Canada begins treating virtual-currency dealers as money services businesses
Canadian rules bringing virtual-currency dealers into the money-services-business regime took effect, requiring registration and anti-money-laundering compliance.
On June 1, 2020, long-planned Canadian amendments came into force requiring businesses dealing in virtual currency to register as money services businesses and comply with obligations under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act.
The regime brought Bitcoin exchanges and other qualifying dealers into requirements such as compliance programs and suspicious-transaction reporting. It did not ban Bitcoin or classify Bitcoin itself as a security; it regulated the businesses that exchange or transmit it.
For Canadian users, the practical effect was a more formalized on-ramp environment. Bitcoin businesses could operate within a recognized federal AML framework, but at the cost of increased identity, recordkeeping and reporting obligations.