Dr. Ryan Clements is an Assistant Professor, Chair in Business Law and Regulation at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law. He has published and spoken widely on the regulation of fintech, blockchain and crypto-assets, stablecoins, financial product innovation, investment funds, and securities regulation. He currently serves on both the New Economy Advisory Committee at the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC), and on the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) National Investor Advisory Panel. He received his Doctorate in Juridical Science (SJD), and his Master of Laws (LLM) Magna Cum Laude, at Duke University Law School. He obtained a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), with distinction, and a BA Economics (Honors, First Class) from the University of Alberta. He has advised various levels of government, and diverse securities commissions, on crypto-asset regulation and other fintech matters, and has also served on the advisory boards of several fintech companies.
Crypto-Asset Governance in Canada
Abstract:
This article assesses the current state of governance for crypto-assets in Canada by analyzing diverse regulatory frameworks instituted to date across securities regulation, money transmission laws, anti-money laundering and terrorism finance controls, payments-related regulation, taxation, estate planning, and environmental parameters for crypto-asset mining operations. It identifies numerous investor and consumer protection, market integrity, financial system stability, criminal enterprise, and other governance concerns, and regulatory gaps, in the Canadian crypto-asset ecosystem and how these concerns might be addressed. Additionally, it canvasses potential pathways for legal evolution, and regulatory reform, across diverse areas of the Canadian crypto-asset ecosystem including legal, regulatory, operational, and design considerations for a Canadian central bank digital currency.