Canadian crypto industry leaders launch non-profit in push for regulation

Some of Canada’s leaders in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector launched Tuesday a non-profit association aimed at moving the needle on regulation of digital assets in this country.

It is called the Canadian Web3 Council and was founded by Connor Spelliscy and Jelena Djuric, both of whom have been working on pushing the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry forward in Canada for the last several years. The Council also includes representatives from companies like Wealthsimple, digital collectible business Dapper Labs, financial services firm Ledn and Ether Capital.

“As the industry has grown into a multi-trillion-dollar asset class, now is the time for the government to work alongside industry leaders to ensure thoughtful policy is formed,” Spelliscy and Djuric said in a news release.

“Although there are regulatory challenges when it comes to this nascent industry, the Canadian Web3 Council can work alongside regulators to help them understand and navigate this complex space.”

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Web3 describes the next phase of the internet that puts the World Wide Web in the control of people and is powered by blockchain technology.

The council’s first priority is to advocate for a national strategy for cryptocurrency and digital assets, according to the news release.

Canadian entrepreneurs have played a major role in the blockchain and digital asset space, from founding Ethereum to launching popular non-fungible token (NFT) platforms like CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot.

Despite this, the council said Canada has fallen behind other jurisdictions like the U.S. and Europe when it comes to digital asset policies.

The announcement follows recent calls for the federal government to create a national framework for the crypto industry from the Conservative party.

In addition, federal Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre has said he would work to make it easier for Canadians to use cryptocurrencies and for crypto companies to operate if he became prime minister.