In this episode of Compliance Champions, Delphine Forma speaks with Torstein Braaten, Chief Compliance Officer at Canada Stablecorp and Managing Director at Eskay Capital, about Canada's distinctive approach to digital asset regulation.

Rather than regulating crypto-assets themselves, Canada has built its framework around the concept of the crypto contract, a unique legal approach that shapes everything from licensing and custody to market structure and investor protection.

Together, they explore how Canada's regulatory framework has evolved, why understanding a firm's business model is just as important as understanding the assets it offers, and how the market is preparing for the next phase of tokenisation.

They discuss:

• Canada's regulatory structure and the respective roles of the CSA, provincial securities regulators, CIRO and FINTRAC
• The crypto contract concept and how custody can bring crypto trading platforms within securities regulation
• Registration and passporting across Canada's provincial regulatory framework
• Dealer Platforms versus Marketplace Platforms and how the different models operate
• Global liquidity and shared order books, and the jurisdictional challenges they create
• Best execution, liquidity-provider selection and monitoring execution quality
• Market surveillance and the challenges of supervising globally fragmented crypto markets
• Canada's custody framework, including qualified custodians, cold storage, segregation of client assets and capital requirements
• The evolution of the framework around stablecoins and tokenised securities
• DeFi, Know Your Product requirements and regulatory sandboxes as Canada considers the next phase of digital asset regulation

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