Consensus Toronto 2025 Coverage Coinbase’s Canadian boss discusses how the nation can create a greater enterprise setting for crypto. Matheson is a speaker at Consensus by CoinDesk in Toronto May 14-16. Interview with Afra Wang. 

As Canada approaches a pivotal election on April 28, 2025, Lucas Matheson, CEO of Coinbase Canada, is positioning the cryptocurrency large for affect in a market he believes is primed for blockchain innovation. I spoke with him concerning the cryptocurrency trade’s increasing presence in Canada, the distinctive traits of the Canadian market, and his imaginative and prescient for the nation’s crypto future. Our dialog revealed not solely Coinbase’s strategic ambitions but in addition Matheson’s private ardour for advancing blockchain adoption in his dwelling nation.

As a Canadian entrepreneur with expertise in each conventional finance and tech startups who joined Coinbase after practically six years at Shopify, Matheson urges the Canadian authorities to maneuver shortly to combine crypto into their financial system.

This interview has been condensed and flippantly edited for readability.

CoinDesk: Your profession has taken you from conventional finance to Shopify to crypto. Was there a selected second once you realized digital belongings would reshape finance, or was it a gradual conviction?

Lucas: I’m a Canadian entrepreneur and I’ve been working in finance and enterprise most of my profession. I spent the primary a part of my profession in finance, principally in M&A, and I based a tech firm after grad faculty with my greatest buddy in Silicon Valley, which is the place I began my journey with Coinbase. I’ve been a Coinbase buyer for over 10 years now.

After promoting that firm, I joined Shopify and I labored there for nearly six years, serving to construct their enterprise, their operational and finance capabilities. At Coinbase, I assist lead a crew who’re constructing a platform for Canadians to diversify their belongings into the digital financial system.

CoinDesk: How lengthy has Coinbase been working in Canada, and what regulatory milestones have you ever achieved?

Lucas: Coinbase has been in Canada for nearly 4 years now. We’ve been formally pursuing our registration right here in Canada for various years as nicely. Canada is registered as a restricted seller underneath CSA. We’re the primary worldwide trade to be registered in Canada.

We’re fortunate to have a regulatory regime right here the place we function underneath a compliant regime in Canada to develop our enterprise. We at the moment are pursuing our IIROC registration with IIROC as a full seller registration, that’ll increase the forms of services and products that we will supply Canadians.

CoinDesk: Ethereum was born in Canada, but most of its ecosystem developed elsewhere. Is there a sure irony in having to persuade Canadian establishments to embrace a expertise with Canadian roots?

Lucas: Coinbase seeks regulatory readability everywhere in the world, and we search for markets that present stability and clear guidelines for us to function underneath a regime. Canada is a type of markets that’s recognized as being open to offering clear guidelines and regulating cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase.

When we glance internationally, Canada’s additionally a really crypto-literate nation. It’s the third most crypto-aware nation of all of the worldwide places that we function in, so we’ve got fairly a robust consciousness concerning the expertise right here.

The alternative for it to assist our monetary system — as you most likely know, Ethereum was based right here in Canada. We have very sturdy roots right here in Canada round cryptocurrency and round expertise. We have a variety of actually nice universities in computing science which might be centered on blockchain expertise and serving to our college students in Canada perceive the chance.

CoinDesk: That’s fascinating about Canada being the third most crypto-aware nation. How does that translate to adoption charges?

Lucas: When we survey nations all over the world, we survey how conscious residents are to particular forms of cryptocurrencies, makes use of of cryptocurrencies and expertise. Canadians are the third most crypto-aware nation of all of the worldwide markets that we survey.

We see some surveys in Canada suggesting that upwards of 30% of Canadians by the top of this yr will personal digital belongings. So we see very sturdy adoption in Canada and wholesome diversification into the asset class. Of course, Canada was the primary to introduce crypto-related ETFs, so we’ve got fairly a broad consciousness concerning the alternative for Canadians to diversify into crypto via conventional ETFs as nicely.

CoinDesk: Who are the Canadians utilizing Coinbase? Is there a selected demographic profile?

Lucas: We have a really broad distribution of demographics in Canada. We have a really numerous consumer group in Canada—people who find themselves diversifying from younger college students, immigrants who need to remit cash.

We see a big variety of folks constructing and diversifying portfolios, accumulating digital belongings for long-term diversification and wealth preservation. Then we’ve got a big quantity of institutional buyers in Canada beginning to diversify belongings into the crypto financial system as nicely.

So we see very sturdy adoption throughout retail, and in Canada particularly now we’re seeing a more healthy adoption from institutional buyers and extra curiosity from institutional buyers, pension funds, asset managers who’re exploring diversifying their purchasers’ belongings into crypto as nicely.

CoinDesk: With Canada’s election approaching on April twenty eighth, what coverage adjustments would you prefer to see from the following authorities?

Lucas: We proposed various adjustments for our new authorities to actually suppose deeply about over the following time period. We’ve really helpful that they:

Launch a authorities process power and create a nationwide crypto technique

Consider a Bitcoin strategic reserve

Regulate stablecoins federally from a prudential regulator as a cost instrument

Introduce a market construction invoice like we’re seeing within the US the place we will clearly outline crypto belongings in order that it is clear for the general public, establishments, and builders precisely how crypto belongings are outlined

Make it simpler for banks to financial institution crypto buying and selling platforms in Canada

Currently, our giant banks—we’ve got large banks with 80-90% of the cash in Canada—don’t financial institution crypto buying and selling platforms, so we’re very eager to assist our authorities encourage our monetary establishments to take part within the digital financial system. (You can learn Lucas’s writing on what Canada ought to do to be a world crypto chief here.)

CoinDesk: You’ve talked about ‘Stand with Crypto’ as an advocacy initiative. How are you organizing the business to affect coverage in Canada?

Lucas: ‘Stand with Crypto’ is a company that has advocated for clear guidelines all all over the world for crypto, and we have not too long ago launched Stand with Crypto right here in Canada with various companions. We have various crypto buying and selling companions becoming a member of Stand with Crypto to assist us advocate for change.

Stand with Crypto is admittedly a chance for our elected officers to grasp this chance in order that we will prioritize it clearly. Canada has a variety of priorities and challenges inside our financial system, and crypto expertise will help us rebuild our financial system and our financial freedom. That’s one of many ways in which we set up.

Canada additionally has two sturdy business associations, the Canadian Blockchain Consortium and the Canadian Web3 Council, and these organizations assist unify views and assist us align on alternatives that we will have interaction with our regulators to drive extra regulatory readability available in the market.

CoinDesk: Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are difficult centralized platforms like Coinbase within the US. How do you view this pattern affecting your online business in Canada?

Lucas: I believe decentralized finance will kind a really wholesome and vital a part of our monetary financial system. I believe that is the muse of the expertise and the ecosystem—to decentralize monetary interactions in a trusted, protected, compliant method.

I believe the decentralization of finance shall be a wholesome a part of how some buyers will select to take part. But centralized exchanges present a really beneficial device to on-ramp and off-ramp from the digital financial system in a compliant manner that helps governments and establishments all over the world get consolation that platforms like Coinbase are managing dangers appropriately, managing anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, making certain that individuals on their platform are appearing in good religion.

CoinDesk: If you may say a number of issues to the upcoming administration, what would they be?

Lucas: I might say the remainder of the world is shifting shortly to undertake crypto and combine it into their financial system. It’s time for Canada to do the identical—to combine crypto into our financial system, construct a nationwide technique, and educate Canadians about why the world goes digital.

CoinDesk: There appears to be a patriotic component to your advocacy. Do you see Canada turning into a world chief in crypto?

Lucas: I believe Canada could be a chief in crypto. Canada has the chance to embrace this expertise in a significant manner to assist this nation rebuild ourselves and develop our financial system.

I believe we’re getting into a time the place we have to rethink how we set up our authorities, how we tax our authorities, how we generate revenues, and the way we spend cash. I believe we’re getting into a cycle the place governments are anticipated to do extra with much less. That’s what entrepreneurs do with expertise on daily basis, and that is what governments all over the world are beginning to embrace is the chance to do extra with much less, to be extra environment friendly, to offer higher authorities companies via expertise, to be extra entrepreneurial.

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