OSC hikes fees for crypto firms

Crypto trading platforms seeking registration will soon face hefty new fees that aim to cover the added costs of their regulation.

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) finalized revisions to its fee model, which will introduce fees for firms that register as restricted dealers — a $24,500 fee for newly registered firms, and an additional $24,500 fee for dealers that seek exemptive relief to operate as marketplaces.

“The fee changes are intended to address and recover additional regulatory costs associated with registering restricted dealers, which include the majority of cryptoasset trading platforms,” the regulator said in a release, adding that the process of approving these firms imposes higher costs than registering traditional firms.

“Novel businesses, which include [crypto platforms], require significant resource efforts to initiate compliance discussions, including understanding these entities’ novel business models and imposing detailed obligations to mitigate investor protection risk,” the regulator said in a notice spelling out the revised fee structure.

Ordinarily, the OSC reviews its fee structure every three years. However, with more crypto firms seeking registration, it’s revising its fees ahead of a scheduled review to cover these added costs and to prevent other sectors from subsidizing the cost of regulating crypto firms.

Crypto platforms have paid average registration fees of $2,600.

The final rules also include a new provision that will require firms that should be registered to pay the same fees as regulated firms.

“These changes, if approved, would mean that a non-compliant, unregistered firm operating in Ontario is responsible for paying the same participation fees as a registered firm,” the OSC said.

The revised fee rules are due to take effect on July 2, subject to ministerial approval.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.