Consensus Toronto 2025 Coverage, CT2025, Feature WonderFi’s CEO, a speaker at Consensus 2025, outlines the agency’s Layer-2 ambitions, Australia growth, regulatory hopes for Canada, and the way volatility impacts the business. 

When Dean Skurka joined Bitbuy in 2018, the platform had solely 4 workers, just a few thousand customers, and about $25 million in buying and selling quantity. Fast-forward to as we speak, Skurka now oversees WonderFi: An organization that’s consolidated a number of Canadian exchanges, boasts 1.7 million accounts, and guards $2 billion in consumer belongings.

But Skurka isn’t simply sitting on a home empire—he’s constructing outward.

In a dialog with CoinDesk, WonderFi’s president and CEO, Dean Skurka, detailed his firm’s subsequent chapter: launching a Layer-2 blockchain in partnership with zkSync and increasing into Australia, a rustic he says “checks both boxes” of regulatory readability and robust adoption. He additionally mentioned the outlook for centralized exchanges and the way Canada’s crypto panorama is altering.

Here is an edited and shortened model of his dialog with CoinDesk, forward of his look at Consensus 2025 in Toronto.

Layer 2 push

The centralized change stated in February that it’s launching a Layer 2 blockchain based mostly on ZKsync to attach its customers to decentralized finance (DeFi).

“When we think about the long-term trend across the industry, we see a really strong synergy between centralized exchanges, where the users are originating or the assets are originating, and giving them a seamless bridge to everything that’s happening on chain today.”

Skurka says WonderFi’s information of operating buying and selling platforms, regulatory credibility, and asset base offers it an edge over a plethora of different Layer 2s connecting DeFi.

Unlike another rival Layer 2 chains launched with splashy token incentives or VC hype, Skurka says WonderFi’s method is extra grounded and long-lasting. It plans to foster long-term use by builder incentives, hackathons and ecosystem help.

Centralized vs decentralized exchanges

Rather than viewing decentralized exchanges as rivals for centralized exchanges, Skurka sees them as extensions. Centralized exchanges present the bridge for first-time customers to go from shopping for and promoting crypto on regulated and trusted platforms to on-chain actions that open up extra modern new merchandise that exist within the crypto ecosystem.

“[Centralized exchanges] are building out the components that will allow their users to seamlessly interact on chain, but at the same time building up the the capabilities on the exchange side to look more akin to traditional financial service products, which we think will create incremental value on both sides over the next 5 to 10 years,” he stated.

Evolution of crypto in Canada

WonderFi is a dominant change in Canada, and in a position to observe how the crypto panorama is altering within the nation.

Canada has a robust crypto historical past—Ethereum and the primary spot bitcoin ETF had been each born there. It was additionally one of many first nations to have a regulatory framework for crypto buying and selling platforms.

“Some of the more innovative products and services that exist within this space have moved offshore or outside of Canada because of the lack of clarity around those products and services,” he stated, pointing to merchandise similar to DeFi purposes, Layer 2 blockchains and derivatives.

WonderFi is now aiming to vary that, after working carefully with Canadian regulators to create buying and selling and staking tips.

“We are working hand in hand with regulators to give them comfort on some of these newer, more innovative products and services, and hopefully that will encourage entrepreneurs, builders, developers, to really stay in Canada and build products with confidence,” Skurka added.

And with the U.S. now changing into extra open to crypto and plenty of exchange-traded funds open to traders, the mindset in Canada is beginning to shift as properly. WonderFi, which has been a largely retail-dominated platform, is now seeing curiosity from Canadian institutional traders similar to household workplaces and personal equities who need publicity to digital belongings.

“​​I think that’s been a really big shift over the last year, and that’s something [institutional investors’ interest] that we expect to really accelerate in the next few years,” Skurka stated.

Australia and past

Skurka is not stopping at Canada; he’s trying to develop his firm’s attain to different areas, starting with Australia—a rustic Skurka describes as having “clear, concise regulation” and a robust crypto adoption price.

“Australia was a really good market for us to target initially, and from there, we’ll really look for other markets,” Skurka stated.

The mighty volatility

Like the crypto’s 24/7 nature, a CEO’s job on this fast-paced business isn’t achieved.

In Skurka’s case, it is precisely what retains him up at evening: volatility— one thing that shapes the business notion and sentiments.

“It’s probably just the short-term volatility that really impacts the outlook on the business and has an impact on the users, the staff, and the team morale. And so it’s really just something that we really look to to balance as best we can,” Skurka stated.

But having been within the business since 2018 and navigating excessive ups and downs, he’s discovered to experience out the volatility.

“I think we have a really good handle on it, and we’ve got a really strong team that understands the 24-hour nature of this business—the volatility of this business—and we’re in a really good spot,” Skurka added.

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