Canada's OSFI clarifies that tokenized deposits have the same legal status as traditional deposits under a technology-neutral regulatory framework.
DeFi & Yields ·
Canada's financial regulator has clarified its stance on blockchain-based deposit products. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions adopts a regulatory framework indifferent to underlying technology, treating tokenized deposits with the same legal standing as conventional deposits held by federally regulated institutions. This approach signals that the form of representation—digital or otherwise—does not create a separate legal category.
Financial firms and their service providers remain bound by existing compliance obligations. Guidelines B-13 (technology and cyber risk management) and B-10 (third-party risk management) both apply to tokenized deposit offerings. Institutions planning to introduce such products must coordinate with their assigned OSFI supervisors and obtain legal counsel to ensure alignment with regulatory expectations.
The ruling leaves open the practical scope of what constitutes "compliance" for emerging deposit structures, and whether supervisors will impose additional conditions on tokenized offerings in practice during the consultation phase remains to be seen.