Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Fintech International
How Much Economic Freedom Canada Needs To Compete
Economic Research | December 8, 2025
Economic Freedom Provincial Ratings, Fraser Institute 2025
Canada Needs the Right Balance of Flexibility and Stability to Support Stronger Outcomes and Faster Innovation
On December 2, the Fraser Institute published the Economic Freedom of North America 2025 (EFNA report) with fresh data on the conditions that impact income, job creation, and business growth across the North American continent. The report measures how much economic freedom people and companies have to make economic choices and what influences long term outcomes. The findings place every Canadian province in the lower half of the ranking except Alberta, which raises an important question for policymakers and industry. That is, how much economic flexibility does Canada need to stay competitive in a market that moves faster each year?
What EFNA Shows About Economic Outcomes
EFNA ranks 93 jurisdictions across North America. Alberta sits at 30th. British Columbia is tied at 47th. All other Canadian provinces fall in the bottom half of the continental list. Canada’s national score peaked at 7.93 in 2015 and now sits at 7.69. The United States records 7.96. These score gaps look small, but EFNA’s outcome data shows why they matter. The index tracks ten year changes in income, jobs, and population, and these outcomes differ significantly across environments.
See: Market Forces Pressuring Fintech Plans For 2026
EFNA groups jurisdictions into quartiles (statistical value that divides a dataset into 4 equal parts) to show how economic conditions impact long-term outcomes.
| Indicator | Most Free Quartile | Least Free Quartile |
| Average income | $66,367 | $3,510 |
| Income growth | 24% | 3% |
| Job growth | 18.3% | 9.4% |
| Population growth | 8.9% | 0.5% |
These numbers highlight a clear pattern across North America. Regions with more economic flexibility tend to show stronger movement in income, jobs, and population over long periods of time.
Canada’s Structural Reality And How Much Flexibility It Needs
Canada’s lower ranking results highlight the need to understand what balance of stability and flexibility supports better economic performance. Alberta leads the provinces at an EFNA index score of 6.44, followed by Ontario at 5.67. The remaining provinces sit in a narrow middle band, and Quebec ranks last at 3.10. This tight spread shows that Canada offers stability across the country, but it doesn't produce a high velocity region, so firms cannot rely on domestic momentum the way founders can in faster moving regions.
Another pattern is that income and job growth move at a steady pace. EFNA’s top performers show stronger gains over time. In Canada, steady progress helps households plan, but it also slows the pace at which they change financial behaviours.
Read: Breaking Canada’s Productivity Trap For Stronger Growth
Another pattern is EFNA shows the importance of mobility. Meaning, places with more economic flexibility tend to see more movement of people, jobs, and income. This mobility helps drive stronger results over time.
Canada's objective should be to find the level of flexibility that supports stronger economic movement while keeping the trust and protections that underpin Canada’s success. A practical balance for Canada should include regulatory processes that reduce friction, business and tax structures that attract investment, consumer protections that build trust without slowing innovation, labour rules that support adaptation, and clear frameworks that help firms navigate change.
Canada needs to create an environment that supports both stability and speed. The strongest results come from regions that achieve both.
Implications For Fintech And Financial Innovation
1. Movement Impacts Markets, and Movement Is Slower in Canada
Financial services are intrinsically related to the movement of money, people, firms, and confidence. EFNA outcome data confirms that these forces accelerate in more flexible environments. In Canada, they still move but the pace influences how companies grow. This steady environment affects how/when customers may be willing to try new financial tools and services, and how long new market sectors take to build growth and traction.
For fintechs, it means early fundamentals are more important, especially in the current economic climate. Companies need clearer value, earlier product market fit, stronger unit economics, and a model that can carry the business through longer adoption cycles. Growth comes, but it takes more time to build. Firms that rely only on rapid customer movement might face a harder path.
See: Fintech’s Role in Canada’s Productivity Revival
Government can help shorten this path. Acting as a first customer, reducing administrative friction, speeding approvals, and improving procurement can help credible firms break through sooner. Government can't replace real demand, but it can help companies reach it faster.
2. Scale Requires Mobility, Not Just Stability
EFNA highlights the importance of mobility whether that's economic, labour, or population mobility. Income and jobs move more strongly in flexible environments, and that movement supports scale. Canada’s strength is stability. People stay. Businesses stay. Conditions remain predictable. Stability is valuable, but on its own it doesn't support rapid scaling as well.
Fintechs that want to scale inside Canada need strategies that work in steadier environments. This may include building distribution partnerships earlier, designing products that create immediate and visible value, and targeting segments where switching costs are low. Companies need to shorten the time between awareness, trial, and sustainable use.
Policymakers can support scale by reducing barriers that slow switching, such as streamlining licensing, enabling data portability, modernizing onboarding requirements, and creating space for controlled innovation. These steps do not change stability. They add mobility where it is needed most.
3. Canada Needs the Right Balance of Flexibility and Trust
Canada’s provincial scores are pretty close together. Alberta leads the country, but no province reaches the levels seen in EFNA’s top performers. Canada has trust but it needs more flexibility at the edges to create the right conditions for growth.
For fintech companies, this means building trust and flexibility at the same time. Products must meet high expectations on security and reliability while offering customers faster ways to act, decide, and move money. Fintechs that pair strong trust with simple, flexible choices for customers tend to gain momentum in steady environments.
See: Regulating for Growth by Understanding Innovation
Policymakers play a role by making rules clearer, approvals faster, and compliance pathways more predictable.
Reducing friction does not weaken trust. It helps companies deliver it more effectively. The balance Canada needs is not maximum freedom. It is enough flexibility to let economic movement take shape while protecting the values that matter to Canadians.
Closing
The Economic Freedom of North America 2025 report (166 page PDF) is a data-driven look at the kind of environments that tend to generate stronger outcomes. Canada has strong institutions, talent, trust, and resilience. The question is whether the country can create enough flexibility to strengthen Canada's economic competitiveness. The foundation is here, but the next step is structural change.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Tokenwell Partners with Talos for New Crypto Basket
Crypto | December 4, 2025
Tokenwell Expands Talos Partnership To Develop A New Institutional Crypto Basket
On December 4 2025, Tokenwell Platforms Inc announced an expanded partnership with Talos to develop a proprietary crypto basket using the Coin Metrics Multi Asset Series Methodology, which uses clear data rules to help the basket protect value and adjust to different market conditions. It uses trends, price ranges and strength signals to guide monthly updates and remove guesswork from how the basket changes over time. The strategy is in development and the company expects to complete backtesting in January 2026 before releasing the basket on its platform in the first quarter of 2026.
Background On Tokenwell
Tokenwell Platforms Inc (TWEL) trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange and focuses on diversified crypto baskets built from institutional data while keeping all assets in user exchange accounts in a non-custodial structure, as outlined on its investor overview page.
See: Rails’ Hybrid Crypto Exchange and $14M Raise
In August 2025, Trilogy AI Corp acquired WealthAgile Inc, which appears in the fundamental change listing statement. That filing describes WealthAgile as a financial technology business focused on structured cryptocurrency investing. After completing the acquisition, Trilogy changed its name to Tokenwell Platforms Inc and advanced a platform built around data-driven portfolio tools for retail investors.
Uses Talos Data To Engineer A Technical Basket
Tokenwell uses the Talos Coin Metrics platform to design a new crypto basket that uses a rules-based model that updates monthly and follows clear technical criteria supported by institutional data.
The company laid the foundation for this approach in July 2025 when it licensed Coin Metrics data to build benchmarking tools and index models which led to the CMBI 10 Even basket (CMBI10e). Users can already access the CMBI10E and CoinDesk 20 baskets inside the Tokenwell app.
Then Talos acquired Coin Metrics and Tokenwell gained a unified data environment that now supports the development of its proprietary strategy.
Expands Retail Platform and Leadership Team
In September 2025, Tokenwell announced the launch of its retail crypto investing app in the United States that connects users to structured crypto baskets without taking custody of assets. Users invest through existing Coinbase or Crypto.com accounts while the Tokenwell app provides the portfolio layer.
In October 2025, Tokenwell announced its first major exchange partnership with Crypto.com who integrated its platform so investors could access and trade Tokenwell's crypto baskets.
Read: Why Policy Scenarios Now Matter for Fintech Strategy
The leadership team also expanded earlier in the year, adding Abraham Theodore NDAX's former Head of Product (COO), Darryl Irwin (accounting/tax expertise), and Matthew Lee Morgan as strategic advisor to help scale.
Outlook
2025's been a big year for Tokenwell, including structured platform development, fundamental change transaction, a corporate rebrand, leadership expansion, a United States app launch, exchange infrastructure integration and multiple index baskets designed with Coin Metrics and CoinDesk Indices. The Talos partnership now anchors the next growth phase of Tokenwell’s product strategy with a proprietary institutional model designed for retail access.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Revolut’s $75 Billion Valuation and New Canada Plans
Fintech | Dec 4, 2025
Image: Freepik/senivpetro
Revolut Enjoys Strong Global Growth and Begins New Path For a More Complete Return to Canada
On November 24 2025, Revolut announced a company valuation of $75 billion following a major secondary share sale. Revenue grew by 72% in 2024 and profit before tax increased by 149%. Retail customers reached more than 65 million in global markets. The business banking line passed $1 billion in annualized revenue. The update also stated that Revolut expanded into new regions, including receiving banking approvals in Mexico and Colombia, as part of its plan to serve customers in one hundred countries. The results mirror strong financial growth and increasing international scale.
See: Revolut and N26 Launching Mobile Plans Inside Banking Apps
Nik Storonsky, CEO and Co-founder Revolut:
“This milestone reflects the remarkable progress we have made in the last twelve months towards our vision of building the first truly global bank, serving 100 million customers across 100 countries. I’d like to thank our team for their determination and energy, and for believing that it is possible to build a global financial and technology leader from Europe.”
Revolut’s Initial Experience In Canada
Revolut entered Canada in 2019 with a limited beta product that focused on prepaid cards and international exchange tools. The company didn't have a Canadian banking license, and as a result it wasn't able to launch the wider product set that customers in other countries were using that would make its product competitive in Canada at that time. After evaluating the Canadian market for about eighteen months, Revolut informed users in March 2021 that it would exit Canada, stinging users who had hoped for a modern digital banking alternative.
Revolut’s first shot at operating a financial services business in Canada highlights how difficult it can be for an international fintech to enter a concentrated and highly regulated banking environment. The company’s decision to pull back was grounded in the idea that customers deserved a complete digital banking experience, not a single product here or there. A return to Canada would only make sense if Revolut could deliver a full service model that matches Canadian expectations and regulatory standards.
Renewed Canadian Focus With a New Canadian CEO
On December 3 2025, as reported by Betakit, Revout appointed Jan Pilbauer as Chief Executive Officer of its Canadian Business. Pilbauer’s public LinkedIn profile confirms the new role. His background includes senior positions at Payments Canada and the Bank of Canada, along with his most recent leadership role at Al Etihad Payments. Revolut told BetaKit that it sees Canada as an attractive market that could benefit from a strong digital financial alternative. The spokesperson also noted that the company is still early in its evaluation, but the new leadership appointment signals that the next Canadian launch will not resemble the short beta of 2019. This time, the focus appears to be on readiness, regulatory alignment, and building a complete product for Canadian users.
See: OSFI Approves Santander for Canadian Banking License
A successful Canadian re-entry would add a new competitor to a financial sector that has seen limited change over many years but is beginning to heat up post 2025 budget with Open Banking progressing and launch of the first draft of Canada's Stablecoin Act. Globally, Revolut’s product set has grown well beyond prepaid tools and now includes international payments, business accounts, savings features, and multi country financial access. If these services reach Canada in a complete form, consumers and businesses may see more choice and potentially better pricing and digital tools.
For policymakers and industry leaders, Revolut's renewed interest confirms the importance of clarity in licensing and approval processes. A strong Canadian environment for financial innovation depends on the ability of both domestic and international players to bring forward safe, compliant, modern financial services.
Outlook
Revolut has not published a launch date for Canada. What is clear is that the company now has the scale, financial strength, and leadership required to engage Canada more seriously than before. The next chapter will depend on regulatory progress, partnerships, and how well Revolut adapts its global model to a Canadian financial services market that's dominated by a handful of incumbent banks. If those pieces come together, Canada could see one of the world’s largest digital financial companies enter the market with a far more complete offering than the one introduced in 2019.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Tokenized Infrastructure Is Changing How Markets Operate
Tokenization | December 3, 2025
Image: Freepik AI
Tokenization Building Modern Market Infrastructure Worldwide
Tokenized infrastructure now appears across everyday financial activity. Shared digital ledgers record ownership directly, and real assets move into programmable formats that speed up settlement, improve transparency and open access to private markets. Growth comes from regulated markets, global banks and high-growth regions that use tokenized systems to remove friction in payments, trading and recordkeeping.
Larry Fink and Rob Goldstein, CEO and COO of BlackRock (world’s largest asset manager) in a December 1, 2025 Economist article describe tokenization as a major upgrade to financial infrastructure:
“Ledgers haven’t been this exciting since the invention of double-entry bookkeeping.”
The New Market Rails Take Shape
Some of the largest and most established financial institutions already operate tokenized products in regulated environments. BlackRock issues a tokenized money market fund through BUIDL, which operates on chain and holds short-term U.S. dollar assets under a regulated structure see its 2024 launch announcement. JPMorgan runs ledger-based settlement and tokenized collateral through its Kinexys platform, formerly Onyx. UBS offers tokenized money market funds and structured products under Switzerland’s DLT Act. Franklin Templeton records shareholder ownership on chain and processes fund transactions through a blockchain-integrated fund model.
Swift reinforces this transition with real evidence. In 2023 it demonstrated that its messages can trigger tokenized transfers across public and private blockchains, confirming that banks can keep their existing workflows while settlement moves on chain. Chainlink extended these findings in Sept 2025, outlining a model where tokenized transfers move across ledgers under the same compliance controls institutions already trust.
The United Kingdom now moves beyond sandbox testing and supports full scale tokenization in asset management. In October 2025 the Financial Conduct Authority published a policy update, explaining how tokenisation can cut fund costs and widen access. The FCA also launched a consultation, setting out a roadmap for tokenised fund registers and direct to fund dealing. The FCA frames tokenization as a way to modernize asset management by placing fund units and ownership records on distributed ledgers while keeping regulatory safeguards intact.
See: NCFA Canada and TheBlock Partner to Build a Global Bridge for Tokenization
Perhaps, the strongest progress now emerges outside the West (think adoption, usage, and real economic integration). The 2025 Chainalysis Global Adoption Index demonstrates this change clearly. Its findings, highlighting leading adoption across Asia and Africa, show that Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Nigeria and Brazil all rank near the top because tokenized value moves faster and more affordably than legacy payment and settlement networks.
Regional hubs are also accelerating. A comparative review identifies Singapore and the UAE as top jurisdictions for tokenized real assets, noting that these markets scale quickly because regulators provide clear rules for tokenized cash, tokenized securities and digital registers. Where legacy constraints are lighter, adoption appears faster because the benefits materialize immediately in cross border flows, settlement and access to private assets.
In many Western financial centers, integration efforts are underway where regulations permit tokenized assets or tokenized cash to operate alongside legacy market plumbing. Liquidity follows the rails that deliver speed, safety and operational clarity.
Three Types Of Tokenization
Tokenization includes multiple assets and falls into three clear categories:
1. Tokenized cash puts digital forms of money on chain. This includes fully backed stablecoins, tokenized deposits and other types of tokenized bank money. Tokenized cash works as a settlement asset on digital ledgers. It supports instant transfers, moves easily across platforms and connects with tokenized securities and tokenized real world assets.
2. Tokenized securities are financial instruments such as bonds, funds, money market assets and equity interests that are issued or recorded on chain. They follow securities law and must meet rules for custody, disclosure and investor protection. Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Union all have frameworks that give these instruments a legally recognized place on digital registers.
3. Tokenized real world assets take off-chain assets and represent their ownership on chain. Examples include private credit, real estate, infrastructure assets, receivables, trade claims, commodities and revenue rights. The asset itself stays off chain, while the legal claim moves on chain, making ownership easier to transfer and manage.
Read: Fintechs Are Digitizing $33T in Alternative Assets
Tokenized cash strengthens settlement. Tokenized securities support modern regulated markets. Tokenized real world assets open access to large pools of private value. Together they form one connected system that links established institutions with modern digital first platforms.
Real Assets Move Into Programmable Form
Tokenized markets are expanding because real assets are now moving into these structures. In 2025 the strongest growth appears in United States Treasuries. A detailed review shows that tokenized Treasuries reached about $7.3B in 2025, an increase of more than 250% from 2024. These instruments deliver safe yield in a programmable, globally portable form that fits into digital collateral systems.
Coindesk reported on BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), driving much of this expansion. Messari later confirmed that BUIDL reached about $1.92B by April 2025, and Yahoo Finance reported that BUIDL passed $2.9B by mid 2025. By late 2025, the Economic Times noted that Binance accepted BUIDL as off exchange collateral.
These cases show tokenized assets working inside regulated markets. They move as collateral, pay interest automatically and settle quickly, and are demonstrating how programmable ownership can support large scale products.
A study by BCG and ADDX estimates that tokenized assets could reach $16T by 2030, while a McKinsey review projects a range of $1T to $4T by the same date. Even the low case would impact global capital formation.
NCFA has tracked similar patterns in its work on digital money, real-time tokenized payments, and competition where tokenized rails extend these forces into the full stack of asset classes.
Regulated Markets Build The Foundation
Tokenization only scales when regulators give it a clear place in existing financial law. Some jurisdictions now recognize digital ledger records as valid securities registers and allow tokenized bonds, funds or equity to operate inside their capital market systems. Others focus on tokenized cash and stable, regulated settlement assets that let digital transactions clear instantly. A few support both sides, combining securities rules with prudential oversight for tokenized money.
See: SEC Exploring Ethereum Standard for Tokenized Securities
The table below reflects these differences. It separates regimes that permit tokenized securities from regimes that regulate tokenized cash, and highlights markets that support both layers. Together these components form the legal base for tokenized assets across cash, securities and real-world assets (RWA).
| Jurisdiction | Framework | What It Allows | Role In Tokenization |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | DLT Pilot Regime for tokenized securities MiCA rules governing tokenized cash |
Permission to issue, trade and settle financial instruments on DLT. MiCA governs crypto assets and fully backed stablecoins as tokenized cash. | Combines legal clarity for tokenized securities with rules for tokenized cash so markets can test full stack tokenization. |
| Germany | eWpG electronic securities law for DLT-based securities BaFin regulation for crypto-securities registers and trading infrastructure |
Civil law recognition for securities issued and recorded on electronic or DLT registers; legal foundation for tokenized bonds, fund units and digital securities; regulated register-keeping and custody. | Provides a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework for digital securities in Germany’s capital markets, enabling institutional issuance, trading and custody under DLT infrastructure. |
| Switzerland | Swiss DLT Act enabling ledger-based securities FINMA regulation for DLT trading venues and digital-asset infrastructure |
Legal framework for issuance, transfer and trading of DLT Securities (shares, bonds, structured products); authorized DLT trading venues under financial-market legislation; statutory recognition of ledger-based securities as book entry instruments. | Provides robust, tech neutral statutory clarity for institutional tokenized securities, regulated trading venues and digital asset infrastructure, making Switzerland a leading global hub for blockchain-based capital markets. |
| United Kingdom | Digital Securities Sandbox for tokenized securities FCA 2025 tokenisation policy for funds and asset management FCA CP25/28 roadmap for tokenised fund registers and direct to fund dealing |
Regulated issuance, trading and settlement of tokenized securities, plus a parallel program for tokenized funds, tokenized registers and modern fund dealing models. | Builds tokenization across securities markets and asset management, making the UK one of the first jurisdictions to support fund tokenization at scale. |
| UAE / Abu Dhabi (ADGM) | ADGM DLT Foundations framework ADGM Digital Assets regulation for tokenized securities & virtual assets FSRA amendments 2025 updating digital asset rules 2025 proposal for fiat-referenced token framework |
Legal basis for DLT entities, exchange of digital securities, token issuance, custody and trading under Digital Asset regulation; updated rules for virtual asset firms and a proposed framework for fiat referenced tokens. | Offers one of MENA’s most comprehensive tokenization regimes: supports security-token issuance and custody today, and paves the way for regulated stablecoins or fiat-referenced tokens, enabling full-stack tokenized markets. |
| Hong Kong SAR | Stablecoin Issuance Ordinance for tokenized cash SFC 2023 circulars for tokenised securities and authorised investment products HKMA-Government first tokenised green bond issuance (2023) |
Regulated fiat-backed stablecoins, tokenized securities offerings under SFC rules, tokenized funds and government issued tokenized bonds under HKMA structures. | Combines tokenized cash, tokenized securities and real-world-asset tokenization under a live legal and regulatory regime, including sovereign bond issuance on chain and SFC supervized fund / securities token structures. |
| Singapore | MAS stablecoin framework governing tokenized cash MAS Project Guardian initiative expanding asset tokenization |
Regulation for fully-backed, single currency stablecoins licensed under MAS; plus a regulated pathway for tokenized funds, bonds and other securities under Project Guardian. | Establishes tokenized cash rails and builds institutional frameworks for tokenized securities and real world assets, positioning Singapore as a key hub for digital capital markets in Asia. |
| United States | NYDFS 2022 guidance for U.S. dollar–backed stablecoins SEC 2025 public statement on tokenized securities regulation |
State-supervised stablecoin issuance (fully backed, redeemable USD stablecoins under NYDFS); tokenized securities treated under traditional federal securities law when issued. | Provides a defined path for tokenized cash via regulated stablecoins and maintains that tokenized securities remain subject to full securities compliance, offering partial rails but without a unified national tokenization regime. |
Canada’s Path to Tokenized Markets
Canada has made early strides toward regulating digital assets but the essential foundations for tokenized markets are still incomplete. The first draft of Canada's Stablecoin Act arrived in November 2025 via PM Carney's Budget 2025 along with Open Banking and payment modernization advancements. The Stablecoin proposal sets reserve, custody and redemption requirements for issuers and would place activity under federal oversight. It is only a draft, but it is the clearest signal that regulated tokenized cash will eventually have a place in the financial system.
Canada is also upgrading its payments infrastructure. NCFA's recent coverage of Canada’s payments innovation work, details progress on the Real-Time Rail, modernized oversight and stronger support for digital payments. The Real-Time Rail is not yet live and is expected after 2026. Until it launches, Canadian markets continue to operate on batch-based systems that limit the speed and precision needed for modern settlement, including tokenized transactions.
See: Market Forces Pressuring Fintech Plans For 2026
Canada still needs to complete several steps before tokenized markets can operate across the financial system. These include finalizing the stablecoin legislation, recognizing digital ledger registers as legally authoritative records for securities and delivering real-time settlement that works across institutions. A secure digital identity standard that functions across ledgers would also help investors and regulated firms meet KYC and AML requirements without slowing transactions.
Canada has the institutions and regulatory credibility to play a meaningful role in tokenized finance. To get there, the country must successfully and expeditiously execute its early policy work into a complete and operational model that supports lawful issuance, settlement and use of digital assets.
Why This Moment Matters And Where It Leads
Tokenization is here. Real products, regulated structures and live institutional use show how digital ledgers can cut out delays, reduce operating drag and open access to assets that rarely moved with this level of precision. When tokenized cash, tokenized securities and tokenized real-world assets run on the same digital foundation, the market gains faster settlement, clearer ownership and a simpler path for new products to reach investors. Numerous of countries are setting benchmarks with legal clarity, real time payments, and digital ledger recognition. Canada has the institutional strength to be in that group but only if it finishes the work already underway. Those that act early will define how capital moves, how assets are built and who leads the next era of financial markets.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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KYC Automation and Digital Identity for Betting Platforms
December 3, 2025
AI generated image
FinTech and new authentication technologies are impacting how online betting sites follow the rules. They are defining a speedier and more trustworthy standard. Instead of slow human inspections, operators now employ AI-driven verification that happens right away.
That renders the process speedier and safer for both players and platforms such as a non GamStop casino, where trust is highly required, especially when exploring safe casinos off GamStop for British punters. The move isn't merely an industrial advancement, but it's a strategic need since digital hazards are growing and rules are becoming stricter.
Advanced identification systems enable operators to fulfil severe AML and CFT standards while also enabling responsible gaming protections. These new features let platforms swiftly authenticate participants, lower risk, and keep a close eye on the rules in an online world that is becoming more complicated.
Regulatory Drivers Behind Automated KYC
Financial authorities throughout the globe are calling for stricter rules on digital transactions. Thus, betting sites now depend primarily on automated KYC systems. For transactions to be secure and transparent, they need to include basic things like Customer Identification Programs (CIP) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD).
Modern operators, like those who operate a non GamStop casino, must utilise technology that quickly examines worldwide sanctions lists, PEP databases, and sources of bad news. Quick and accurate screening makes it easy to follow the rules and maintain platforms up to date with real-time regulatory requirements. As requirements change, adaptable automated technologies enable operators to remain ahead, making compliance a benefit instead of a perpetual problem.
AI Verification for Faster Player Onboarding
AI has changed how players are onboarded by making identification verification quick, accurate, and straightforward. Modern verification methods can authenticate a player's identification against official records in seconds using machine learning and biometric matching. This gets rid of the delays that typically make people give up on signing up. Players who like a non GamStop casino also care about a pleasant experience, where rapid access is a big part of what they anticipate.
Advanced systems now include liveness recognition, which makes sure that a genuine person, not a picture or edited video, is doing the operation. Faster verification lowers costs, makes things safer, and increases conversion rates, which gives platforms a distinct edge over their competitors.
Fraud Prevention Through Continuous Monitoring
To stay up with fraudsters who change their approaches quickly, such as stealing identities, setting up many accounts, and abusing bonuses, platforms need to be watched all the time. AI systems aid by watching how players behave and searching for strange trends in deposits, withdrawals, or betting behaviour that might be signs of money laundering or coordinated schemes.
Machine learning may find little changes that a human review would overlook, letting teams know about problems before they become worse. Some systems additionally employ graph databases to show how accounts that don't seem to be linked are really linked. With this continual, data-driven supervision, platforms can quickly stop questionable behaviour and keep both users and operations safe.
Decentralised Identity for Player Data Control
Decentralised digital authentication will completely change how player verification works by letting people have complete control over their own data. A gamer may use blockchain to authenticate their identity once with a trustworthy source and get a digital credential that is safe and can be used again.
After that, they may send it to any betting site without having to submit papers over and over again. This makes the onboarding process quicker and easier and gives consumers more privacy.
It takes away the stress of keeping a lot of sensitive information safe for operators while still making sure that identification checks are accurate. The method lowers compliance friction, lowers risk, and generates a higher level of trust, making the betting environment safer and ready for Web3.
FinTech Leadership in Compliance and ROI
FinTech innovation is moving KYC automation from a requirement of the law to an entrepreneurial benefit. Betting companies now know that following the rules is suitable for their bottom line and establishes a brand that people can trust.
Investing in AI and digital identification systems pays off in the long run by lowering labour costs, reducing compliance fines, and increasing the lifetime value of customers since onboarding is quicker and easier.
See: Which Fintech Processes Are Most Ready for Agentic AI
Platforms that use these technologies are making sure they stay at the front of the FinTech wave by being responsible and growing securely. Their dedication to quick, apparent compliance is creating a new standard for the business, where trust is the most essential thing in every digital encounter.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Visa Expands Stablecoin Settlement Across CEMEA
Stablecoins | Dec 1, 2025
Instant Settlement Infrastructure for Global Payment Flows
On November 26 2025, Visa announced an expansion of stablecoin settlement across Central and Eastern Europe Middle East and Africa through a new partnership with Vancouver-based fintech, Aquanow. The integration gives issuers and acquirers on the Visa network the ability to settle transactions in approved stablecoins such as USDC and introduces a settlement rail that clears value faster at lower cost and with fewer operational steps than traditional systems that rely on closing hours and multi-party workflows.
See: Aquanow Unveils the AQN Digital Ventures Fund for Nextgen Blockchain Startups
Visa first used USDC for settlement in 2023 and now records an annualized settlement volume above $2.5 billion proving that institutions are already incorporating stablecoin settlement in daily operations, moving transaction flow across markets and supporting teams that seek real-time settlement, instead of fixed windows.
Aquanow supports Visa's stablecoin expansion with digital asset infrastructure that processes billions of dollars in monthly activity. The company works with banks neobanks brokerages and payment firms, reporting a four year revenue growth rate of 3022%, earning it multi-year recognition as the 8th best Deloitte Technology Fast 50 top companies in 2024.
Faster Settlement For Global Institutions, Banks and Fintechs
Many institutions still work around systems that close on weekends, rely on several intermediaries, and delay the release of funds. These delays hold capital in transit and create uncertainty for teams that manage liquidity each day. Visa and Aquanow address this gap by offering a rail that runs at all hours and clears transactions faster than older cross border settlement paths.
This model reduces operational drag and gives financial institutions, banks and credit unions a clearer view of cash position in markets with uneven settlement conditions.
See: Visa Extends Stablecoin Settlement to Four Blockchains
This supports services that rely on dependable settlement such as global ecommerce platforms marketplace payouts and remittance flows.
- Quicker settlement means treasury teams gain more predictable access to funds
- Payment operators remove steps that slow down processing
- Global processors improve payout cycles across markets that rely on complex bank to bank networks
- Product teams can design services on top of a rail that runs by the clock rather than by local banking windows
- Customer teams can offer faster and more reliable payout times
Aquanow Builds Global Platform Under VARA Regulation
Aquanow launched in Vancouver, Canada and built a global digital asset platform that now powers part of Visa’s settlement expansion. The company maintains a publicly stated money services business registration with FINTRAC on its own website and operates a regulated entity in the United Arab Emirates through Aquanow ME FZE. The UAE entity received approval from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority for broker-dealer services, lending and borrowing, and management and investment services.
Read: Canada Releases The First Draft Of The Stablecoin Act
This structure shows how a Canadian born fintech can scale global settlement infrastructure by operating in markets that provide clear digital asset licensing. It's another great example of the capability of Canadian firms to contribute to global payment modernization, delivering digital settlement capacity within a regulated international environment. It also provides policymakers a reference point for how digital settlement can operate at production scale within clear regulatory frameworks.
Why It Matters
Visa's stablecoin settlement expansion across CEMEA, in partnership with Canadian fintech Aquanow, sets a new expectation for settlement speed and efficiency. Companies and institutions want faster movement of value, lower cost, and better control over liquidity. Digital asset rails deliver these results in ways legacy systems struggle to match. This partnership offers a clear example of modern settlement infrastructure that supports live cross border operations and works inside a regulated environment at scale.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Australia Launches 2025 Digital Asset Framework
Digital Asset Regulation | Nov 27, 2025
Image: Australian crypto adoption 2019 2025 (Independent Reserve chart)
A Principles and Risk-based Digital Asset Framework Enters Australia’s Financial System
On November 26 2025, the Australian government led by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Financial Services Daniel Mulino introduced the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 by official announcement New Digital Asset Laws to Unlock Innovation and Safeguard Investment.
See: Deloitte Australia’s AI Error Shakes Consulting Trust
The bill creates a clear digital asset framework that covers custody, settlement and platform operations, and it aims to raise investor protection while supporting stronger confidence across Australia’s quickly growing digital asset market. The government positions the framework as a foundation for long term innovation, including tokenization of real world assets, replacing years of uncertainty with defined expectations for operators and institutions.
Digital Assets Background In Australia
Australia has a large and active digital asset community with significant adoption, consistent user growth and a broad set of service providers, which explains the need for a clear regulatory framework. Australia also has several large crypto exchange platform operators serving mainstream users including global giants like Binance, Kraken and Coinbase to name a few.
Survey data and analysis of Australian crypto ownership in early 2025 shows that 32.5% of Australians have owned digital assets, and 70% of those investors hold Bitcoin. More than half of these investors report a profit on their activity.
Engagement continues to rise among older Australians (see chart above). Digital asset ownership among Australians over 65 reached 8.2% in 2025, up from 2% in 2019, read 'baby boomers and retirees invest in crypto'.
New Categories For Digital Asset Services
The bill creates two new financial product categories inside the Corporations Act. (1) A digital asset platform is a facility where an operator holds or controls digital tokens for clients, and (2) a tokenized custody platform is a facility where an operator holds a real world asset and links each asset to a single redeemable token.
These categories require an Australian Financial Services Licence and give operators a clear legal structure for activities that involve possession, safekeeping or management of client tokens and tokenised assets.
Principles-Based Standards For Custody And Settlement
The bill uses a principles-based approach by setting the main definitions and outcomes in the law while giving the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), Australia’s corporate regulator, the authority to write the detailed custody and settlement standards. Parliament explains what platforms must achieve, including the need to safeguard client assets, keep accurate records, reconcile balances and manage settlement risk. ASIC then decides how platforms meet these outcomes in practice.
See: Australia Announces 10 Voluntary Responsible AI Guardrails
This approach lets ASIC update requirements as technology evolves without rewriting legislation. It keeps the focus on clear results rather than long checklists of technical steps.
Risk-Based Framework for Market Activity
The bill also uses a risk-based model that links the level of obligation to the level of exposure. Large platforms that hold significant client assets must follow stronger custody and settlement rules. Small platforms that hold less than $5,000 per customer and process less than $10 million a year qualify for a small scale exemption. This supports early pilots and lower risk use cases without placing them under the same obligations as large operators.
The Minister can also use a product intervention power when a digital asset creates clear risks for consumers or the financial system, which allows the government to place temporary limits on that product while ASIC puts longer term rules in place.
In short, the bill uses principles to define the outcomes and risk to decide how strongly those outcomes apply across the market.
Stronger Transparency For Clients
Operators must publish platform rules that act as a contract between the operator and clients. These rules must describe eligibility, settlement processes, use of external liquidity, allocation of operational risk and redemption or delivery of assets.
See: Bank of England Sets New Rules for Systemic Stablecoins
Clients receive clear information about how the service works and what risks they face, which supports informed decision making and strengthens accountability across the sector.
What Comes Next
The bill must now move through Australia’s parliamentary process, which includes further debate and committee review before a final vote. Regulators will prepare the custody standards, settlement standards and platform rule requirements once the bill becomes law. Operators will begin licensing preparation, platform rule design and compliance planning.
The next stage will also decide how the framework reaches newer parts of the market. The legislation sets the main structure, but the regulator must still fill in many operational details.
Those standards will determine how custody rules work in practice, how platforms handle execution and settlement and how services near the line between custodial and non-custodial models will operate.
There are also open questions for stablecoins, decentralized finance and some wallet services, so the practical impact of the framework will depend on how the regulator completes this work in the months ahead.
Why The Framework Matters
Digital asset custody and platform activity now follow the same regulatory expectations used across Australia's financial system. Institutions can participate with more confidence because the framework sets out clear duties for operators that hold client assets or manage tokenized activity. The government notes that digital finance innovation could generate as much as $24 billion each year in productivity and cost savings for Australia.
See: Canada Releases The First Draft Of The Stablecoin Act
The combination of principles-based standards and risk-based market obligations gives operators clear expectations as they build new tokenized real world asset projects, and supports long term innovation under rules that stay steady even as technology changes.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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