CIRO Proposes Fee Model for Regulating Crypto Sector

The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) has proposed a new fee model to cover the costs of overseeing trading in the crypto sector. The proposal aims to introduce fees to recover the direct and full costs of regulating the sector, with a phased implementation from July 2027 to March 31, 2028.

Under the proposed model, firms will be divided into three categories with minimum annual fees ranging from $50,000 to $100,000. The fees will be based on the level of oversight required for each category and allocated to individual firms based on their specific trading activity.

The estimated annual costs of crypto oversight are approximately $1 million, according to CIRO. Firms will be able to get initial estimates of their likely fees from CIRO by submitting their crypto trading volume for the past 12 months.