“Becoming an IIROC dealer and member of IIROC, it gives clients the security that they’re dealing with an intermediary, a securities dealer, with all the sorts of protections and oversight that they’re familiar with when they trade traditional assets,” Prokopy said. “And, heretofore, that has not been the case.”
There is, however, one important bit of coverage Coinsquare’s clients won’t get through its IIROC membership – protection of their crypto assets from the exchange’s potential insolvency. Members of IIROC automatically become members of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund, which offers limited protection for property held by a member fund on behalf of investors if the member becomes insolvent. However, in Coinsquare’s case, CIPF will only apply to fiat held in customer’s accounts in case Coinsquare goes in the way of Celsius.“Like the regulatory framework generally, CIPF coverage is evolving.