Wealthsimple, a Canadian robo-adviser that also operates in the U.S. and the U.K., received conditional approval from Canadian Securities Administrators to test a cryptocurrency platform over a two-year period.

Why should we care?
Wealthsimple Crypto is the first cryptocurrency asset platform to be registered with Canadian securities regulators. It will allow commission-free trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum. The company is partnering with Winklevoss-led cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust, which will be the custodian. Wealthsimple is seeing increased adoption during the pandemic, reporting a 24% increase in new clients since the onset of COVID-19. The crypto platform is a play to get customers more engaged within its ecosystem. “We know that our clients trade crypto and hold crypto. The biggest challenge that we’ve seen is in the Canadian market [where] there haven’t been very many safe, secure, credible platforms for doing that,” Michael Katchen, Wealthsimple’s CEO, told The Globe and Mail. Wealthsimple isn’t the only robo-adviser offering crypto trading: SoFi, for example, has offered it since 2019. Wealthsimple, Canada’s largest robo-adviser, has $3.7B in assets under management.