Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: NCFA Blog
Dispelling Myths #3 and #4: “Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowdfunding”
NCFA Canada | Posted on August 8, 2013
Note to readers: This post is part of a series of posts written on behalf of Canada’s leading industry crowdfunding association, NCFA Canada, its members, and affiliates. Special thanks to our sponsors Joi Media (Katipult), FundRazr, Amplifi, CNW, and Wires Law, and the following contributing thought leaders including Craig Asano (NCFA Canada), John Wires (Wires Law), Christopher Charlesworth and Asier Ania (HiveWire), and Heri Rakotomalala (Seeding Factory).
On July 31, 2013 an opinion post article in the Financial Post’s comment section highlights the wide disparity in thinking between the established finance industry insiders and the rest of the world (view article).
It appears the world can be divided into two camps:
Camp A: Those that feel the general public or ‘crowd’ should have little or no participation in private market placements because they are thought unfit or incapable of adding value to the process, and the regulations required to protect them would duly outweigh the benefits they may receive from participating in the first place. Further, investing in start-up or growth capital investments is a risky game that should be left to professional VCs and sophisticated investors alone.
Camp B: Those that feel the general public or ‘crowd’ should have the choice to participate in private market placements in a regulated capacity, and that the general public is motivated to seek returns that go beyond financial incentives alone, such as supporting innovation, regional job creation and social impact goals. Equity crowdfunding markets globally have demonstrated that crowds can play a significant role in helping small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) access start-up capital and the necessary support to achieve business goals that would otherwise be unavailable to them in traditional capital markets.
To assist readers in making their own unbiased conclusions, NCFA Canada offers readers a response to the myths or one-sided beliefs that were conveyed in the FP article:
Myth 3: VCs and wealthy angels will not invest in companies with ownership structures that have many minor investors in them
RESPONSE 3: Legal co-operatives and nominee structures can support crowdfunding transactions
Canada can learn from legal structures being used overseas to successfully facilitate equity crowdfunding
In the Netherlands, Symbid, a leading equity portal bundles all crowd investors of each successfully funded business into an investor co-operative, which acts as a single shareholder within the legal entity of the entrepreneur.- With this model, VCs that participate in follow-on investment rounds only deal with a single elected Board member.
- This offers the best of both worlds: the benefits of wide resources and crowd participation combined with streamlined decision making capabilities.
- In the UK, Seedrs, a leading equity crowdfunding portal, uses a nominee structure where crowd investors appoint the platform itself to hold legal title of the securities on behalf of crowd investors who are still able to vote but are relieved of the burden of investment administration such as tracking corporate events, attending meetings and following investment performance.
Many VCs openly support equity crowdfunding as a means to fund early stage businesses that feed into wide venture capital markets
- There are many venture capitalists in Canada that openly support the inevitability of equity crowdfunding (e.g., Chris Arsenault's blog) as a way to fund high risk earlier stage of start-up businesses to the point that they have demonstrated sufficient traction and management ability before getting snapped up by a VC in a future round.
- They indicate that crowd investors are already participating in deals through angel investment matching networks, such as Angel List in the US.
- Crowdfunding is a feeder system to a much wider venture capital network, and we can only expect to see more partnerships forming as more fundraising activities are moved online.
Myth 4: High Risk of Business Failure and Fraud
RESPONSE 4: The crowd will help to detect and report fraud. Businesses will fail but some will iterate and achieve tremendous innovation through failure
Fraud and business risks can be identified and mitigated with education and technology
- Fraud in any area of the financial system should not be tolerated, and crowdfunding is no different. Industry stakeholders, government and academic partners need to collaborate to actively identify, report and prevent fraudulent activity and develop the appropriate safeguards to protect and advance the industry full stop.
- Fraud and business failure isn’t limited to private companies. Look at Sino Forest for example, where sophisticated financial and legal professionals performed reams of expensive due diligence to the tune of a $6 billion market cap only for the entire organization to collapse as a ‘ponzi’ scheme. Canada isn’t a ‘nanny state’ nor is it anti-business, so while public market activity marches, what about crowdfunding?
- The larger issue facing consumers is the risk of failure inherent with any new business venture, however this is expected risk and the crowdfunding industry will play a strong part in educating consumers by advising them of the various risks to their capital. There are over 60+ Canadian portals and a growing list of providers looking to help and NCFA Canada is working to provide best practice education for SME issuers, investors and industry stakeholders with partnering sponsors.
- Tools such as duration based page-timing, online testing, cooling off periods, and double opt-in consent provisions can be employed to educate participants of risk and maintain a verifiable record that investors were informed and consented to bearing that risk.
Innovation is an iterative process that requires effort and failure to germinate success, increase productivity and affect breakthrough change
- Innovation doesn't occur in a vacuum yet CAMP A would have us believe that failure is a bad thing. For the rest of us in CAMP B, we support innovation and understand that crowdfunding will help more projects and ideas get funded than traditional financing allows, thus allowing innovation to iterate and in some cases flourish. Some of those projects will most certainly fail, but some will grow wildly successful in unexpected and rewarding ways.
- Although Canada has world class education and thought leaders our ability to innovate and commercialize locally grown businesses is limited, and thus so is Canada's ability to compete on the global stage.
- Abraham Lincoln once said, "My great concern is not whether you have failed but whether you are content with your failure". In many ways, our current capital markets and securities laws are failing to provide SMEs with sufficient access to capital resulting in a well documented 'funding gap' (STDC report). Collectively, are we content with this failure?
WHAT CAMP DO YOU SUPPORT?
Crowdfunding is about providing capital to the rest of us - to that broad swath of the Canadian public that doesn’t have friends on bay street, isn’t connected to VC’s from the valley, and doesn’t have their private banker on speed dial. In fact, CAMP A sentiments simply underscore the reality that capital is constrained, and primarily accessible to a very small and select group of people.
Innovation is happening everywhere, and in every group, including those that are typically overlooked by the traditional financiers. However it is often occurring at a small and incremental level, rather than at the ‘home run’ level that CAMP A refers to.
Crowdfunding is certainly not going to be looked favourably upon by ‘wheezy old securities lawyers’ disinterested in rolling up their sleeves to innovate and change the currently expensive process that seems to benefit their practices in the first place. Change requires hard work and effort, and in this case, the beneficiary is the public and small to mid-sized businesses asking for help.
Who’s going to rescue them? Wheezy old securities lawyers; or new, dynamic online investment communities powered by crowdfunding markets and new technologies. You know which camp gets NCFA Canada's vote. How about you?
Resources and Links:
View Dispelling Myths #1 and #2
Stay tuned for Dispelling Myths #5 and #6!
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Increase your organization's profile and gain access to a dynamic group of industry front runners. Learn more eBrochure | Prezi or contact us at casano@ncfacanada.org.
Dispelling Myths #1 and #2: “Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowdfunding”
NCFA Canada | Posted on August 3, 2013
Note to readers: This post is part of a series of posts written on behalf of Canada’s leading industry crowdfunding association, NCFA Canada, its members, and affiliates. Special thanks to our sponsors Joi Media (Katipult), FundRazr, Amplifi, CNW, and Wires Law, and the following contributing thought leaders including Craig Asano (NCFA Canada), John Wires (Wires Law), Christopher Charlesworth and Asier Ania (HiveWire), and Heri Rakotomalala (Seeding Factory).
On July 31, 2013 an opinion post article in the Financial Post’s comment section highlights the wide disparity in thinking between the established finance industry insiders and the rest of the world (view article).
It appears the world can be divided into two camps:
Camp A: Those that feel the general public or ‘crowd’ should have little or no participation in private market placements because they are thought unfit or incapable of adding value to the process, and the regulations required to protect them would duly outweigh the benefits they may receive from participating in the first place. Further, investing in start-up or growth capital investments is a risky game that should be left to professional VCs and sophisticated investors alone.
Camp B: Those that feel the general public or ‘crowd’ should have the choice to participate in private market placements in a regulated capacity, and that the general public is motivated to seek returns that go beyond financial incentives alone, such as supporting innovation, regional job creation and social impact goals. Equity crowdfunding markets globally have demonstrated that crowds can play a significant role in helping small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) access start-up capital and the necessary support to achieve business goals that would otherwise be unavailable to them in traditional capital markets.
To assist readers in making their own unbiased conclusions, NCFA Canada offers readers a response to the myths or one-sided beliefs that were conveyed in this Financial Post article:
Myth 1: History has shown crowd wisdom to lead to witch-hunts, bulb-mania and world meltdowns. Crowds are unable to vet deals as well as professional venture capitalists and experienced angels.
RESPONSE 1: Crowds offer the power of diversity and play a pivotal role in democratizing the entire funding and start-up eco-system
Crowds offer the ‘the power of diversity’.
In today’s dynamic marketplace, being open, inclusive and allowing diverse crowds to participate in your business offers start-ups and SMEs strategic competitive advantages, such as:
- Increased adaptability to constantly evolving market conditions
- Increased creativity and innovation – a cross pollination of ideas and perspectives in a larger pool of ideas to meet business goals
- Diverse views that facilitate effective decision making
- Deeper understanding of varying market and customer needs
The ‘crowds’ of crowdfunding play a pivotal role in helping the entire funding and start-up eco-system:
- Risk is diversified by having a large number of crowd investors contribute a small amount of investment dollars, as opposed to a few larger investors assuming greater risk
- Once committed, crowd investors help promote offers throughout their networks often making warm introductions to key players of the deal
- Crowd investors are first and foremost ‘customers’ and not backseat management drivers
- Crowds offer invaluable feedback and market research that is often critical to ascertaining the optimum product and marketing mix
- Crowd intelligence combined with sophisticated fraud detection algorithms will help detect and prevent fraud
Crowdfunding goes way beyond ‘funding’
Crowdfunding motivates and connects people and organizations and democratizes the underlying limitations of the current system driving fundamental change:
- Reduces the cost of transactions by leveraging the advancements of technology to handle high volume financial transactions and investment administration
- Crowdfunding breeds confidence and sparks participation. It enables a marketplace for ‘arm chair’ dragons to cultivate thus improving the general public’s awareness and understanding of small business finance and investments
- Gives government, industry and academia the opportunity to work together to achieve the common goal of Canadian competitiveness, innovation and job creation
- Adds transparency, tracking and standardization to financial transactions that occur in private markets that are non-reporting issuers
- Gives investors choice to diversify and self-manage their own portfolios by independently choosing the crowdfunding portal that best suits their interests and appetite for risk
- Enables investors to support their local businesses
- Allows lower margin and higher volume business models to compete and innovate in a traditional industry that will ultimately benefit from being disrupted
Myth 2: There’s been little or no statistical proof that equity crowdfunding works
RESPONSE 2: Crowdfunding works! Leading equity crowdfunding portals have proven that markets are becoming more sophisticated and accelerating in terms of total funding volume & the number of transactions.
- Equity crowdfunding is a global phenomenon and legal in several international jurisdictions such as Australia, UK, Netherlands and soon the US with the passing of the JOBs act. Why should Canada be at a disadvantage?
- In fact, ASSOB has legally been operating its equity portal for over 5 years and has successfully raised over $133 million dollars for over 180 companies of which over 80% of them are still operating today. Yes – that translates into innovation, more jobs and GDP for the country with zero fraudulent cases reported.
- CrowdCube in the UK has raised ~£10 million for 58 businesses including self-funding £1.5 million in 2 days from its membership base of 40,000. £4.4 million or almost half of all funds raised to date occurred in the first six months of 2013 indicating that growth is accelerating.
Further, Doug Cumming, Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship at York University, and team studied 5 years of historical ASSOB data and released a report called ‘signaling in equity crowdfunding’ that demonstrates crowdfunding participation and markets are much more involved than just posting an idea as CAMP A would lead readers to believe. The most successful crowdfunded companies displayed the following characteristics and signals to their investors:
- Attracted more educated Board members to their company than average
- Signaled intention to go public (IPO) or exit the company via prominent venture capital firms or investment banks
- Offered financial forecasts
- Operated for some time with the entrepreneur investing his own funds (‘skin in the game’)
- Offered a limited amount of equity for sale
WHAT CAMP DO YOU SUPPORT?
Crowdfunding is about providing capital to the rest of us - to that broad swath of the Canadian public that doesn’t have friends on bay street, isn’t connected to VC’s from the valley, and doesn’t have their private banker on speed dial. In fact, CAMP A sentiments simply underscore the reality that capital is constrained, and primarily accessible to a very small and select group of people.
Innovation is happening everywhere, and in every group, including those that are typically overlooked by the traditional financiers. However it is often occurring at a small and incremental level, rather than at the ‘home run’ level that CAMP A refers to.
Crowdfunding is certainly not going to be looked favourably upon by ‘wheezy old securities lawyers’ disinterested in rolling up their sleeves to innovate and change the currently expensive process that seems to benefit their practices in the first place. Change requires hard work and effort, and in this case, the beneficiary is the public and small to mid-sized businesses asking for help.
Who’s going to rescue them? Wheezy old securities lawyers; or new, dynamic online investment communities powered by crowdfunding markets and new technologies.
Next: Dispelling Myths #3 and #4 --> click here
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Increase your organization's profile and gain access to a dynamic group of industry front runners. Learn more eBrochure | Prezi or contact us at casano@ncfacanada.org.
Canadian Regulators Heading Different Directions on Equity Crowdfunding
NCFA Canada | John Wires | July 25, 2013
In an effort to get out in front of the curve, the securities regulator in Saskatchewan (The Financial & Consumer Affairs Authority or "FCAA") released a proposed equity crowdfunding framework.
Much to the author's surprise, the proposal seems to be calling for very little regulation and red tape.
The FCAA proposal comes months after the Ontario Securities Commission (“OSC”) published their own proposed (and significantly different) crowdfunding framework. Interestingly, the key difference between the two is the amount that issuers (startups, entrepreneurs or small businesses) can raise. Other key features of the two proposals are outlined in the table below.
| Ontario | Saskatchewan | |
| Offering Size | $1.5 million per year | $100,000 up to twice per year |
| Limits on the types of securities | Common shares;Non-convertible preferred shares;Non-convertible debt securities;Securities convertible into common or preferred shares | Not specified |
| Advertising | Only though a funding portal or on the issuer’s website | Not specified |
| Police Background Check on Issuers | Not specified | Yes |
| Disclosure | Disclosure document at point of sale | Minimal disclosure |
| Ongoing disclosure obligations | Annual financial statements along with proper securities registers and documentation on how funds were spent. | Not specified, but presumably as required under corporate legislation. |
| Audits | Required if more than $500,000 is raised | Not specified. |
| Investor Risk Acknowledgement | Yes, signed by each investor | Yes, signed by each investor |
| Cap per investor | $2,500 per investor and up to $10,000 per year | $1,000 per investor but unlimited number of investments with different issuers |
| Report on trades sent to regulator | Not specified | Yes |
| Funding portals must be registered with the regulator | Yes | No |
With Ontario and Saskatchewan proposing different regimes, the country’s provincial securities regulators are heading down different paths.
The risk, of course, is reducing the success of crowdfunding by restricting investors to only be able to invest in companies in their province. On that point, the Saskatchewan proposal notes that:
If these [crowdfunding] exemptions are not adopted by other jurisdictions, these exemptions will likely be limited by law to Saskatchewan issuers and Saskatchewan investors.
The Risk of Having Different Provincial Crowdfunding Regimes
The power of crowdfunding comes from leveraging online technology and social media to spread the word about a worthwhile project, business, or idea.
Crowdfunding will not be successful without access to large numbers of people. The smaller the crowd, the smaller amount any prospective issuer will be able to raise.
If Saskatchewan moves forward with its proposal in cutting out access to investors in other provinces, or indeed, investors overseas, they limit themselves to a small population of just over 1 million people.
What’s the Solution?
Canada needs a harmonized approach to equity crowdfunding. Without issuers in Saskatchewan being able to raise funds from investors in Ontario, and vis-versa, the power of crowfunding is compromised.
Other provincial regulators, including P.E.I., have said they are going to wait and see what other provinces do, and whether a more harmonized approached under the Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) can be achieved. With two proposed equity crowdfunding models on the table, now more than ever, we need policy makers, the CSA and politicians to step up and focus on creating the right solution for Canadian companies and Canadian investors.
About the Author
John Wires is a lawyer and founder of Wires Law a firm providing fixed price legal services to Canadian businesses. He is also an Advisor at the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada). John comes from a background of courtroom experience practicing complex corporate commercial litigation. Having litigated shareholder and employee disputes, he understands the value of companies protecting their businesses with the proper upfront legal work so many Canadian businesses lack. You can follow John @johnwires and contact him at jwires@wireslaw.ca.
Crowdfunding for Social Causes: Disasters Bring Together a Natural Union of Crowds and Fundraising
By NCFA Canada | Sunny Shao | Posted on July 16, 2013
Over the past months, there have been a number of unexpected natural disasters and other devastating events that have affected large communities, such as the Boston marathon bombings and the Alberta floods. As horrible as both events were, there seems to be an emerging trend of social fundraising campaigns that have mobilized faster than ever before, a large part of this driven by crowdfunding and crowdsourcing campaigns that have spread virally through social media.
Initial estimates from BMO Capital Markets insurance analyst Tom MacKinnon suggest total damages to homes, businesses, vehicles and other private property are likely to run between $3 billion and $5 billion, much more than the $1 billion initially pledged for flood relief by the Premier. Amid the disaster, however; the flood has revealed Calgary’s spirit of networked humanity as Calgarians leverage social media to help spread emergency alerts, coordinate volunteer cleanup efforts, and crowdsource solutions to all sorts of flood-related problems.
“We know crowdfunding is very beneficial to social causes, and it’s great to see our product helping our own community by powering InvestYYC”, says Brock Murray of JOI Media, makers of the Katipult white label crowdfunding software. One particular example of this is the Alberta Arts Flood Rebuild campaign, which has raised more than $125,000 in about a week. In addition to financial contributions, Murray adds that “crowdfunding campaigns of this nature also generate significant exposure to those affected by the flood through social media channels. I was not personally in Calgary during the floods, but I was kept updated in real-time through my social media streams and felt like I saw the devastation first hand.”
What also differentiates this particular crowdfunding campaign from many other social cause projects is the community-driven efforts to involve large corporations in the cause. Among these, big players such as Suncor Energy have stepped up by contributing $50,000 and also matching all individual donations up to $50,000.
Other Canadian crowdfunding platforms have recognized the need to help those who want to contribute to the Alberta floods and are providing assistance in creating Alberta flood relief campaigns, such as Cookie Jarr’s comprehensive list of affected communities or Fundrazr’s initiatives to help animals affected by the flood. "Our observation is that people feel empowered to be able to start crowdfunding campaigns where they know that the funds will go directly to their family or friends in these tragedies. While there are many great charities like the Red Cross that will help, this democratization of fundraising is very compelling," noted Daryl Hatton, CEO of Fundrazr, Canada’s most established crowdfunding website.
Crowdfunding campaigns directed at natural disasters differentiate from existing organizations who are dedicated to disaster relief such as the Red Cross and fundraising concerts such as Alberta Flood Aid, because they are started by individuals and communities who want to see their contributions go directly to a specific cause or purpose. They also differ from other campaigns in that they are inherently viral to begin with, due to a large support base that ranges from several individuals to entire communities who are affected. According to Massolution’s Crowdfunding Industry Report 2012, social causes were the most popular category of all crowdfunding projects worldwide, representing 27.4% of the total $2.7 billion of global crowdfunding activity. If these recent examples are any indication of what’s to come, social cause crowdfunding campaigns are indeed on the rise.
Other Useful Links:
- Emergency alerts related to the flood: twitter.com/AB_EmergAlert
- YYC Helps: volunteer to help those most in need: www.yychelps.ca
- Alberta Arts Flood Rebuild campaign: www.investyyc.com/projects/view/137
2019 Canadian Fintech & Funding Directory
Last Revised: January 31, 2019
This is an ever evolving and growing directory of active (or beta) online financial technology platforms and service providers in Canada including sectors such as blockchain, crowdfunding, alternative finance, real estate, P2P lending, regtech, insurtech, aggregators, consultants and ecosystems. To request to be listed in the directory you need to be a member of NCFA and also email us directly with your request at casano@ncfacanada.org and we'll do our best to make updates periodically. To become a member of NCFA please click here.
| Type | Name | Description | Base | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Provider | Accesswire | Flat Fee News Distribution | US | Site |
| Portal | Art Market Canada | Creative and Artistic Projects | ON | Site |
| Portal | ArtsFunding.ca | Crowdfunding for the Arts | ON | Site |
| Portal | ATB BoostR | Crowdfunding for local businesses in Alberta | AB | Site |
| Service Provider | Bennett Milner Williams Consulting | Crowdfunding consultant | AB | Site |
| Lending Portal | Borrowell | Loans for responsible Canadians | ON | Site |
| Equity Portal | Brix | Real Estate Equity crowdfunding | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | Canadian Media Fund | Canadian Crowdfunding Resources | ON | Site |
| Portal | Chimp | Canadian Charities | BC | Site |
| Service Provider | CoinPayments | Integrated payment gateway for cryptocurrencies and ICO marketplace | BC | Site |
| Service Provider | Commercial Passport | Blockchain Document Custody KYC | QC | Site |
| Equity Portal | ConsiderFunding.com | Equity Crowdfunding Platform | BC | Site |
| Portal | Cookiee Jar | General Purpose Awareness and Fundraiser | ON | Site |
| Royalty Portal | Corl | Revenue based financing for tech startups and companies | QC | Site |
| Portal | Crowd Amplify | Multi-purpose platform aimed at users inexperienced with crowdfunding | NB | Site |
| Service Provider | Crowdfund Beat | Crowdfunding news and info (Canadian edition) | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | Crowdfund Suite | Crowdfunding Management + Consulting | BC | Site |
| Portal | Crowdfundfusion | Crowdfunding aggregator | MB | Site |
| Service Provider | Crowdfunding Dojo | Direct marketing techniques for reward based campaigns | ON | Site |
| Portal | Crowdfunding.ca | General Crowdfunding (WIP) | SK | Site |
| Service Provider | CrowdfundingADR | Dispute Resolution Services (North America - office in LA) | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | CrowdFundOffice.com | Investor Services, Accounting and Compliance | ON | Site |
| Portal | Crowdhelps | Crowdfunding campaigns to help women | ON | Site |
| Equity Portal | Crowdmatrix | Equity Crowdfunding Platform | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | Crowdrating.ca | Crowdsourced ratings | QC | Site |
| Portal | CrowdSurfer | General | AB | Site |
| Service Provider | Curexe | Send and Receive Funds Globally | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | Donorhut | White label fundraising software for charities and non-profits | MB | Site |
| Service Provider | Equibit Group | Blockchain solutions for the securities industry | ON | Site |
| Portal | Fan.si | Subscription-based crowdfunding for musicians and fans | ON | Site |
| Portal | FANPUSH | Music & Entertainment | BC | Site |
| Service Provider | FinTech Growth Syndicate | Business Accelerator | ON | Site |
| Portal | Flipgive | Crowdfunding for non-profits through product sales & donations | ON | Site |
| Equity Portal | Foregrowth | Institutional Quality Investments | ON | Site |
| Equity Portal | FrontFundr | Online Investment Platform | BC | Site |
| Service Provider | Fundica | Crowdsourced access to grants, tax credits, loans and equity funding | QC | Site |
| Equity Portal | FundingNomad | Crowdfunding for Entertainment, Media and Real Estate Investment | ON | Site |
| Portal | Fundo | Crowdfunding | QC | Site |
| Portal | FundRazr | Rewards and cause based crowdfunding | BC | Site |
| Lending Portal | FundThrough | Small Business Loans | ON | Site |
| Portal | FutureFunder.ca | Carleton University | ON | Site |
| Portal | Giveffect | Crowdfunding for Charities | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | Global Blockchain Technologies | Public Investment fund focused on blockchain | ON | Site |
| Equity Portal | Gotroo | Equity Crowdfunding Platform | QC | Site |
| Service Provider | Grow | Digital Banking Solutions for Financial Institutions | BC | Site |
| Portal | Haricot | General purpose | QC | Site |
| Portal | HeroX | Crowdsourcing global solutions and crowdfunding incentive prizes | BC | Site |
| Equity Portal | Homebound | Invest in Crowdfunded Real Estate Properties (beta) | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | IgnitionDeck | Wordpress Crowdfunding Plugin | AB | Site |
| Service Provider | Integral Transfer | Share Transfer Agency | ON | Site |
| Portal | Invest Local BC | Community Futures Stuart Nechako | BC | Site |
| Equity Portal | InvestX | Private equity for every investor | BC | Site |
| Service Provider | Katipult | White Label Crowdfunding Software | AB | Site |
| Service Provider | Kreativ Thotz | Concept development to retail market services | ON | Site |
| Portal | La Ruche | Projects impacting Quebec City and surrounding areas | QC | Site |
| Portal | Labfundr | Crowdfunding for Science | NS | Site |
| Portal | Launchopolis | Full service crowd venture | ON | Site |
| Lending Portal | Lendified | Small Business Loans | ON | Site |
| Lending Portal | Lending Loop | Online Lending Marketplace | ON | Site |
| Lending Portal | LendMart | Small business lending options service | QC | Site |
| Portal | Lendpool | Crowdfunding for projects | ON | Site |
| Portal | Luevo | Crowdfunding Fashion | ON | Site |
| Portal | Make a Champ | Athletes and Sporting Organizations | QC | Site |
| Portal | Make Giving Happen | Crowdfunding platform that is customizable to your brand and goals | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | Matterealize | Product Design Consultancy | AB | Site |
| Portal | Meatme.ca | Farm to table crowdfunding | BC | Site |
| Service Provider | MLG Blockchain Consulting | Global blockchain development and consulting firm | ON | Site |
| Portal | My Class Needs | Canadian Classrooms K-12 | ON | Site |
| Equity Portal | NexusCrowd | Accredited Investor Crowdfunding | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | Niko / Nikola Tesla Unite | Niko Coin Ecosystem | ON | Site |
| Equity Portal | Open Avenue | Real Estate Crowdfunding | ON | Site |
| Portal | Opportunity International Canada | Funding individuals, groups and businesses that work to end poverty | ON | Site |
| Equity Portal | Optimize Capital Markets | Private placement for Accredited Investors and Institutions | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | Pegasus Fintech | ICO Advisory Services | ON | Site |
| Portal | Picatic | Ticketing and Event Management | ON | Site |
| Equity Portal | Polymath Network | Blockchain Securities (beta) | ON | Site |
| Lending Portal | Progressa | Consumer loans - helping Canadians build credit | BC | Site |
| Portal | Project Her INC | Crowdfunding for women entrepreneur owned & led businesses | BC | Site |
| Portal | Projexity | Urban Change Projects | ON | Site |
| Portal | Pursuit | Canadian Athletes | NS | Site |
| Equity Portal | R2 | Online marketplace for Real Estate Debt/Equity Capital and Investments | ON | Site |
| Equity Portal | RealStarter | Real Estate Equity Crowdfunding | QC | Site |
| Service Provider | REMITR | International Money Transfers for Business | ON | Site |
| Portal | Rocket | Security Token Crowdfunding | BC | Site |
| Service Provider | Seeding Factory | Crowdfunding Consulting and Management | QC | Site |
| Portal | Seeds of Change | McGill University Projects | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | SeedUps Canada | Fundraising services | AB | Site |
| Portal | ShareSpring | Community Fundraising | BC | Site |
| Portal | Smallchangefund | Grassroots community projects | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | Smarter.loans | Loan Directory for Any type of Loan or Financing | ON | Site |
| Equity Portal | SVX | Social Venture Exchange for Impact Ventures, Funds and Investors | ON | Site |
| Portal | The Funding Portal | Access to government grants, tax credits, accredited investors and private capital | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | Thrinacia | Donation/reward-based White Label Platforms | BC | Site |
| Portal | Tilt Canada | Group payments | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | TODA.Network | Foundational Layer for Decentralized Networks | US | Site |
| Equity Portal | TokenFunder | Blockchain Crowdfunding. Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) *Beta | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | Touchstone Services | Crowdfunding Back office | ON | Site |
| Portal | TrackieProfile | Crowdfunding for track and field athletes | ON | Site |
| Service Provider | TravelCoin Foundation | Transforming the Travel Industry | UK | Site |
| Service Provider | Travis Southin | Crowdfunding Research | ON | Site |
| Portal | Trend Trunk | Creative crowdfunding for non-profits & charities | ON | Site |
| Portal | Truth North Strong | Northern Credit Union Communities | ON | Site |
| Portal | UNU Fund | General Purpose | ON | Site |
| Portal | USEED | For groups/organizations and programs at University of Alberta | AB | Site |
| Service Provider | Vanbex | Globally recognized Blockchain consulting and expertise | BC | Site |
| Lending Portal | VaultCircle | Digital Lending Investment Platform for Accredited Investors | ON | Site |
| Equity Portal | Vested | Equity crowdfunding for startups | BC | Site |
| Portal | Yoyomolo | Social fundraising platform | QC | Site |
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, 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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Nov 12, 2026 Buying a Canadian money services business starts with identifying what the buyer will acquire: a legal entity, a registration history, contracts, records and possibly an active operation. The value of that package depends on whether it supports the services the new owner intends to provide. A FINTRAC registration entry is an important starting point. It does not establish the company’s financial condition, the quality of its compliance programme or the availability of banking relationships after an acquisition. A payment business may also need a separate assessment under the Retail Payment Activities Act, or RPAA. For investors evaluating a Canadian MSB company for sale, due diligence should connect registration status, actual activities, transaction structure and financial evidence before the parties agree a completion timetable. Verify the Canadian MSB registration and legal entity Begin with the target’s exact legal name, incorporation details, registration number and current status. Match the entity in the corporate documents to the entity in FINTRAC’s Money Services Business Registry. FINTRAC explicitly states that registration does not mean it endorses or licenses a business. It also states that it does not issue licences or certificates of registration. A sales presentation using the phrase “FINTRAC licence” should ...
November 12, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Wealthtech Investing And Trading Strategy still runs a software business, but Bitcoin now dominates its assets and capital raising. MSCI no longer treats that balance as an index eligible operating company. November 11, 2026, MSCI confirmed Strategy’s removal from the MSCI USA and MSCI World indexes after the November 30 close under its new methodology for non operating companies. MSCI is one of the world’s largest index providers, and its benchmarks are followed by funds investing across global equity markets. Japan’s Metaplanet is also being removed from an MSCI index. MSCI has decided that Strategy no longer qualifies for its equity indexes because Bitcoin now dominates its assets and much of its capital raising. Strategy still sells software and reports operating revenue, but MSCI is drawing a line between a business that holds investment assets and one where those assets have become the main financial story. Why Is MSCI Removing Strategy From Its Indexes? MSCI first looked at a rule aimed specifically at digital asset treasury companies. It later dropped that proposal and change it's methodology to cover companies whose finances ...
Nov 12, 2026 Crypto market cap is calculated by multiplying an asset's reference price by its circulating supply. A token priced at $2 with 50 million units circulating has a market cap of $100 million. The calculation estimates the value of that supply at the reference price; it does not total the money investors deposited. To understand a change in the ranking, examine both inputs and the provider's definitions. A larger number can result from price changes, supply changes, or revised reporting. Establish what the two inputs represent The arithmetic is simple, but neither input is self-explanatory. “Price” may be a reference assembled from selected trading pairs and venues, rather than the last transaction on the exchange you use. A provider may exclude observations or convert quote currencies. Two services can publish different estimates because their source selection and methods differ. Circulating supply is an estimate of units treated as available in the market under a provider's rules. It may differ from the number minted, the total recorded by a contract, or the maximum permitted under a protocol's current design. Locked balances, treasury allocations, burns, and scheduled releases require interpretation. A transparent methodology matters because identical arithmetic can still use ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Risk Compliance And Regtech Financial firms are putting AI agents into production well before giving them broad financial authority. That creates time to set identity, permissions and transaction controls before autonomous execution becomes common. On November 11, 2026, Bank of England Financial Policy Committee external member Jonathan Hall used his final FPC speech to examine what happens when AI agents get more authority inside financial firms. A Bank of England and FCA survey of 196 firms found that 80% already deploy AI agents and another 14% plan to within 12 months. Only 2% reported agents with broad autonomy, and none of those were in trading and payments. Finance is adopting agents quickly, but firms are still keeping people and hard limits around the decisions that can change money, positions or customer outcomes. AI Agents Are In Finance But They Are Not Trading Alone The 2026 Bank of England and FCA survey separates four levels of authority: Decision support lets an agent recommend an action while a person decides and executes it. Constrained execution lets the agent act inside preset rules. Conditional autonomy ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Entrepreneurs Startups Small Businesses, Equity Crowdfunding And Alternative Funding A small group of large rounds is carrying Canadian venture totals while deal count and growth stage financing remain well below recent norms. On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association published its Q3 2026 venture capital report. Canadian companies raised $4.3 billion across 397 deals through September, only 1% less capital than a year earlier. But 23 rounds of $50 million or more represented just 6% of disclosed deals and absorbed 58% of all venture capital invested. Deal count has also fallen every year since 2021. The national total is holding up far better than the number of companies getting financed. Six Big Rounds Carried 59% Of Q3 Venture Capital Q3 produced $1.35 billion across 129 deals. Capital was 1% higher than Q2, but deal count fell 15%. Six rounds above $50 million accounted for $793 million, or 59% of the quarter’s capital. That's a decent quarter for the companies that closed those rounds, but a weak quarter for everyone else. Mega rounds above $50 million totalled $2.5 billion across 23 transactions ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Story Intelligence | Competition And Market Structure, Wealthtech Investing And Trading, Regulation And Policy Canada is cutting bank fees and switching barriers after years of weak competition, high concentration and poor productivity. On November 7, 2026, the federal government proposed something Canadian investors have complained about for years. Banks would no longer be allowed to charge most investment account transfer fees, which typically cost about $150 per account. Ottawa also wants clearer transfer information and tighter timelines for moving investments to another financial institution. The fee matters because leaving can already be slow and frustrating. Receiving firms often reimburse the outgoing charge to win the account. That means a fee collected by the institution losing the customer can become part of the acquisition cost for the institution trying to win that customer. Canada's six largest banks hold roughly 93% of banking assets. The Competition Bureau was warning about barriers facing fintech competitors in 2017. Ottawa began reviewing open banking in 2018. A federal advisory committee later recommended an operating system by January 2023 and warned that government should not delay. January 2023 came and went. Real Time Rail also slipped years beyond its first expected ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Regulation And Policy Funds, Collateral And Settlement Lead Canada’s Near Term Tokenization Opportunity On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Securities Administrators published its Project Tokenization Phase 1 findings, setting out where Canadian market participants see the strongest commercial opportunities for tokenization and what regulators plan to test next. The report draws on 233 organizations, 21 bilateral meetings and 80 survey responses, along with workshops attended by 281 people in Calgary and 491 in Toronto. Participants put investment funds, private assets, collateral, treasury and settlement infrastructure ahead of public stocks as the strongest near term opportunities. The report also cuts through one of tokenization’s biggest sales pitches. Blockchain can change how an asset is recorded, transferred or settled, but it doesn't automatically create liquidity, investor demand, broader eligibility or stronger ownership rights. Those outcomes still depend on the product, market, legal structure and infrastructure around it. The CSA now plans to take specific projects into Phase 2 through a 120 day public call for proposals. Firms may be able to use existing regulatory processes, tailored regulatory treatment or bounded testing in a ...
Nov 11, 2026 A positive work environment is key for any team that wants to succeed. Team morale is crucial for productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction. Engaging in activities that lift spirits and strengthen connections can lead to great results. Creating a positive team environment requires creativity, engagement, and some fun. Each activity can strengthen connections, boost motivation, and improve workplace dynamics. When teams focus on strategies to boost morale, they work toward shared success. These activities can lead to lasting memories and help build a stronger team culture. Here are some fun strategies to help improve your team's morale and make the workplace livelier. Fun at the Arcade Visiting an arcade spot is a great way to enjoy time together and build teamwork. Imagine your team facing challenges with various games. Whether it's racing or playing team games, the arcade encourages friendly competition and bonding. These fun experiences can help reduce stress and improve relationships among coworkers. Arcades offer many options to suit diverse interests and skill levels. The lively atmosphere invites everyone to relax and take a break from their daily tasks. Shared laughter and enjoyment can lead to better communication and teamwork when you return to the ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Leadership, Competition, Human Capital, Health A Brokerage Race Beyond $0 Commissions On November 10, 2026, Webull Canada added Nasdaq Basic Canada, giving clients free real time Level 1 quote and trade data across Canadian listed equities. The feed provides best bid, best offer and last sale information for stocks listed on the TSX, TSX Venture, CSE and Cboe Canada. Nasdaq says its consolidated feed can reduce Level 1 market data costs by more than 60% compared with traditional Canadian data packages. Webull isn't first to give Canadian investors free real time information. The more interesting story is how quickly another paid feature is becoming part of the basic brokerage account. Wealthsimple helped normalize $0 trading in 2019, Questrade followed in 2025 and Webull dropped its own commissions in April 2026. With the headline trading fee largely gone, brokers now need other reasons for investors to move money and keep it on the platform. Who Led Canada’s Race To $0 Trading And Free Market Data Wealthsimple Trade launched nationally on March 13, 2019 with $0 commissions on Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs. Questrade removed commissions on listed stocks and ETFs ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding A Toronto Fintech Riskfuel Analytics Brings AI Pricing Into BBVA’s Global Markets Workflow On November 10, 2026, BBVA deployed Riskfuel Analytics' neural pricing technology inside the pre-trade structuring workflow for autocallable products on its ePricer platform. Riskfuel is a Toronto fintech founded in 2019 that builds AI models for derivatives pricing. BBVA is a global bank with a large corporate and investment banking business. The deployment puts Canadian built AI directly into the calculations used to design complex structured products at a major global bank. Riskfuel's model is trained on BBVA's own pricing engine and uses more than 4,000 market and product inputs. The company says the surrogate was tested against more than 100,000 trades and can evaluate thousands of candidate structures in under a minute. BBVA had already added AI generated investment ideas to ePricer in September. Riskfuel goes further into the workflow by speeding up the numerical pricing work while BBVA's own model remains the reference. How Riskfuel Speeds Up BBVA's Autocallable Pricing Autocallables can depend on volatility, interest rates, dividends, maturity, coupon levels and several barrier conditions. Autocallables are structured investments ...
Nov 12, 2026 Buying a Canadian money services business starts with identifying what the buyer will acquire: a legal entity, a registration history, contracts, records and possibly an active operation. The value of that package depends on whether it supports the services the new owner intends to provide. A FINTRAC registration entry is an important starting point. It does not establish the company’s financial condition, the quality of its compliance programme or the availability of banking relationships after an acquisition. A payment business may also need a separate assessment under the Retail Payment Activities Act, or RPAA. For investors evaluating a Canadian MSB company for sale, due diligence should connect registration status, actual activities, transaction structure and financial evidence before the parties agree a completion timetable. Verify the Canadian MSB registration and legal entity Begin with the target’s exact legal name, incorporation details, registration number and current status. Match the entity in the corporate documents to the entity in FINTRAC’s Money Services Business Registry. FINTRAC explicitly states that registration does not mean it endorses or licenses a business. It also states that it does not issue licences or certificates of registration. A sales presentation using the phrase “FINTRAC licence” should ...
November 12, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Wealthtech Investing And Trading Strategy still runs a software business, but Bitcoin now dominates its assets and capital raising. MSCI no longer treats that balance as an index eligible operating company. November 11, 2026, MSCI confirmed Strategy’s removal from the MSCI USA and MSCI World indexes after the November 30 close under its new methodology for non operating companies. MSCI is one of the world’s largest index providers, and its benchmarks are followed by funds investing across global equity markets. Japan’s Metaplanet is also being removed from an MSCI index. MSCI has decided that Strategy no longer qualifies for its equity indexes because Bitcoin now dominates its assets and much of its capital raising. Strategy still sells software and reports operating revenue, but MSCI is drawing a line between a business that holds investment assets and one where those assets have become the main financial story. Why Is MSCI Removing Strategy From Its Indexes? MSCI first looked at a rule aimed specifically at digital asset treasury companies. It later dropped that proposal and change it's methodology to cover companies whose finances ...
Nov 12, 2026 Crypto market cap is calculated by multiplying an asset's reference price by its circulating supply. A token priced at $2 with 50 million units circulating has a market cap of $100 million. The calculation estimates the value of that supply at the reference price; it does not total the money investors deposited. To understand a change in the ranking, examine both inputs and the provider's definitions. A larger number can result from price changes, supply changes, or revised reporting. Establish what the two inputs represent The arithmetic is simple, but neither input is self-explanatory. “Price” may be a reference assembled from selected trading pairs and venues, rather than the last transaction on the exchange you use. A provider may exclude observations or convert quote currencies. Two services can publish different estimates because their source selection and methods differ. Circulating supply is an estimate of units treated as available in the market under a provider's rules. It may differ from the number minted, the total recorded by a contract, or the maximum permitted under a protocol's current design. Locked balances, treasury allocations, burns, and scheduled releases require interpretation. A transparent methodology matters because identical arithmetic can still use ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Risk Compliance And Regtech Financial firms are putting AI agents into production well before giving them broad financial authority. That creates time to set identity, permissions and transaction controls before autonomous execution becomes common. On November 11, 2026, Bank of England Financial Policy Committee external member Jonathan Hall used his final FPC speech to examine what happens when AI agents get more authority inside financial firms. A Bank of England and FCA survey of 196 firms found that 80% already deploy AI agents and another 14% plan to within 12 months. Only 2% reported agents with broad autonomy, and none of those were in trading and payments. Finance is adopting agents quickly, but firms are still keeping people and hard limits around the decisions that can change money, positions or customer outcomes. AI Agents Are In Finance But They Are Not Trading Alone The 2026 Bank of England and FCA survey separates four levels of authority: Decision support lets an agent recommend an action while a person decides and executes it. Constrained execution lets the agent act inside preset rules. Conditional autonomy ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Entrepreneurs Startups Small Businesses, Equity Crowdfunding And Alternative Funding A small group of large rounds is carrying Canadian venture totals while deal count and growth stage financing remain well below recent norms. On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association published its Q3 2026 venture capital report. Canadian companies raised $4.3 billion across 397 deals through September, only 1% less capital than a year earlier. But 23 rounds of $50 million or more represented just 6% of disclosed deals and absorbed 58% of all venture capital invested. Deal count has also fallen every year since 2021. The national total is holding up far better than the number of companies getting financed. Six Big Rounds Carried 59% Of Q3 Venture Capital Q3 produced $1.35 billion across 129 deals. Capital was 1% higher than Q2, but deal count fell 15%. Six rounds above $50 million accounted for $793 million, or 59% of the quarter’s capital. That's a decent quarter for the companies that closed those rounds, but a weak quarter for everyone else. Mega rounds above $50 million totalled $2.5 billion across 23 transactions ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Story Intelligence | Competition And Market Structure, Wealthtech Investing And Trading, Regulation And Policy Canada is cutting bank fees and switching barriers after years of weak competition, high concentration and poor productivity. On November 7, 2026, the federal government proposed something Canadian investors have complained about for years. Banks would no longer be allowed to charge most investment account transfer fees, which typically cost about $150 per account. Ottawa also wants clearer transfer information and tighter timelines for moving investments to another financial institution. The fee matters because leaving can already be slow and frustrating. Receiving firms often reimburse the outgoing charge to win the account. That means a fee collected by the institution losing the customer can become part of the acquisition cost for the institution trying to win that customer. Canada's six largest banks hold roughly 93% of banking assets. The Competition Bureau was warning about barriers facing fintech competitors in 2017. Ottawa began reviewing open banking in 2018. A federal advisory committee later recommended an operating system by January 2023 and warned that government should not delay. January 2023 came and went. Real Time Rail also slipped years beyond its first expected ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Regulation And Policy Funds, Collateral And Settlement Lead Canada’s Near Term Tokenization Opportunity On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Securities Administrators published its Project Tokenization Phase 1 findings, setting out where Canadian market participants see the strongest commercial opportunities for tokenization and what regulators plan to test next. The report draws on 233 organizations, 21 bilateral meetings and 80 survey responses, along with workshops attended by 281 people in Calgary and 491 in Toronto. Participants put investment funds, private assets, collateral, treasury and settlement infrastructure ahead of public stocks as the strongest near term opportunities. The report also cuts through one of tokenization’s biggest sales pitches. Blockchain can change how an asset is recorded, transferred or settled, but it doesn't automatically create liquidity, investor demand, broader eligibility or stronger ownership rights. Those outcomes still depend on the product, market, legal structure and infrastructure around it. The CSA now plans to take specific projects into Phase 2 through a 120 day public call for proposals. Firms may be able to use existing regulatory processes, tailored regulatory treatment or bounded testing in a ...
Nov 11, 2026 A positive work environment is key for any team that wants to succeed. Team morale is crucial for productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction. Engaging in activities that lift spirits and strengthen connections can lead to great results. Creating a positive team environment requires creativity, engagement, and some fun. Each activity can strengthen connections, boost motivation, and improve workplace dynamics. When teams focus on strategies to boost morale, they work toward shared success. These activities can lead to lasting memories and help build a stronger team culture. Here are some fun strategies to help improve your team's morale and make the workplace livelier. Fun at the Arcade Visiting an arcade spot is a great way to enjoy time together and build teamwork. Imagine your team facing challenges with various games. Whether it's racing or playing team games, the arcade encourages friendly competition and bonding. These fun experiences can help reduce stress and improve relationships among coworkers. Arcades offer many options to suit diverse interests and skill levels. The lively atmosphere invites everyone to relax and take a break from their daily tasks. Shared laughter and enjoyment can lead to better communication and teamwork when you return to the ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Leadership, Competition, Human Capital, Health A Brokerage Race Beyond $0 Commissions On November 10, 2026, Webull Canada added Nasdaq Basic Canada, giving clients free real time Level 1 quote and trade data across Canadian listed equities. The feed provides best bid, best offer and last sale information for stocks listed on the TSX, TSX Venture, CSE and Cboe Canada. Nasdaq says its consolidated feed can reduce Level 1 market data costs by more than 60% compared with traditional Canadian data packages. Webull isn't first to give Canadian investors free real time information. The more interesting story is how quickly another paid feature is becoming part of the basic brokerage account. Wealthsimple helped normalize $0 trading in 2019, Questrade followed in 2025 and Webull dropped its own commissions in April 2026. With the headline trading fee largely gone, brokers now need other reasons for investors to move money and keep it on the platform. Who Led Canada’s Race To $0 Trading And Free Market Data Wealthsimple Trade launched nationally on March 13, 2019 with $0 commissions on Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs. Questrade removed commissions on listed stocks and ETFs ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding A Toronto Fintech Riskfuel Analytics Brings AI Pricing Into BBVA’s Global Markets Workflow On November 10, 2026, BBVA deployed Riskfuel Analytics' neural pricing technology inside the pre-trade structuring workflow for autocallable products on its ePricer platform. Riskfuel is a Toronto fintech founded in 2019 that builds AI models for derivatives pricing. BBVA is a global bank with a large corporate and investment banking business. The deployment puts Canadian built AI directly into the calculations used to design complex structured products at a major global bank. Riskfuel's model is trained on BBVA's own pricing engine and uses more than 4,000 market and product inputs. The company says the surrogate was tested against more than 100,000 trades and can evaluate thousands of candidate structures in under a minute. BBVA had already added AI generated investment ideas to ePricer in September. Riskfuel goes further into the workflow by speeding up the numerical pricing work while BBVA's own model remains the reference. How Riskfuel Speeds Up BBVA's Autocallable Pricing Autocallables can depend on volatility, interest rates, dividends, maturity, coupon levels and several barrier conditions. Autocallables are structured investments ...
Join Canada’s Fintech and Funding Community
Welcome to NCFA Canada
Canada's Professional Crowdfunding Trade Association
Fintech and funding markets are vibrant and so is our membership of portals, consultants, entrepreneurs, investors, professional service providers such as lawyers, accountants, due diligence companies and start-ups, SMEs and social enterprise groups raising seed and growth capital interested in crowdfunding markets in Canada and beyond. Thank you for joining and helping us grow Canada's national crowdfunding community!
Supporting a Vibrant and Strong Fintech Sector
NCFA Canada has been founded, built and is supported as a grassroots organization. We're inclusive, community-based and membership-driven. Industry initiatives, events, programming, education, advocacy and infrastructure facilitation is largely organized and led by a volunteer network of advisors, ambassadors and board members. The organization receives critical funding from key industry sponsors/partners and much in-kind support and collaboration from the social enterprise and venture capital eco-system across the country including all levels of government, innovation centres, incubators/accelerators and academic institutions.
In effort to grow the community as widely as possible, membership at NCFA is operating currently on a freemium model, however we need your support to help to continue to build opportunities and more value for members while we collectively, in aggregate, develop the Canadian crowdfunding industry and supporting ecosystem. Our focus is on crowdfunding infrastructure, education and research, improving transactions, market integrity (risk reduction) and diversification.
Membership Benefits
Please select the most applicable membership type below and click the [Join Now] button. A wide range of benefits come with your annual NCFA Canada membership, such as:
- Receive regular industry news and key development updates
- Networking and collaboration opportunities with a relevant national membership network
- Crowdfunding research, education, resource sharing and support
- Industry leadership, national advocacy and a united voice on public policy issues
- Channel to voice opinion, contribute input to industry issues, submit questions
- Member discounts on online education and in-person seminars, workshops and events
- Member discounts on qualifying services and products
- Access to members database and service provider marketplace (coming soon)
| INDIVIDUAL | COMPANY (Group) |
|
| Media Promotion (i.e. ‘Members in the News’) |
Yes | Yes |
| NCFA Discounted Services (i.e. events, webinars, conference) |
Yes | Yes |
| Government Relations and Advocacy | Yes | Yes |
| Member Only Pages (soon) | Yes | Yes |
| Membership Directory | Basic | Company Description, Link and Logo |
| Annual Membership Fees | FREE
(Suggested Donation $99) |
FREE
(Suggested Donation $250+ includes up to 4, add $50 for each additional) |
| Click to Join now --> |
If you are interested in becoming an industry partner/sponsor, please see Sponsorship Opportunities. For in-kind support contributions, please email to discuss at casano@ncfacanada.org.
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, blockchain and 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.orgLearn more About Us or contact us at info@ncfacanada.org.
NCFA Partnership Opportunities
JOIN CANADA'S LEADING FINANCIAL INNOVATION & FUNDING ECOSYSTEM
NCFA Canada offers a limited number of partnership opportunities to aligned organizations that support the growth and development of various annual conferences and initiatives implemented by the association each year. Participation and support from the following groups help provide organizational governance to maintain standards, growth, and sustainability:
- Financial Innovation and Fintech Leaders (industry stakeholders and participants across all fintech sectors)
- High growth ventures developing emerging technologies and market sectors that are transforming the future of financial services (eg., blockchain, artificial intelligence, crowdfunding, decentralized finance and alternative investing)
- Investors and funds (retail, accredited, VCs, family offices, funding groups and syndicates, strategic private equity)
- Cryptocurrency, Tokens, Coins, and blockchain / tech-enabled digital asset ventures
- Funding marketplaces, platforms, portals, and innovative dealer-brokers)
- Legal and Accounting Firms
- Financial Service providers
- Academic Institutions, Educators and Researchers (Universities, Colleges, Innovation Centers)
- Start-ups and Incubators
- Technology and Marketing
- Community Businesses and Local Chambers
- Affiliate Groups and Associations
- Strategic partners
- Global partners
BECOME AN INDUSTRY PARTNER AND GROW YOUR NETWORK, COMPANY AND BRAND
Recognized as an Industry Partner of NCFA
- Be recognized as a valuable industry partner while supporting industry development and growth
- Opportunity for a dedicate page on NCFAs website featuring your company with profile, description of core products/services, applicable social feed(s) and custom content
- Featured listing profile on FintechCanada.io, a Canadian fintech directory and networking platform
Business Development and Partnerships, Industry Thought Leadership, Participation, Networking
- Expand your network and connect with valuable business leads, investors, media/journalists, customer prospects and partnerships
- Full membership privileges for all members of your organization
- Recommended for speaking engagements and interviews (as appropriate)
- Invited to participate in informal networking opportunities (ie social gatherings, lunch etc)
- Max discount on all NCFA conference related sponsorship packages and ‘first access’ opportunities
- Complimentary pre-paid tickets to all workshops and seminars
- Participate in NCFA venture ecosystem initiatives and programs (coming soon!)
- Opportunity to participate in NCFAs digital magazine
- Opportunity to participate in a weekly podcast series 'Fintech Fridays'
- Opportunity to appoint a representative to the NCFA Advisory group (to be approved by the NCFA Board, includes appointment notice)
- Opportunity to provide thought leadership articles / blog content or Q&A interview
- Receive facilitated introductions to NCFA members and other prospective leads
- Opportunity to provide programming inputs for major events and conferences
- Opportunity to participate in relevant initiatives and opportunities that arise in NCFAs network and leadership team
Marketing, Branding, Community Building
- Logo with link prominently placed on the NCFA website and opportunity for a dedicated profile landing page
- Prominent placement of your logo on NCFA materials where industry partners are recognized (Over 65,000+ monthly visitors)
- Opportunity to place an advertising header banner with a link (appears on every NCFA page)
- Opportunity to distribute marketing materials at all NCFA Canada events, tradeshows, networking/socials, and educational workshops
- Branding and opportunity to be featured in NCFA Canada's weekly newsletter to thousands (subscribe)
- General Social media support (ie., NCFA twitter)
- Campaign Social media support for product launches or announcements
- Press release distribution on the NCFA website and promoted through channels
Regulatory policy and advocacy (learn more)
- Help shape and stay ahead of emerging regulations that impact your business and the future growth/decline of industry
- Share your company's voice and provide inputs on policy recommendations for federal and provincial regulators and key industry stakeholders
- Connect with other companies and share experiences to learn how best to deal with compliance and standards
- NCFA advocates for and is supportive of fairer, more efficient and more inclusive and competitive fintech markets in Canada. We need an ecosystem that fosters collaboration between industry participants, regulators, investors, governments and other stakeholders to create a vibrant and strong fintech and financing industry in Canada.
SUPPORT A VIBRANT AND EMERGING INDUSTRY
Help shape the future of financial services and innovation finance - and be recognized for it!
- Fintech and relevant news monitoring
- Access to targeted media/PR influencers database service
- A unified national (international) perspective and voice
- Foster innovation, job creation, and economic growth
- Funding, technology, partner services, commercial infrastructure
- Education, regulations, advocacy, leadership and support, industry stewardship
- Emerging regulatory insights and policy formation
- Data research, analysis, benchmarks
INTERESTED? UNLOCK OPPORTUNITIES AND BECOME A PARTNER TODAY!
Contact us and become a valued industry partner today: casano@ncfacanada.org
Support the adoption and growth of financial innovation today!
Become a member | Make a contribution right now
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with fintech, alternative finance, blockchain, cryptocurrency, crowdfunding and online investing stakeholders globally. NCFA Canada provides education, research, industry stewardship, services, and networking opportunities to thousands of members and subscribers and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding and fintech industry. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: ncfacanada.org
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Nov 12, 2026 Buying a Canadian money services business starts with identifying what the buyer will acquire: a legal entity, a registration history, contracts, records and possibly an active operation. The value of that package depends on whether it supports the services the new owner intends to provide. A FINTRAC registration entry is an important starting point. It does not establish the company’s financial condition, the quality of its compliance programme or the availability of banking relationships after an acquisition. A payment business may also need a separate assessment under the Retail Payment Activities Act, or RPAA. For investors evaluating a Canadian MSB company for sale, due diligence should connect registration status, actual activities, transaction structure and financial evidence before the parties agree a completion timetable. Verify the Canadian MSB registration and legal entity Begin with the target’s exact legal name, incorporation details, registration number and current status. Match the entity in the corporate documents to the entity in FINTRAC’s Money Services Business Registry. FINTRAC explicitly states that registration does not mean it endorses or licenses a business. It also states that it does not issue licences or certificates of registration. A sales presentation using the phrase “FINTRAC licence” should ...
November 12, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Wealthtech Investing And Trading Strategy still runs a software business, but Bitcoin now dominates its assets and capital raising. MSCI no longer treats that balance as an index eligible operating company. November 11, 2026, MSCI confirmed Strategy’s removal from the MSCI USA and MSCI World indexes after the November 30 close under its new methodology for non operating companies. MSCI is one of the world’s largest index providers, and its benchmarks are followed by funds investing across global equity markets. Japan’s Metaplanet is also being removed from an MSCI index. MSCI has decided that Strategy no longer qualifies for its equity indexes because Bitcoin now dominates its assets and much of its capital raising. Strategy still sells software and reports operating revenue, but MSCI is drawing a line between a business that holds investment assets and one where those assets have become the main financial story. Why Is MSCI Removing Strategy From Its Indexes? MSCI first looked at a rule aimed specifically at digital asset treasury companies. It later dropped that proposal and change it's methodology to cover companies whose finances ...
Nov 12, 2026 Crypto market cap is calculated by multiplying an asset's reference price by its circulating supply. A token priced at $2 with 50 million units circulating has a market cap of $100 million. The calculation estimates the value of that supply at the reference price; it does not total the money investors deposited. To understand a change in the ranking, examine both inputs and the provider's definitions. A larger number can result from price changes, supply changes, or revised reporting. Establish what the two inputs represent The arithmetic is simple, but neither input is self-explanatory. “Price” may be a reference assembled from selected trading pairs and venues, rather than the last transaction on the exchange you use. A provider may exclude observations or convert quote currencies. Two services can publish different estimates because their source selection and methods differ. Circulating supply is an estimate of units treated as available in the market under a provider's rules. It may differ from the number minted, the total recorded by a contract, or the maximum permitted under a protocol's current design. Locked balances, treasury allocations, burns, and scheduled releases require interpretation. A transparent methodology matters because identical arithmetic can still use ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Risk Compliance And Regtech Financial firms are putting AI agents into production well before giving them broad financial authority. That creates time to set identity, permissions and transaction controls before autonomous execution becomes common. On November 11, 2026, Bank of England Financial Policy Committee external member Jonathan Hall used his final FPC speech to examine what happens when AI agents get more authority inside financial firms. A Bank of England and FCA survey of 196 firms found that 80% already deploy AI agents and another 14% plan to within 12 months. Only 2% reported agents with broad autonomy, and none of those were in trading and payments. Finance is adopting agents quickly, but firms are still keeping people and hard limits around the decisions that can change money, positions or customer outcomes. AI Agents Are In Finance But They Are Not Trading Alone The 2026 Bank of England and FCA survey separates four levels of authority: Decision support lets an agent recommend an action while a person decides and executes it. Constrained execution lets the agent act inside preset rules. Conditional autonomy ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Entrepreneurs Startups Small Businesses, Equity Crowdfunding And Alternative Funding A small group of large rounds is carrying Canadian venture totals while deal count and growth stage financing remain well below recent norms. On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association published its Q3 2026 venture capital report. Canadian companies raised $4.3 billion across 397 deals through September, only 1% less capital than a year earlier. But 23 rounds of $50 million or more represented just 6% of disclosed deals and absorbed 58% of all venture capital invested. Deal count has also fallen every year since 2021. The national total is holding up far better than the number of companies getting financed. Six Big Rounds Carried 59% Of Q3 Venture Capital Q3 produced $1.35 billion across 129 deals. Capital was 1% higher than Q2, but deal count fell 15%. Six rounds above $50 million accounted for $793 million, or 59% of the quarter’s capital. That's a decent quarter for the companies that closed those rounds, but a weak quarter for everyone else. Mega rounds above $50 million totalled $2.5 billion across 23 transactions ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Story Intelligence | Competition And Market Structure, Wealthtech Investing And Trading, Regulation And Policy Canada is cutting bank fees and switching barriers after years of weak competition, high concentration and poor productivity. On November 7, 2026, the federal government proposed something Canadian investors have complained about for years. Banks would no longer be allowed to charge most investment account transfer fees, which typically cost about $150 per account. Ottawa also wants clearer transfer information and tighter timelines for moving investments to another financial institution. The fee matters because leaving can already be slow and frustrating. Receiving firms often reimburse the outgoing charge to win the account. That means a fee collected by the institution losing the customer can become part of the acquisition cost for the institution trying to win that customer. Canada's six largest banks hold roughly 93% of banking assets. The Competition Bureau was warning about barriers facing fintech competitors in 2017. Ottawa began reviewing open banking in 2018. A federal advisory committee later recommended an operating system by January 2023 and warned that government should not delay. January 2023 came and went. Real Time Rail also slipped years beyond its first expected ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Regulation And Policy Funds, Collateral And Settlement Lead Canada’s Near Term Tokenization Opportunity On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Securities Administrators published its Project Tokenization Phase 1 findings, setting out where Canadian market participants see the strongest commercial opportunities for tokenization and what regulators plan to test next. The report draws on 233 organizations, 21 bilateral meetings and 80 survey responses, along with workshops attended by 281 people in Calgary and 491 in Toronto. Participants put investment funds, private assets, collateral, treasury and settlement infrastructure ahead of public stocks as the strongest near term opportunities. The report also cuts through one of tokenization’s biggest sales pitches. Blockchain can change how an asset is recorded, transferred or settled, but it doesn't automatically create liquidity, investor demand, broader eligibility or stronger ownership rights. Those outcomes still depend on the product, market, legal structure and infrastructure around it. The CSA now plans to take specific projects into Phase 2 through a 120 day public call for proposals. Firms may be able to use existing regulatory processes, tailored regulatory treatment or bounded testing in a ...
Nov 11, 2026 A positive work environment is key for any team that wants to succeed. Team morale is crucial for productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction. Engaging in activities that lift spirits and strengthen connections can lead to great results. Creating a positive team environment requires creativity, engagement, and some fun. Each activity can strengthen connections, boost motivation, and improve workplace dynamics. When teams focus on strategies to boost morale, they work toward shared success. These activities can lead to lasting memories and help build a stronger team culture. Here are some fun strategies to help improve your team's morale and make the workplace livelier. Fun at the Arcade Visiting an arcade spot is a great way to enjoy time together and build teamwork. Imagine your team facing challenges with various games. Whether it's racing or playing team games, the arcade encourages friendly competition and bonding. These fun experiences can help reduce stress and improve relationships among coworkers. Arcades offer many options to suit diverse interests and skill levels. The lively atmosphere invites everyone to relax and take a break from their daily tasks. Shared laughter and enjoyment can lead to better communication and teamwork when you return to the ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Leadership, Competition, Human Capital, Health A Brokerage Race Beyond $0 Commissions On November 10, 2026, Webull Canada added Nasdaq Basic Canada, giving clients free real time Level 1 quote and trade data across Canadian listed equities. The feed provides best bid, best offer and last sale information for stocks listed on the TSX, TSX Venture, CSE and Cboe Canada. Nasdaq says its consolidated feed can reduce Level 1 market data costs by more than 60% compared with traditional Canadian data packages. Webull isn't first to give Canadian investors free real time information. The more interesting story is how quickly another paid feature is becoming part of the basic brokerage account. Wealthsimple helped normalize $0 trading in 2019, Questrade followed in 2025 and Webull dropped its own commissions in April 2026. With the headline trading fee largely gone, brokers now need other reasons for investors to move money and keep it on the platform. Who Led Canada’s Race To $0 Trading And Free Market Data Wealthsimple Trade launched nationally on March 13, 2019 with $0 commissions on Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs. Questrade removed commissions on listed stocks and ETFs ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding A Toronto Fintech Riskfuel Analytics Brings AI Pricing Into BBVA’s Global Markets Workflow On November 10, 2026, BBVA deployed Riskfuel Analytics' neural pricing technology inside the pre-trade structuring workflow for autocallable products on its ePricer platform. Riskfuel is a Toronto fintech founded in 2019 that builds AI models for derivatives pricing. BBVA is a global bank with a large corporate and investment banking business. The deployment puts Canadian built AI directly into the calculations used to design complex structured products at a major global bank. Riskfuel's model is trained on BBVA's own pricing engine and uses more than 4,000 market and product inputs. The company says the surrogate was tested against more than 100,000 trades and can evaluate thousands of candidate structures in under a minute. BBVA had already added AI generated investment ideas to ePricer in September. Riskfuel goes further into the workflow by speeding up the numerical pricing work while BBVA's own model remains the reference. How Riskfuel Speeds Up BBVA's Autocallable Pricing Autocallables can depend on volatility, interest rates, dividends, maturity, coupon levels and several barrier conditions. Autocallables are structured investments ...
Nov 12, 2026 Buying a Canadian money services business starts with identifying what the buyer will acquire: a legal entity, a registration history, contracts, records and possibly an active operation. The value of that package depends on whether it supports the services the new owner intends to provide. A FINTRAC registration entry is an important starting point. It does not establish the company’s financial condition, the quality of its compliance programme or the availability of banking relationships after an acquisition. A payment business may also need a separate assessment under the Retail Payment Activities Act, or RPAA. For investors evaluating a Canadian MSB company for sale, due diligence should connect registration status, actual activities, transaction structure and financial evidence before the parties agree a completion timetable. Verify the Canadian MSB registration and legal entity Begin with the target’s exact legal name, incorporation details, registration number and current status. Match the entity in the corporate documents to the entity in FINTRAC’s Money Services Business Registry. FINTRAC explicitly states that registration does not mean it endorses or licenses a business. It also states that it does not issue licences or certificates of registration. A sales presentation using the phrase “FINTRAC licence” should ...
November 12, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Wealthtech Investing And Trading Strategy still runs a software business, but Bitcoin now dominates its assets and capital raising. MSCI no longer treats that balance as an index eligible operating company. November 11, 2026, MSCI confirmed Strategy’s removal from the MSCI USA and MSCI World indexes after the November 30 close under its new methodology for non operating companies. MSCI is one of the world’s largest index providers, and its benchmarks are followed by funds investing across global equity markets. Japan’s Metaplanet is also being removed from an MSCI index. MSCI has decided that Strategy no longer qualifies for its equity indexes because Bitcoin now dominates its assets and much of its capital raising. Strategy still sells software and reports operating revenue, but MSCI is drawing a line between a business that holds investment assets and one where those assets have become the main financial story. Why Is MSCI Removing Strategy From Its Indexes? MSCI first looked at a rule aimed specifically at digital asset treasury companies. It later dropped that proposal and change it's methodology to cover companies whose finances ...
Nov 12, 2026 Crypto market cap is calculated by multiplying an asset's reference price by its circulating supply. A token priced at $2 with 50 million units circulating has a market cap of $100 million. The calculation estimates the value of that supply at the reference price; it does not total the money investors deposited. To understand a change in the ranking, examine both inputs and the provider's definitions. A larger number can result from price changes, supply changes, or revised reporting. Establish what the two inputs represent The arithmetic is simple, but neither input is self-explanatory. “Price” may be a reference assembled from selected trading pairs and venues, rather than the last transaction on the exchange you use. A provider may exclude observations or convert quote currencies. Two services can publish different estimates because their source selection and methods differ. Circulating supply is an estimate of units treated as available in the market under a provider's rules. It may differ from the number minted, the total recorded by a contract, or the maximum permitted under a protocol's current design. Locked balances, treasury allocations, burns, and scheduled releases require interpretation. A transparent methodology matters because identical arithmetic can still use ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Risk Compliance And Regtech Financial firms are putting AI agents into production well before giving them broad financial authority. That creates time to set identity, permissions and transaction controls before autonomous execution becomes common. On November 11, 2026, Bank of England Financial Policy Committee external member Jonathan Hall used his final FPC speech to examine what happens when AI agents get more authority inside financial firms. A Bank of England and FCA survey of 196 firms found that 80% already deploy AI agents and another 14% plan to within 12 months. Only 2% reported agents with broad autonomy, and none of those were in trading and payments. Finance is adopting agents quickly, but firms are still keeping people and hard limits around the decisions that can change money, positions or customer outcomes. AI Agents Are In Finance But They Are Not Trading Alone The 2026 Bank of England and FCA survey separates four levels of authority: Decision support lets an agent recommend an action while a person decides and executes it. Constrained execution lets the agent act inside preset rules. Conditional autonomy ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Entrepreneurs Startups Small Businesses, Equity Crowdfunding And Alternative Funding A small group of large rounds is carrying Canadian venture totals while deal count and growth stage financing remain well below recent norms. On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association published its Q3 2026 venture capital report. Canadian companies raised $4.3 billion across 397 deals through September, only 1% less capital than a year earlier. But 23 rounds of $50 million or more represented just 6% of disclosed deals and absorbed 58% of all venture capital invested. Deal count has also fallen every year since 2021. The national total is holding up far better than the number of companies getting financed. Six Big Rounds Carried 59% Of Q3 Venture Capital Q3 produced $1.35 billion across 129 deals. Capital was 1% higher than Q2, but deal count fell 15%. Six rounds above $50 million accounted for $793 million, or 59% of the quarter’s capital. That's a decent quarter for the companies that closed those rounds, but a weak quarter for everyone else. Mega rounds above $50 million totalled $2.5 billion across 23 transactions ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Story Intelligence | Competition And Market Structure, Wealthtech Investing And Trading, Regulation And Policy Canada is cutting bank fees and switching barriers after years of weak competition, high concentration and poor productivity. On November 7, 2026, the federal government proposed something Canadian investors have complained about for years. Banks would no longer be allowed to charge most investment account transfer fees, which typically cost about $150 per account. Ottawa also wants clearer transfer information and tighter timelines for moving investments to another financial institution. The fee matters because leaving can already be slow and frustrating. Receiving firms often reimburse the outgoing charge to win the account. That means a fee collected by the institution losing the customer can become part of the acquisition cost for the institution trying to win that customer. Canada's six largest banks hold roughly 93% of banking assets. The Competition Bureau was warning about barriers facing fintech competitors in 2017. Ottawa began reviewing open banking in 2018. A federal advisory committee later recommended an operating system by January 2023 and warned that government should not delay. January 2023 came and went. Real Time Rail also slipped years beyond its first expected ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Regulation And Policy Funds, Collateral And Settlement Lead Canada’s Near Term Tokenization Opportunity On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Securities Administrators published its Project Tokenization Phase 1 findings, setting out where Canadian market participants see the strongest commercial opportunities for tokenization and what regulators plan to test next. The report draws on 233 organizations, 21 bilateral meetings and 80 survey responses, along with workshops attended by 281 people in Calgary and 491 in Toronto. Participants put investment funds, private assets, collateral, treasury and settlement infrastructure ahead of public stocks as the strongest near term opportunities. The report also cuts through one of tokenization’s biggest sales pitches. Blockchain can change how an asset is recorded, transferred or settled, but it doesn't automatically create liquidity, investor demand, broader eligibility or stronger ownership rights. Those outcomes still depend on the product, market, legal structure and infrastructure around it. The CSA now plans to take specific projects into Phase 2 through a 120 day public call for proposals. Firms may be able to use existing regulatory processes, tailored regulatory treatment or bounded testing in a ...
Nov 11, 2026 A positive work environment is key for any team that wants to succeed. Team morale is crucial for productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction. Engaging in activities that lift spirits and strengthen connections can lead to great results. Creating a positive team environment requires creativity, engagement, and some fun. Each activity can strengthen connections, boost motivation, and improve workplace dynamics. When teams focus on strategies to boost morale, they work toward shared success. These activities can lead to lasting memories and help build a stronger team culture. Here are some fun strategies to help improve your team's morale and make the workplace livelier. Fun at the Arcade Visiting an arcade spot is a great way to enjoy time together and build teamwork. Imagine your team facing challenges with various games. Whether it's racing or playing team games, the arcade encourages friendly competition and bonding. These fun experiences can help reduce stress and improve relationships among coworkers. Arcades offer many options to suit diverse interests and skill levels. The lively atmosphere invites everyone to relax and take a break from their daily tasks. Shared laughter and enjoyment can lead to better communication and teamwork when you return to the ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Leadership, Competition, Human Capital, Health A Brokerage Race Beyond $0 Commissions On November 10, 2026, Webull Canada added Nasdaq Basic Canada, giving clients free real time Level 1 quote and trade data across Canadian listed equities. The feed provides best bid, best offer and last sale information for stocks listed on the TSX, TSX Venture, CSE and Cboe Canada. Nasdaq says its consolidated feed can reduce Level 1 market data costs by more than 60% compared with traditional Canadian data packages. Webull isn't first to give Canadian investors free real time information. The more interesting story is how quickly another paid feature is becoming part of the basic brokerage account. Wealthsimple helped normalize $0 trading in 2019, Questrade followed in 2025 and Webull dropped its own commissions in April 2026. With the headline trading fee largely gone, brokers now need other reasons for investors to move money and keep it on the platform. Who Led Canada’s Race To $0 Trading And Free Market Data Wealthsimple Trade launched nationally on March 13, 2019 with $0 commissions on Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs. Questrade removed commissions on listed stocks and ETFs ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding A Toronto Fintech Riskfuel Analytics Brings AI Pricing Into BBVA’s Global Markets Workflow On November 10, 2026, BBVA deployed Riskfuel Analytics' neural pricing technology inside the pre-trade structuring workflow for autocallable products on its ePricer platform. Riskfuel is a Toronto fintech founded in 2019 that builds AI models for derivatives pricing. BBVA is a global bank with a large corporate and investment banking business. The deployment puts Canadian built AI directly into the calculations used to design complex structured products at a major global bank. Riskfuel's model is trained on BBVA's own pricing engine and uses more than 4,000 market and product inputs. The company says the surrogate was tested against more than 100,000 trades and can evaluate thousands of candidate structures in under a minute. BBVA had already added AI generated investment ideas to ePricer in September. Riskfuel goes further into the workflow by speeding up the numerical pricing work while BBVA's own model remains the reference. How Riskfuel Speeds Up BBVA's Autocallable Pricing Autocallables can depend on volatility, interest rates, dividends, maturity, coupon levels and several barrier conditions. Autocallables are structured investments ...
