Worldwide: FinTech

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) continues to deliver strong opportunities for Canadian crypto investors through yield farming, lending, liquidity provision, and staking.

The rapid evolution of digital asset taxation has led to significantly different reporting frameworks in Canada and the United States.

Cross-border taxpayers, corporations, investors, and high-net-worth individuals increasingly face scrutiny from both the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Recent enforcement activity in Toronto has escalated into a large-scale regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrency businesses.

The Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-30, proposing significant amendments to the Bank Act that would fundamentally alter how foreign bank investments in Canada are regulated. These changes would eliminate a decades-old exemption that has shielded certain foreign bank transactions from Investment Canada Act review, potentially subjecting them to both net benefit and national security scrutiny.

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office has opened a public consultation on its patent examination programs, seeking stakeholder input on four existing expedited pathways and two proposed new programs. The consultation explores whether a fee-based "ultra-fast" track and a no-fee program targeting government-priority technologies could better serve innovators facing significant delays in Canada's patent system.

On February 3, 2026, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (“CIRO”) published a Notice on CIRO’s Digital Asset Custody Framework (the “Notice”)...

The rapid increase in popularity of cryptocurrency has been accompanied by an equally rapid rise in fraud and challenges to those seeking to lawfully trade in digital assets.

Internet scams have evolved into sophisticated, cross-border operations costing victims billions each year. Agencies such as the FTC and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre continue to report rising fraud losses driven by phishing, fake investment platforms, and cryptocurrency schemes.