While Canada approaches a central election on April 28, 2025, Lucas Matheson, CEO of Coinbase Canada, positions the cryptocurrency giant for influence on a market which, according to him, is ready for the innovation of the blockchain.
I told him about the expansion presence of the cryptocurrency exchange in Canada, the unique characteristics of the Canadian market and its vision of the future of the country’s cryptography. Our conversation revealed not only the strategic ambitions of Coinbase, but also Matheson’s personal passion to advance the adoption of blockchain in his country of origin.
As a Canadian entrepreneur with experience in traditional financing and technology startups that have joined Coinbase after almost six years in Shopify, Matheson urges the Canadian government to move quickly to integrate crypto into their economy.
This interview was condensed and slightly modified for more clarity.
Coindesk: Your career has passed you from traditional finance to Shopify at the crypto. Was there a specific moment when you realized that digital assets would reshape funding, or was it a progressive conviction?
Lucas: I am a Canadian entrepreneur and I work in finance and business most of my career. I spent the first part of my career in finance, mainly in mergers and acquisitions, and I founded a technological business after higher education with my best friend in Silicon Valley, where I started my trip with Coinbase. I have been a Coinbase customer for over 10 years now.
After sold this company, I joined Shopify and I worked there for almost six years, helping to build their business, their operational and financial functions. At Coinbase, I help lead a team that builds a platform for Canadians to diversify their assets in the digital economy.
Coindesk: How long has Coinbase have worked in Canada and what regulatory steps have you reached?
Lucas: Coinbase has been in Canada for almost four years now. We have officially been registering here in Canada for several years. Canada is recorded as a limited dealer under ASC. We are the first international exchange to be recorded in Canada.
We are fortunate to have a regulatory scheme here where we operate under a diet in accordance with Canada to develop our business. We are now continuing our IIROC registration with IIROC as a full registration, which will expand the types of products and services that we can offer to Canadians.
Coindesk: Ethereum was born in Canada, but most of its ecosystem has developed elsewhere. Is there a certain irony to have to convince Canadian institutions to adopt technology with Canadian roots?
Lucas: Coinbase is looking for regulatory clarity all over the world, and we are looking for markets that provide stability and clear rules to operate under a diet. Canada is one of these markets which is identified as open to the supply of clear rules and the regulation of cryptocurrency exchanges as a coinbase.
When we look around the world, Canada is also a very cryptocurrency country. It is the third most aware country in crypto of all the international locations in which we operate, so we have a fairly strong awareness of technology here.
The opportunity to help our financial system – as you probably know, Ethereum was founded here in Canada. We have very strong roots here in Canada around cryptocurrency and technology. We have a lot of very big universities in computer sciences that focus on blockchain technology and help our students in Canada understand the opportunity.
Coindesk: It is fascinating that Canada is the third most crypto country. How does it result in adoption rates?
Lucas: When we study the countries of the world, we examine how conscious citizens are devoted to specific types of cryptocurrencies, to the use of cryptocurrencies and technology. Canadians are the third most aware country of all the international markets we are studying.
We see some surveys in Canada suggesting that more than 30% of Canadians by the end of this year will be owners of digital assets. We therefore see a very strong adoption in Canada and healthy diversification in the asset class. Of course, Canada was the first to introduce FNB linked to crypto, so we have a wide awareness of the opportunity for Canadians to diversify in crypto through traditional FNB.
Coindesk: Who are Canadians who use Coinbase? Is there a particular demographic profile?
Lucas: We have a very wide distribution of demographic data in Canada. We have a very diverse group of users in Canada – people who diversify young students, immigrants who seek to put money.
We see a large number of people constructing and diversifying portfolios, accumulating digital assets for long -term diversification and preservation of wealth. Then, we have a significant amount of institutional investors in Canada who are also starting to diversify assets in the cryptographic economy.
We therefore see a very strong adoption in all retail, and in Canada in particular now, we note a healthier adoption on the part of institutional investors and more interest of institutional investors, retirement funds, asset managers who also explain the diversification of the assets of their customers in crypto.
Coindesk: With the Canada elections approaching April 28, what policy changes would you like to see the next government?
Lucas: We have proposed a certain number of changes so that our new government really reflects in the next quarter. We recommended that they:
- Launch a government working group and create a national crypto strategy
- Consider a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve
- Regulate the federal stablecoins of a prudential regulator as a payment instrument
- Present a bill on the structure of the market as we see in the United States where we can clearly define cryptographic assets so that it is clear for the public, institutions and manufacturers exactly how cryptographic assets are defined
- Facilitate Banking Crypto trading platforms more easily in Canada
Currently, our big banks – we have large banks with 80 to 90% of money in Canada – not to ban the crypto trading platforms, so we are very eager to help our government encourage our financial institutions to participate in the digital economy. (You can read Lucas’ writing on what Canada should do to be a world leader in cryptography here.)
Coindesk: You mentioned “stand with crypto” as a advocacy initiative. How do you organize industry to influence politics in Canada?
Lucas: Stand with Crypto (that Coinbase Funds) is an organization that has argued for clear rules worldwide for the crypto, and we have recently launched stand with Crypto here in Canada with a number of partners. We have a number of Crypto trading partners who join Stand with Crypto to help us defend change.
Stand with Crypto is really an opportunity for our elected officials to understand this opportunity so that we can prioritize it clearly. Canada has a lot of priorities and challenges within our economy, and cryptographic technology can help us rebuild our economy and economic freedom. This is one of the ways we organize.
Canada also has two strong industry associations, the Canadian Blockchain Consortium and the Canadian Web3 Council, and these organizations help unify points of view and help us align with the opportunities that we can engage with our regulators to stimulate more regulatory clarity on the market.
Coindesk: Decentralized exchanges (DEX) question centralized platforms like Coinbase in the United States. How do you see this trend affecting your business in Canada?
Lucas: I think that decentralized finance will constitute a very healthy and important part of our financial economy. I think it is the foundation of technology and ecosystem – to decentralize financial interactions in a reliable, safe and compliant way.
I think that the decentralization of finance will be a healthy part of how certain investors will choose to participate. But centralized exchanges provide a very precious tool for ramp and ramp outside the digital economy in a conforming way that helps governments and institutions around the world comfort that platforms like Coinbase manage the risks appropriately, managing the fight against money laundering and terrorist funding, ensuring that people on their platform act in good faith.
Coindesk: If you could say a few things at the next administration, what would they be?
Lucas: I would say that the rest of the world moves quickly to adopt the crypto and integrate it into their economy. It is time for Canada to do the same – to integrate crypto into our economy, to build a national strategy and to educate Canadians on the reasons why the world goes to digital.
Coindesk: There seems to be a patriotic element to your plea. Do you see Canada becoming a world leader in crypto?
Lucas: I think Canada can be a crypto leader. Canada has the opportunity to embrace this technology significantly to help this country rebuild us and develop our economy.
I think we are entering a time when we have to rethink the way we organize our government, how we tax our government, how we generate income and how we spend money. I think we are entering a cycle where governments should do more with less. This is what entrepreneurs do technology every day, and this is what governments around the world are starting to adopt, it is an opportunity to do more with less, to be more efficient, to provide better government services through technology, to be more entrepreneurial.
