Michelle Rempel Garner – a member of the Canadian Conservative party – has reportedly pushed Justin Trudeau’s administration to open its arms to the cryptocurrency sector. Similar to Michael Katchen, she believes that the country “should be attracting billions of dollars of investments in this fast-growing industry.”
In a recent statement, reported by Bloomberg, the top politician Michelle Garner urged the Canadian Financial Ministry to set up a national framework to lure cryptocurrency investors. Specifically, she recommended “lowering the barriers to entry” into the space and providing enhanced protection for investors. Otherwise, the nation risks losing talented people who could flock to Europe or the United States of America, she added.
Garner regretted that the cryptocurrency industry is a divisive topic in her country and not a unifying one. In her view, bitcoin and the altcoins are still in their early days, and they have the potential to reach the significance of the oil or gas sectors. She reminded that Canada has not approached those appropriately at the time and should not repeat the same mistake with crypto:
“We’re going down the same road that we did with the oil and gas sector. Instead of getting the meat of public policy debate, it very quickly became Alberta oil-sands jobs versus climate change.”
Additionally, Garner praised the central bank’s efforts to start exploring the launch of its digital currency. “Parliament needs to catch up to where the Bank of Canada is going,” she said.
A few weeks ago, Michael Katchen – the Co-Founder and CEO at Wealthsimple – suggested that local authorities and watchdogs should “plant a flag” and create a crypto-friendly ecosystem. He described blockchain technology as “wildly exciting” and noted that some of the most intelligent people in the tech industry “are flocking” into the digital asset space.
Touching upon bitcoin, the executive predicted it could become a reserve currency in the future. Nonetheless, he sees “a heck of speculation” surrounding the leading digital asset and highlighted his company’s effort to educate users on how to invest responsibly.
Earlier this week, the Canadian subsidiary of KPMG – a major accounting firm – added Bitcoin and Ethereum to its corporate treasury. Alongside the purchase, the company included carbon offset to maintain net-zero emissions.
KPMG Canada acquired the digital assets through Gemini’s execution and custody services. The development marked the entity’s first cryptocurrency allocation. On the other hand, it has previously provided tools to help institutional clients offer digital asset services.
Speaking on the matter was Benjie Thomas – Canadian Managing Partner at KPMG – who called crypto a “maturing asset class:”
“Investors such as hedge funds and family offices to large insurers and pension funds are increasingly gaining exposure to crypto assets.”
