Canadian Web3 Council

Introducing The Web3 Brief 🚀 your essential monthly digest for Web3 innovation & policy in Canada Stay informed about the latest Canadian policy developments, Web3 commentary, and key updates from the Canadian Web3 Council! Link to subscribe in the replies 👇

Mastercard is acquiring UK stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK for up to $1.8B, in what would be the largest stablecoin acquisition in history. This follows a similar bid by Coinbase that was called off last November. BVNK was valued at $750M after its series B round in December of 2024. Rather than building in-house, Mastercard is buying speed to market, gaining the ability to support cross-border payments, payouts, and business transactions using stablecoins. As stablecoins are less and less a parallel system, they are becoming increasingly embedded within existing financial networks. fortune.com/2026/03/17/mas…

After significant industry pushback on proposed holding limits, the Bank of England is signaling a potential shift on stablecoin policy. Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden hinted that UK regulators may soften their approach to limits on stablecoin holdings, saying the bank is "genuinely open to other ways of achieving the objective" of protecting the UK economy, and acknowledging concerns that overly tight limits could hinder innovation and adoption. The move suggests a more responsive approach as policymakers balance financial stability with the growth of digital assets, and reaffirms the active dialogue between industry and policymakers in shaping policy. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued long-awaited guidance on how crypto assets are classified, marking a major step toward regulatory clarity in the U.S. The framework categorizes tokens into five groups and confirms that only “digital securities” fall under securities laws. At the same time, it introduces a potential “safe harbor” approach, giving crypto firms more flexible pathways to raise capital while still protecting investors. The signal is clear: regulators are shifting from enforcement to structure. For market participants, the opportunity is growing ,but so is the expectation to align with clearer, more defined rules. reuters.com/world/us-secur…

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has released a proposed framework for regulated stablecoin issuance, marking a clear next step in implementing the Genius Act passed last year. The proposal outlines how federally supervised institutions can issue and manage payment stablecoins, with detailed expectations around licensing, reserves, custody, redemption, and risk management, beginning to translate legislative intent into a concrete supervisory model. While the Genius Act restricts interest-bearing stablecoins, the OCC’s proposal reflects ongoing regulatory sensitivity to how yield may be structured, even indirectly. This comes in the context of an ongoing but separate debate in the Clarity Act, where stablecoin yield is being more directly contested as part of broader market structure reform. finance.yahoo.com/news/occ-lays-…

@ndaxio GM! Wednesday looks interesting this week.

GM Ndaxers!☕️ Here’s your Monday Pulse: 🔸Bitcoin (BTC) is trading above $101,000 CAD after a brief weekend rally. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index stands at 43 (Neutral). 🔸Strategy has acquired 22,337 BTC for ~$1.57B USD, boosting its total BTC reserves to 761,068. 🔸Over $430M USD in crypto positions have been liquidated in the past 24 hours, according to @coinglass_com 🔸Gold is now trading around $5,026 USD, while Silver is trading above $81 USD. 🔸Crude oil is down 5% this morning amid Middle East tensions, trading around $93 USD per barrel. Watchlist for Week Ahead: 🇨🇦Mar 16 – Inflation Rate 🇺🇸Mar 18 – Interest Rate Decision 🇨🇦Mar 18 – Interest Rate Decision

🚀🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪⬛⬛⬛⬛ Petition closing soon Canada recognized stablecoins in the 2025 Federal Budget - now it’s time to turn policy into action. This federal petition, initiated by Kevin Zhang (Co-Founder, @LoonFinance) and sponsored by the Honourable Nathaniel Erskine-Smith @beynate, MP for Beaches-East York, helps ensure stablecoins are formally considered in Parliament as the regulatory framework takes shape. If you support: • competitive markets • lower transaction costs • Canadian economic sovereignty ⌛Sign before it closes: ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/P…

We’re pleased to welcome Loon as the newest member of the Canadian Web3 Council! @LoonFinance is a Calgary-based fintech company building regulated infrastructure for a Canadian-dollar stablecoin. The company issues CADC, a 1:1 CAD-backed stablecoin designed to enable instant, low-cost on-chain payments and settlements for businesses and individuals. Through CADC, Loon aims to provide a compliant digital Canadian dollar that bridges traditional banking and blockchain, supporting use cases like cross-border payments, treasury management, and real-time transactions on public blockchains. Welcome to the Council, Loon! 🙌

The U.S. Senate has approved a provision that would block the Federal Reserve from issuing a retail CBDC until December 31, 2030, as part of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. The measure reflects bipartisan concern about privacy, financial surveillance, and the potential role of government in retail digital payments. This analysis by Forbes highlights three issues to watch: how lawmakers balance privacy with payment innovation, whether stablecoins and private-sector digital dollars fill the gap during the moratorium, and what role Congress ultimately assigns the Federal Reserve in digital currency. forbes.com/sites/tonyaeva…

Good framing on the hidden infrastructure behind digital asset payments. Looking forward to the series!

@chainalysis Fascinating take, and a lesser-known angle.

In our latest blog, we analyze the FATF’s new report on stablecoins, revealing that stablecoins now account for 84% of illicit crypto transaction volume. Key takeaways: - Regulatory focus is shifting to secondary markets - Personal wallet monitoring is becoming standard - Advanced analytics are closing the visibility gap Read the full analysis here:chainalysis.com/blog/fatf-targ…

Canada is moving to significantly reduce common banking penalty fees. Beginning March 12, new federal rules will cap non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees at $10, down from as much as $45–$48 charged by major banks today. The change also prevents banks from charging more than one NSF fee within two business days and prohibits fees when the account shortfall is under $10. The federal government estimates the cap will save Canadians more than $600 million annually, addressing a fee structure that disproportionately impacts consumers living paycheque-to-paycheque. thelogic.co/news/latest-sl…

Our latest Web3 Brief is out! Each month, we share key news and developments in our newsletter. This edition covers the latest in Canadian digital asset regulation, including progress on the Stablecoin Act and comments from the OSC. You’ll also learn about CIRO’s new digital asset custody framework in our new blog and discover news from crypto companies in Canada. If you’d like to get important updates from the Web3 Brief directly, subscribe here: web3canada.ca/newsletter/

@shakepay A major milestone.

Block 940,000 was mined today at 9:40 ET. With this block, more than 20 million bitcoin have now been issued out of the 21 million that will ever exist. About 110,000 blocks remain until the 2028 halving, when the block reward drops from 3.125 bitcoin to 1.5625 bitcoin. mempool.space/block/00000000…

Canada’s financial sector has completed a real-world test of tokenized bond infrastructure. The Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, and Toronto-Dominion Bank announced the successful completion of “Project Samara,” an experiment exploring how distributed ledger technology could support bond issuance and settlement. As part of the project, Export Development Canada issued a C$100 million short-term bond that was created, traded, and settled on a distributed ledger platform. The test demonstrated potential efficiency gains, including faster settlement and improved data integrity across participants, while also highlighting practical challenges,including governance complexity and operational risks. bankofcanada.ca/2026/03/bank-c…

@ndaxio GM! Big week ahead.

GM Ndaxers! ☕️ Here’s your Monday Pulse: 🔹Bitcoin (BTC) is trading above $93,500 CAD amid continued global geopolitical tensions. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index stands at 21 (Fear). 🔹Strategy has acquired 17,994 BTC for ~$1.28B USD, boosting its total BTC reserves to 738,731. 🔹Over $346M USD in crypto positions have been liquidated in the past 24 hours, according to @coinglass_com 🔹Gold is now trading around $5,080 USD. Silver is trading above $83 USD. 🔹Crude oil is up 9% this morning amid Middle East tensions, trading around $99 USD per barrel. Watchlist for Week Ahead: 🇨🇦Mar 13 – Unemployment Rate 🇺🇸Mar 13 – Core PCE Index

Acting Commissioner of Competition, Jeanne Pratt, emphasized the need to modernize Canada’s financial sector to benefit consumers at Open Banking Expo Canada 2026. She highlighted that barriers to entry and entrenched incumbents are limiting competition, slowing innovation, and constraining choice for Canadians. Pratt stressed that fostering a more open and competitive financial ecosystem, notably with traditional banks, fintechs, and digital asset platforms, can improve pricing, product quality, and accessibility. She called on policymakers and industry stakeholders to collaborate on creating a dynamic, inclusive financial system that allows new entrants and emerging technologies to compete on a level playing field. canada.ca/en/competition…

Scotiabank, in partnership with CW3 member 3IQ, has entered the crypto ETF market. Through its asset management arm, Dynamic Funds, the Dynamic Active Multi-Crypto ETF will trade on Cboe Canada under the ticker DXMC, providing exposure to a basket of major digital assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The move is notable because it places a crypto basket product directly within one of Canada’s largest banks’ investment offerings, signalling continued convergence between traditional asset managers and digital asset specialists. The launch also highlights how large financial institutions are increasingly integrating crypto exposure into mainstream investment platforms. newswire.ca/news-releases/…

Kraken has become the first crypto firm to secure a Federal Reserve master account through its Wyoming-chartered bank, giving it direct access to core U.S. payment infrastructure such as Fedwire. The move allows the exchange to move U.S. dollars on the same rails used by traditional banks, reducing reliance on intermediary banking partners and improving settlement efficiency for institutional clients. This piece by @Forbes outlines several key implications. Direct Fed access could strengthen crypto firms’ banking resilience, reduce operational risk tied to partner banks, lower payment and settlement costs, and accelerate the integration of digital asset platforms with traditional financial infrastructure as institutional participation in crypto markets continues to grow. forbes.com/sites/digital-…

@krakenfx Congrats! Hard to overstate the importance of this news.

A historic moment for crypto. Kraken Financial has been granted a Federal Reserve master account, making us the first digital asset bank with direct access to the U.S. payments system. A major step toward connecting crypto infrastructure with the core rails of global finance. blog.kraken.com/news/federal-r…

Visa is expanding its collaboration with Bridge, the Stripe-owned stablecoin infrastructure platform, to scale stablecoin-linked Visa cards globally. Cards that let users spend stablecoin balances through Visa’s network are already live in 18 countries and are now planned to roll out to more than 100 countries by the end of 2026. As part of the expanded effort, Visa is also piloting onchain settlement of these transactions with Lead Bank, exploring how stablecoins can enhance settlement optionality and operational efficiency for issuers and program managers. usa.visa.com/about-visa/new…