As part of the 2023 budget proposal, the Canadian government has mandated that pension funds under federal regulation must report their crypto asset exposure to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI).
High-profile bankruptcies spark reform
The report indicates that the Canadian government aims to safeguard the retirement benefits of its citizens in response to various well-known bankruptcies in the financial sector that have impacted pension funds. Among these failures are those of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and the Celsius Network, which occurred recently.
On Twitter, Simon Dixon, the CEO of BnkToTheFuture, shared his thoughts on the new regulatory mandate and remarked that the Canadian Pension Funds are still feeling the effects of investing in the FTX exchange led by Sam Bankman-Fried, as they had experienced significant losses due to the collapse of Celsius and now have “Crypto PTSD” or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Canadian Pension Funds invested in both Sam Bankman-Fried #FTX & Alex Mashinsky #Celsius Equity – I think they have Crypto PTSD 🤔 https://t.co/D2ECVONUA3
— Simon Dixon (@SimonDixonTwitt) March 28, 2023
Canadian funds’ investment woes
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan took significant action by completely writing off its $95M investment in FTX, indicating that it was now valued at zero. Similarly, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), another Canadian pension fund based in Quebec, had earlier written off a $150M investment in Celsius Network, indicating it did not anticipate any future returns from the investment.
Celsius has recently settled with the Custody Ad Hoc Group and the UCC following months of legal proceedings. As part of the settlement, eligible account holders can opt in and receive most of their digital assets in the Custody Program. It’s worth noting that those who choose to participate will gradually receive 72.5% of their digital assets over some time.
