Canada's Blockchain Sector Wants Legal Clarity, New Report Shows

Canadian blockchain companies want to know where their government stands on the crypto space, a new report commissioned by the Canadian Digital Chamber of Commerce shows.

The report - one of the first to take a comprehensive snapshot of Canada's blockchain ecosystem - sheds new light on the country's nascent crypto firms, who appear largely bullish on their own future and are increasingly eager to know if their government feels the same.

Though separate from U.S. regulators and from other global regulatory bodies, Canada's government has been reticent to establish crypto regulations that might conflict with other countries' laws, said Michael Gord, CEO of Toronto-based MLG Blockchain consulting group.

To grow Canada's blockchain footprint, she said, the advocates and policymakers needed to have reliable data.

CDCC partnered with Accenture and the Blockchain Research Institute to find it.

About 25 percent of businesses reported spending nothing on blockchain projects in the past five years, though only 11 percent said they'd continue to devote no resources in 2020.

The report found new blockchain businesses going where their off-chain counterparts already dominate.

Banking hub Toronto hosts many blockchain trading exchanges; the capital city, Ottawa, sees cybersecurity and government IT firms; and Alberta, the heart of Canada's petroleum industry, has a proliferation of supply-chain startups.

Women are underrepresented in Canadian blockchain companies, but not by much: they comprised about 42 percent of the average company's respective workforce, serving in roles from marketing to technical development.

Canada's biggest winners, the report shows, are the workers in the blockchain space.