The volume of P2P bitcoin trade in Canadian dollars has increased significantly since leading banks in the country imposed bans on crypto-related transactions. Toronto-Dominion Bank, the Royal Bank of Canada, and more recently the Bank of Montreal have limited or prohibited the use of their services and products to acquire cryptocurrencies. As a result, the weekly CAD trade on Localbitcoins has passed C$8 million at the end of March.
Also read: Crypto Exchanges Launch P2P Platforms from Latvia and Bulgaria
Circumventing the Ban
Trying to bypass various bans introduced by major banks, Canadians are switching to peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trade. The volume of bitcoin trading in Canadian dollars on Localbitcoins, a leading global P2P platform, has increased six times in the last three weeks, Decentral Post reported. The latest data from Coin Dance shows a record high at the end of last month. More than C$8 million worth of bitcoins has been exchanged in the week of March 31, 2018.
Several Canadian banks have imposed restrictions on cryptocurrency transactions over the past months. In March, the country’s biggest bank, Toronto-Dominion Bank, banned its customers from purchasing cryptos like bitcoin. Canada’s second largest bank, the Royal Bank of Canada, announced it would allow crypto-related transactions only in limited circumstances. More recently, the Bank of Montreal prohibited the holders of its credit and debit cards to acquire crypto assets.
The Bank of Montreal, or BMO Financial Group, was expected to provide banking services to a project aimed at launching a new cryptocurrency brokerage in Canada. Last month, the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange, TMX Group, revealed plans to offer its customers the opportunity to buy and sell bitcoin and ethereum through a subsidiary. TMX has
