Canadian Crypto Exchanges Coinsquare, WonderFi in Advanced Talks to Merge: Bloomberg

The combination would create the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

AccessTimeIconJan 12, 2023 at 7:43 p.m. UTC
Updated May 9, 2023 at 4:05 a.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Coinsquare Ltd. and WonderFi Technologies (WNDR) are in advanced talks to merge and become Canada’s largest crypto exchange, according to a report from Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

An official announcement could come in the next few days, Bloomberg said.

  • MakerDAO Votes to Ditch $500M in Paxos Dollar Stablecoin From Reserve; Nike Teams Up With EA Sports
    02:50
    MakerDAO Votes to Ditch $500M in Paxos Dollar Stablecoin From Reserve; Nike Teams Up With EA Sports
  • Kraken’s Canada Customer Deposits Rose After Binance, OKX Plan to Leave
    01:07
    Kraken’s Canada Customer Deposits Rose After Binance, OKX Plan to Leave
  • Coinbase Praises Canada’s Crypto Approach Amid U.S. Regulatory Pressure
    05:35
    Coinbase Praises Canada’s Crypto Approach Amid U.S. Regulatory Pressure
  • Bitcoin Moves Sideways, Trading Around $27K
    08:21
    Bitcoin Moves Sideways, Trading Around $27K
  • Shares of the Kevin O’Leary-backed WonderFi were halted on the Toronto Stock Exchange following the release of the news on Thursday afternoon. WonderFi's shares closed up 29% to 31 cents.

    The potential deal comes just days after Coinsquare terminated a previous agreement to acquire Coinsmart Financial, another crypto exchange based in Canada, according to Coinsmart.

    The terms of the potential Coinsquare-WonderFi merger were not known, although one potential scenario involved Coinsquare shareholders taking a majority stake in the combined company, one of Bloomberg’s sources said.

    Both WonderFi and Coinsquare said they had no comment on the merger report.

    WonderFi said in November it had about 650,000 users and $258 million in assets under management, while the privately-held Coinsquare said it had about 500,000, according to Bloomberg.

    In October, Coinsquare became the first crypto-native company to became a member of Canada’s top self-regulatory organization, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).

    UPDATE (Jan. 12, 20:04 UTC): Added no comment from WonderFi.

    UPDATE (Jan. 12, 21:11 UTC): Added no comment from Coinsquare.

    UPDATE (Jan 12, 21:45 UTC): Updates stock price.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Nelson Wang

    Nelson Wang was CoinDesk's news editor for the East Coast. He holds BTC and ETH above CoinDesk's disclosure threshold of $1,000.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.