Canada’s TradeOgre Shutdown Sparks Debate on Crypto Enforcement
On september 18,the Royal canadian Mounted Police seized over CAD 56 million ($41 million) in assets,shuttering TradeOgre. This marked the first complete shutdown of a cryptocurrency exchange in canada.
The inquiry began in June 2024 following a tip from Europol. The RCMP scrutinized TradeOgre for failing to register with FINTRAC and for neglecting user identity checks. These oversights let users operate anonymously, attracting criminal activity.
In late July 2025, traders noticed withdrawal issues and a lack of dialog from TradeOgre. The RCMP finally intervened,securing assets and halting operations. The next steps, potentially criminal charges, will depend on findings from reviewed transaction records.
User reactions were swift and negative. Critics claimed innocent individuals were unfairly implicated. taylor Monahan of MetaMask vocalized this sentiment on X, suggesting she and others were not criminals. Reuben Yap, co-founder of Firo, echoed these concerns, calling it theft.
- Monahan awaited evidence and resolutions for affected users.
- Yap questioned confiscating balances due to KYC (Know Your Customer) failures.
Users may struggle to recover funds, requiring proof of holdings. Lack of transparency added fuel to the fire, with one Reddit user questioning TradeOgre’s silence.
Canada’s crypto regulatory framework, evolving since 2014, suffered setbacks like the 2019 QuadrigaCX collapse. This incident underlined the need for stricter oversight.
Regulations tightened post-QuadrigaCX, but enforcement gaps remained. Some exchanges still created accounts without identity checks. Citing spans across various laws further muddled oversight. The TradeOgre case began after a tip from Europol, indicating local authorities hadn’t flagged it internally.
This crackdown mirrors global trends, with the U.S. SEC increasing enforcement and European countries advocating for stricter crypto asset regulations.the TradeOgre incident highlights the dilemma between maintaining compliance and protecting user assets.
