Coinbase Canada CEO Urges Mark Carney Government to Move Fast on National Crypto Strategy
TORONTO — Lucas Matheson, CEO of Coinbase Canada, made a case for Canada's new government to create a national crypto strategy during his appearance at Consensus 2025 in Toronto.
Speaking on a panel titled, "What the new Canadian Government Needs to do to Lead In Crypto," Matheson outlined some key steps he believes will help position Canada as a leader in the blockchain space.
Matheson highlighted that Canada has long been a hub for crypto innovation, citing Ethereum's origins and the strong presence of Web3 developers at Canadian universities.
However, he said the country risks falling behind as other nations actively shape crypto policies. "We need leadership. We need champions in government to embrace this technology and legitimize it in the eyes of the everyday Canadian," Matheson said. He emphasized the importance of having a dedicated federal crypto leader, similar to the U.S. crypto czar.
One of his primary suggestions was for Carney to establish a government-led crypto task force within the first 100 days of the new administration.
This task force would develop a national crypto strategy, including defining digital assets, regulating stablecoins, and allowing banks to hold crypto securely. Matheson also proposed creating a strategic bitcoin reserve and integrating crypto mining with existing data centers.
Matheson noted that stablecoins could play a key role in making digital assets less speculative, suggesting that Canada needs a stable, Canadian-dollar-denominated coin to boost financial efficiency.
"One in five Canadians remit money abroad. We pay between 6% and 12% to remit money all around the world. And today, with crypto, you can click different buttons on your phone and send your friends and family 6% to 12% more money," he said.
Metheson also noted that 15% of Canadians are considered underbanked in Canada, which creates "a significant opportunity for us to drive innovation and change," in the country via crypto.
To further advocate for policy change, Matheson pointed to the "Stand with Crypto" initiative.
This aims to educate lawmakers about blockchain's benefits and address misconceptions. He noted that the initiative is gaining traction among industry leaders and aims to build support among the members of Parliament.
As Canada transitions to a new government led by Mark Carney, Matheson expressed optimism about the new administration's new mandates regarding innovative technology.
"They [Liberals] are mandated to build Canada to find economic growth and opportunities for us to embrace technology. And we have a government that is highly motivated to think of opportunities to help our country gain more economic advantage. And I think crypto and other technologies will need to be embraced, and to do that, we need to educate them," he said.
However, Matheson cautioned that Canada risks being left behind in the global race to integrate crypto into the financial system unless it takes swift action.
He compared the current challenges in Canada as "a square peg, round hole, legal definitional problem," due to several different layers of securities regulators.
This means that Canadians are forced to look elsewhere for crypto-related services, potentially resulting in a loss of opportunity for the country and opening users to risks.
"We're at risk for not moving fast enough to embrace the types of technology and products and services in Canada, and as a regulated financial institution, it's a priority for us to make sure that we can introduce these products and services in a compliant way, so that Canadians aren't just using a VPN and jumping off and using non compliant platforms around the world."
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