends, it is safe to presume Canadians regularly explore the US exchange-listed stocks for investment options. But regulatory rules for crypto exchanges are not the same, exposing investors to fraud risks.
In 2020, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) released an update on cryptocurrency trading, asserting that securities regulation may also apply to digital platforms that offer crypto assets exchange.
