Vitalik Cheers ETH Community For The Pushback Against Canada’s Rules

Vitalik cheers ETH community for the pushback that they organized against the harsh Canadian crypto rules that impose annual buy limits on crypto for Canadian citizens.

Vitalik Cheers ETH Community

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, praised community members for speaking out against new Canadian regulations banning crypto purchases.

Glad to see Ethereum people pushing against regulations that privilege ETH over other legitimate cryptocurrencies.

(I have not dug into the details of what specifically is going on and to what extent it’s a gov thing vs a compliance decision of one business, but either way…) https://t.co/NDYPh5rqsk

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 17, 2022

Canadian exchanges Bitbuy and Newton have imposed yearly buy limitations of CAD$30,000 ($23,100) on all tokens except Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash. This does not apply to inhabitants of British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, or Quebec.

Some social media users pointed out that impacted persons may get around the limitations by stockpiling unrestricted tokens, moving to a decentralized exchange, and exchanging them for the token of their choosing.

The move, ordered by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), has sparked outrage among some major cryptocurrency industry players.

OSO Wishes To Safeguard Investors

Toronto-based Newton issued a notification outlining the new OSO restrictions, stating that they “affect[ed] all Canadian crypto trading platforms.”

According to the notification, the measures are being implemented to “protect crypto investors” and to raise awareness of the dangers associated with cryptocurrency trading.

“These changes are to protect crypto investors, like yourself, and to make sure investors are aware of the risks associated with investing in crypto assets.”

In addition to the yearly buy limitations, Newton said its users would also be forced to fill out a trading questionnaire before they may trade. This is done to gather data on users’ trading experience, personal financial condition, and risk tolerance.

Loss levels will be given to portfolios depending on the risk tolerance provided in the trading questionnaire. As the user’s portfolio reaches the specified loss level, loss notifications will be provided.

Buterin Expresses Gratitude To The Ethereum Community

Simon Dixon, CEO of investing platform BnkToTheFuture, termed this “silly” because the restrictions do not take an individual’s net worth into consideration.

Furthermore, Dixon noted that the regulations, which exclude specific tokens, establish a two-tier system, effectively selecting winners and losers. This goes against the mandate of regulators, who are supposed to be impartial.

If you are doing something silly like Canada 🇨🇦 best to go with % of Net Worth rather than annual sum – New regulatory changes in Canada for crypto. You are allowed to buy as much #BTC / $ETH / $LTC / $BCH as you want, but any other crypto has a limit of 30k net buy per year. 🤮 pic.twitter.com/IPrZq4k6S1

— Simon Dixon (Beware Impersonators) (@SimonDixonTwitt) August 18, 2022

Similarly, David Hoffman, CEO of the cryptocurrency media company Bankless, expressed surprise at the CAD$30,000 yearly restriction on restricted tokens. He believes it makes little sense to substantially limit investors’ allocation options.

Yo wtf

“You buy $20,000 of Solana (SOL), a restricted cryptocurrency. You’ve now used $20,000 of your $30,000 annual limit. If you want to purchase more crypto, you are limited to buy a maximum of $10,000”

Canada what is u doinghttps://t.co/1sNK7w80pd https://t.co/Z5azEzCrPj

— DavidHoffman.eth 🦇🔊🏴 (@TrustlessState) August 17, 2022

Buterin jumped in, saying it’s positive that the Ethereum community is airing its frustrations, even though ETH is exempt from the new restrictions due to its privileged status.

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