According to Coinbase’s Country Director for Canada, Canadians are starting to see digital assets not just as speculative investments, but instead see them as legitimate assets for everyday transactions.
Speaking to Cointelegraph in Toronto on Aug. 16, Lucas Matheson, director of Coinbase Canada, said he believes digital assets will soon support more utility and use cases in everyday life, something that “everyone in our industry is excited about.” .
“In Canada, we are poised to push the boundaries of viewing digital assets as a speculative retail investment. It’s a movement. It’s a belief in the democratization of finance.”
Matheson believes that with the proliferation of crypto and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), it would be helpful for Canadians to understand the concept of decentralization and the reasons why – and how – digital assets could soon be a normal part of everyone’s everyday life Life.
In July, a Bank of Canada study reported that Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency ownership declined slightly in 2022 due to price bottoms, corporate failures and regulatory hurdles.
However, an October 2022 Ontario Securities Commission report said that over 30% of Canadians plan to buy crypto by 2024.
He added that building trust is the most important thing for the industry and that Coinbase is focused on helping Canadians understand why a shift to a digital economy is taking place.
“We are all working to build trust with the government and members of parliament to help them understand how to develop a strong economic plan for Canada that includes digital assets.”
E-commerce was one of the use cases that Matheson believes will be significantly transformed by NFTs, specifically so-called “phygital” items – when a digital asset is included in the purchase of a physical good.
Sportswear company Puma and luxury brand Dior have recently released shoes that either link to an NFT to authenticate the product or contain an NFT twin.
Matheson (left) with Cointelegraph editor Sam Bourgi (center) and People’s Group COO David Furlong (right).
Matheson also emphasized that regulatory clarity is an important factor that would help more Canadian institutions participate in the digital economy.
Related: Strict Canadian crypto exchange rules allowed Kraken to invest there, CEO says
He called Canada’s crypto approach “regulation by engagement” in comparison to US regulators’ regulation-by-enforcement approach.
“Canada is making strides in the way the government is thinking about regulating our industry. They advocate for the regulation of cryptocurrencies,” he said.
Nice to see our Government Committee on Industry and Technology making such strong recommendations for crypto and blockchain! Canada https://t.co/oLflfkHETa
— Lucas Matheson (@lucmatheson) June 28, 2023
David Furlong, chief operating officer of financial services firm People’s Group, agreed, saying Canada’s regulators are very apolitical, seek to understand and act on issues themselves and tend to “not respond to remarks.”
A July report by Canada’s House of Commons Technology Committee concluded that the blockchain industry offers significant long-term economic and employment opportunities for the country.
There were 15 recommendations, including recognizing blockchain as an emerging industry, creating more regulatory clarity, and developing a national strategy together with the industry.
Additional reporting by Sam Bourgi.
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