The U.S. has struggled for crypto clarity. Canada may have the answer
TORONTO — Canada has quietly become a global leader in digital assets.
Canada was among the first countries to enact rules for crypto, starting with anti-money laundering guidelines in 2014. The country has repeatedly evolved its regulatory guidance in recent years, while U.S. lawmakers remain stuck in gridlock — even with a pro-crypto White House and a Republican-controlled Congress.
That regulatory clarity has made Toronto a launchpad for blockchain growth, and Wall Street is taking notice.
Robinhood's recent acquisition of Canadian crypto firm WonderFi, owner of Bitbuy and Coinsquare, plugs it into Canada's established user base.
"Canada is a very attractive market for us," said Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood's crypto chief. "It's projected to be more than 30 million users using crypto here in Canada, with revenue projections of about $900 million in 2025."
The company's decision to spend just under $180 million to buy WonderFi, which has one of the longest-standing crypto licenses in the country, is a direct bet on that growth.
Galaxy Digital, the digital asset investing giant founded by Mike Novogratz, is headquartered in New York but listed in Canada because it couldn't go public in the United States. After being among the first to launch spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., Galaxy will finally debut on the Nasdaq on Friday.
DeFi Technologies, a Canadian player focused on being the Strategy of Solana, is also planning a U.S. listing.
"A lot of companies have started on the Toronto Stock Exchange and are trying to uplist into the Nasdaq," said Ondo Finance CEO Nathan Allman. "I think we're going to see more of that."
At Consensus 2025 in Toronto, one of the world's largest crypto conferences, JPMorgan, Ondo, and Chainlink announced a $100 billion bet on blockchain with a new platform to tokenize real-world assets.
The two firms say the new offering allows treasuries to be tokenized and settled using blockchain, combining JPMorgan's Kinexys Digital Payments network with Ondo's blockchain infrastructure.
"It's really the first time that there's been this interoperability between a bank's permissioned blockchain environment and a public blockchain," Allman said.
Crypto dealmaking has shown signs of life in recent months, as the United States has shifted its regulatory approach under President Donald Trump.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Federal Reserve have eased restrictions on banks handling crypto, rolling back prior guidance that required pre-approval for digital asset activities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has also taken a significant step by rescinding its restrictive accounting bulletin, which had forced companies holding crypto assets for clients to record them as liabilities. The new approach aligns crypto custody with traditional financial instruments.
At the same time, the SEC has launched a new Crypto Task Force, inviting public input on how to better regulate digital assets.
This self-driving car technology stock could pop by more than 400%, say three analysts
Looking for alternatives to Nvidia? Futurum CEO names 3 he's bullish on for 2024
Bernstein tech analyst's best idea for 2024 is to short Tesla
Morgan Stanley picks 'alpha' opportunities in China tech - giving one 52% upside
"They want large enterprises like Citi to have a seat at the table," said Ryan Rugg, global head of digital assets for Citi's Treasury and Trade Solutions division. "They're asking for our opinion, where I think in the past, it was not quite the case."
The booking of Eric Trump, the president's son and a leader of the newly-formed American Bitcoin, as a headline speaker, highlighted the growing presence of the U.S. in the crypto arena. The firm made waves when it launched in March, and already intends to go public through a merger with Gryphon Digital Mining.
"It's important to remember: Most countries are totally neutral on blockchain," said Dan Morehead, CEO of Pantera Capital. "The U.S. had a fairly antagonistic stance on blockchain which made it difficult for companies to get bank accounts, made it difficult for companies to go public."
He said he believes many companies that would have gone public a few years ago will hit U.S. markets in the next six months.
"There's obviously tremendous appetite in the public markets," he said.
Israel-based crypto and stock trading platform eToro went public on Wednesday after pricing above its expected range. Shares soared nearly 29% on its first trading day.
The advancements in the U.S. aren't without setbacks. A first-of-its-kind stablecoin regulation bill failed to advance in the Senate after Democratic lawmakers raised concerns about national security, while others expressed concerns about the president's ties to crypto.
Still, the payment giants are charging ahead.
Mastercard announced Thursday that it's partnering with Moonpay to let customers use debit cards to transact using their stablecoin balances.
PayPal announced Wednesday that it's partnering with artificial intelligence platform Perplexity to enable chat-powered shopping. PayPal's senior vice president of blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies told CNBC at Consensus 2025 that he sees a future where customers could transact in AI chats with their PayPal stablecoins or other crypto holdings.
"We are trying to make sure that PayPal and Venmo are the gateway product to get more people into crypto," said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal's senior vice president of blockchain, crypto, and digital currencies. "A lot of people get into crypto through us, and that leads us to continue to add tokens."
While PayPal leans on accessibility and payments, Robinhood is doubling down on tokenization and staking to capture both retail and institutional users.
"This debate here in the U.S. is really important — it shows that we want to embrace the technology instead of just regulating it and turning it off like it was before," Kerbrat said, describing his appearance at an SEC roundtable under new chair Paul Atkins.
The company sees blockchain technology as a way to transform everything from stocks to private equity markets and real estate into digital tokens that can be traded instantly.
"We think at Robinhood that it is actually the future, and we can bring a lot more traditional assets on-chain using tokenization," Kerbrat added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
35 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Another popular furniture company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The furniture retail sector has faced financial distress over the last year, leading to manufacturer and store closings, as well as bankruptcy filings for some of the most economically challenged companies. The industry has been dealing with rising labor and product costs caused by inflation, a slowdown in the real estate market that has depressed furniture sales, and increased interest rates on debt, all of which have led to financial distress. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter North Carolina furniture manufacturer and supplier Progressive Furniture, which provides products to major retailers, revealed that it would close down its business at the end of the year and lay off all 30 of its employees. Related: Major logistics and trucking company files Chapter 11 bankruptcy The subsidiary of ready-to-assemble furniture company Sauder Woodworking, blamed the closing of its primary supplier in Mexico, which provided 60% of its products, for its decision to shut down its business. The company imports wooden furniture from both Asia and Mexico. The company, which operates a warehousing and distribution plant in Claremont, N.C., said it will fulfill existing orders and honor warranties until it closes. It also has no plans to file for bankruptcy. Progressive Furniture sells its products through Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, Amazon, Wayfair, and other furniture retailers. In an unusual business move that might have had something to do with U.S. tariffs on imports, Canadian furniture company Prepac in March 2025 ceased manufacturing at its Delta, British Columbia, plant and moved all production to its factory in North Carolina. Unifor, the union representing the Delta plant's workers, blamed President Trump's tariffs for the plant's closing, which will result in 170 union worker layoffs after the company winds down maintenance. Franchise Group in November 2024 filed a Chapter 11 petition on behalf of furniture chain American Freight, blaming "sustained inflation and macroeconomic challenges facing the large durable goods sector." While winding down operations, AF Newco I LLC, which owns Buddy's Home Furnishings, in January 2025 won court approval to purchase 30 store leases, a distribution center lease, and American Freight's intellectual property for $1.12 million. And now, high-quality custom wood cabinetry manufacturer and retailer Worthy's Run Furniture LLC has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to reorganize its business. Related: Another major internet company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy The Hagerstown, Md., furniture manufacturing and retail company filed its Subchapter V petition, listing up to $50,000 in assets and $100,000 to $500,000 in liabilities. The petition indicated that funds would be available for distribution to unsecured creditors. More bankruptcy: Iconic auto repair chain franchise files Chapter 11 bankruptcyPopular beer brand closes down and files Chapter 7 bankruptcyPopular vodka and gin brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy The company did not indicate a reason for filing for bankruptcy in its petition. Worthy's Run was founded in 2006 by sole owner Todd Gladfelter as a custom furniture manufacturer, specializing in kitchen islands and expanding into custom-built kitchen cabinetry and furniture for the entire house, according to the company's website. The company does not mass produce, purchase cabinets, or use pre-fabricated products in its inventory. A review of Worthy Run's website shows kitchen islands priced from $2,180 to $4,084, wine bars from $7,925 to $10,670, and hutches from $3,830 to $12,612. Customers can order furniture custom-made and hand-crafted by the company's designers and craftsmen, the website says. The company also uses Sherwin-Williams paints, finishes, and specialty coatings for its products. Related: Popular food brand files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Politico
43 minutes ago
- Politico
The other climate rule Trump's attacks are boosting
Presented by the Stop the Oil Shakedown Coalition. With help from Camille von Kaenel, Marie J. French and Caitlin Oprysko THE OTHER CLEAN-CAR LAW: New York lawmakers reeling from Congress' vote to kill California's electric vehicle mandate are eyeballing another Golden State rule to pick up the slack: the low-carbon fuel standard. Fair warning to Democrats considering this route: Things could get bumpy. A yearslong push in Albany to establish New York's version of the controversial program that sets emissions limits for transportation fuels is regaining steam in the wake of Senate votes last month to revoke a trio of EPA waivers that let California — and a dozen states that follow its lead — enforce stricter vehicle emissions standards. We're still waiting for President Donald Trump to sign the resolutions and kick off a court battle that Attorney General Rob Bonta has promised to wage, but New York enviros are already using the moment to lobby for LCFS standards, as POLITICO's Marie J. French reports. 'New York has to lead,' said Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters, at a press conference last week. 'We cannot let four years go by without taking real action to transition away from fossil fuels, and Washington, D.C., is not going to help.' New York lawmakers don't need to look particularly hard to find out what sort of headaches they could be in store for if a bill from state Sen. Kevin Parker that would establish the state's clean fuel standard crosses the finish line. (That proposal is awaiting a hearing in New York's Senate Finance Committee and still faces an uphill battle to reach Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk.) Case in point: the bare-knuckled sparring on Friday between moderate Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, a Bakersfield Democrat and potential 2026 challenger to Republican Rep. David Valadao, and the California Air Resources Board, which approved amendments last year (still pending approval by the state's Office of Administrative Law) to tighten the stringency of the program — and potentially raise gas prices. Bains called on CARB Chair Liane Randolph to resign after she said at a hearing last week on transportation fuels that the agency doesn't extrapolate on how much consumers pay at the pump because 'in many instances, that would be speculative.' 'It is outrageous the director would pursue such policies without even trying to analyze the impact on prices,' Bains said. The incident is part of the continued fallout from last year's messy reauthorization of the nearly 15-year-old program. The heated debate largely centered on concerns about the rule's potential to raise gas prices, and CARB did itself no favors by initially estimating a 47-cent per gallon hike, before walking that figure back. The backlash against Bains was swift, as Gov. Gavin Newsom and environmental groups rushed to Randolph's defense. 'What's outrageous is the Assemblymember's stunt as she gears up to run for Congress,' Newsom spokesperson Daniel Villaseñor said in a statement. Equally important, though, is who was missing from the defense. Business groups that oppose LCFS over affordability concerns, and environmental justice advocates who argue the state should focus on electrification rather than alternative fuels, were nowhere to be found. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas — who established an oversight committee last month, headed by Assembly Transportation Chair Lori Wilson and Assemblymember David Alvarez, to study the LCFS' impact on prices — also stayed out of the squabble, and his spokespeople didn't respond to requests for comment. Those political dynamics are already shaping up in New York, where the state Senate passed an LCFS bill in 2022 that couldn't clear the Assembly. EJ groups came out against the bill last week, writing in a letter that New York can't 'invest in half-measures and failed solutions that burden environmental justice communities.' But New York businesses are backing Parker's bill. The Business Council of New York State, an Albany-based chamber of commerce with over 3,000 members, announced its support in April, arguing that an LCFS rule would allow the state to 'keep open all fuel and technology options' as it attempts to slash greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. — AN Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here! SPEAKING OF GAS PRICES: Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton unveiled a plan Monday to lower energy and fuel prices based on dismantling California's climate programs. Hilton, a GOP television personality, released his energy platform the day before he's hosting a forum on fuel prices with former Democratic Majority Leader Gloria Romero, who registered as a Republican last year over issues like gas stove bans. Hilton's to-do list includes his party's top asks: ending the state's 2045 net-zero emissions goal, repealing LCFS and lowering the state gas tax. He's also advocating for nixing the cap-and-trade program Newsom and lawmakers are currently negotiating an extension of. — AN WATER TRUCE: San Diego and Los Angeles are ending 15 years of courtroom fights over the cost of water transfers, citing the need for greater flexibility and collaboration to handle unpredictable supplies caused by climate change. Under a settlement agreement announced Monday, the San Diego County Water Authority will pay the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California a fixed price for water transfers instead of a fluctuating one, which San Diego had repeatedly sued over. The settlement ends an acrimonious chapter in Southern California's water wars that had cost the two agencies tens of millions of dollars in legal fees and driven political battles across regional water boards. It also frees the San Diego County Water Authority — which is currently facing an existential threat because of lower-than-expected water sales — to cut deals with other water agencies to offload some of its unneeded water. San Diego has spent heavily in the past two decades on both importing and desalinating water. Other Southern California communities don't have that same luxury of abundant supplies, with both the Sierra Nevada snowpack and the Colorado River under strain. MWD Board chair Adán Ortega said at a press conference Monday that the settlement agreement would usher in 'a new era of regionalism' that the entire Southwest should recognize. — CvK EAST COAST FOIL: Florida's longtime cautionary tale on property insurance is changing — maybe. After years of massive losses, Florida insurers made a $207 million profit in 2024, Thomas Frank of POLITICO's E&E News reports. Private Florida-based insurers are returning, and the state-run insurer of last-resort, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., is shrinking. The AM Best credit ratings firm credits the turn-around to rate hikes that doubled the average premium between 2021 and 2023 and legal reforms that limited lawsuits by policyholders. California, meanwhile, still hasn't shrunk its own insurer of last-resort or brought back private insurers in any big way, despite setting the stage for increased rate hikes. A STEP TOO FAR: Senate Majority Leader John Thune sidestepped Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough to revoke California's vehicle emissions waivers, but he's not willing to do the same for Republicans' budget 'megabill.' 'We're not going there,' Thune said Monday when asked by reporters if overruling MacDonough is under consideration as the Senate crafts its own budget proposal. MacDonough will play the crucial role of deciding what polices can stay in the bill. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer predicted that House GOP proposals, like a plan to place limits on the ability of federal judges to enforce contempt citations, will be booted. The parliamentarian question is going to follow Thune, who gave the thumbs-up for the unprecedented move to ignore MacDonough's opinion that Congress can't overturn EPA's waivers empowering California to enforce nation-leading emissions standards. — AN ON HIS OWN: Former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt is launching his own firm, he told POLITICO's Caitlin Oprysko. Bernhardt was also a longtime Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck lobbyist, including for Westlands Water District. The new Bernhardt Group will primarily provide strategic advice, but may do some lobbying work on an as-needed basis. Bernhardt declined to name any of the new firm's clients. But he said its work won't be limited to natural resources policy and could encompass a number of issues the firm's staff have been involved in, from telecom and privacy to financial services and appropriations. Read more from the interview as well as the full list of people joining him in POLITICO Influence. — The Trump administration is reversing course and keeping eight of the nine USDA field offices it planned to close in California open instead. — Analytics firm First Street forecasts Sacramento will experience some of the country's largest out-migration because of climate risks. — California Democrats want the Trump administration to restaff National Weather Service offices in Sacramento and Hanford that lost the ability to operate 24 hours a day.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Markets Close in Green on Mostly Quiet Trading Day
Monday, June 2, 2025Markets closed flat-to-up on this first trading day of the last month of calendar Q2. The Dow, which had collapsed -416 points at session lows, finished +35 points, +0.08%. The S&P 500 rose +24 points, +0.41%, while the Nasdaq outperformed the field: +128 points, +0.67%. The small-cap Russell 2000 rose +0.19% on the recent trade tensions — specifically, the raised tariff on steel and aluminum to +50% announced by President Trump late Friday — were a renewed interest in the AI trade once again supported tech stocks, while oil companies caught a bid on $63 barrels of oil today. All in all, it was a quiet day for data, relatively: Jobs Week reports begin with the JOLTS numbers out Tuesday morning. For the month of May, S&P final Manufacturing PMI and ISM Manufacturing reports showed a slight decline on the former and an in-line print on the latter. The S&P headline of 52.0 was 30 basis points (bps) below estimates, which were flat month over month. ISM came in at +48.5% — as expected and down 20 bps from the April headline, but still below the 50 threshold between growth and loss. Analysts had been expecting a rebound into positive Construction Spending for April, but at -0.4% this headline came 60 bps below estimates to +0.2%. This followed -0.8% print for March, which was the lowest we've seen since September of last year. It also marks the thirds negative month in the first four for 2025. The April totals of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) hit the tape Tuesday morning. They are expected to tick down month over month to 7.1 million from 7.2 million reported, and are the first in a series of labor force data this week, which we call Jobs Orders, also for April, will be out tomorrow as well, after the opening bell. Much like the downturn in Construction Spending we saw today for April, Factory Orders are expected to dip into negative territory, likely based on questions and concerns related to the trade war. Orders are forecast to reach -3.3% for the month from +4.3% reported for while we basically consider calendar Q1 earnings season completed, we still have a few companies of consequence reporting this week. Among them, Dollar General DG, up +28% year to date, is expected to deliver negative -10.9% earnings per share on +3.76% in revenue growth. That will be before the opening bell Tuesday. After the market closes, cybersecurity major CrowdStrike CRWD is projected to bring negative -29% earnings per share growth on +20% in revenues. This company has never missed an earnings estimate since its 2019 or comments about this article and/or author? Click here>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Dollar General Corporation (DG) : Free Stock Analysis Report CrowdStrike (CRWD) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
