Due to KuCoin‘s violation of securities laws, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has permanently banned it from the Ontario market. The OSC made this announcement in one of its recent news releases. The release states the regulator’s successful actions against two exchanges, Bybit and KuCoin, for not complying with the securities law.

Bybit reacted to the enforcement actions by reaching an agreement with OSC, on a settlement after discovering that the exchange had broken Ontario’s securities law. The exchange also provided the necessary information to the OSC.

Bybit has paid a USD 2,468,910 fine as well as an additional CAD 10,000 to cover the costs of the inquiry. The exchange is also prohibited from conducting any advertising or marketing campaigns and more so residents of Ontario can’t open new accounts on the exchange platform.

Unlike Bybit, KuCoin failed to respond to the OSC for the investigation and, as a result, is entirely banned from market participation in Ontario for failing to comply with Ontario securities law.

“Foreign crypto-asset trading platforms that want to operate in Ontario must play by the rules or face enforcement action. The outcomes announced today should serve as a clear indication that we refuse to tolerate non-compliance with Ontario securities law,” Jeff Kehoe, Director of Enforcement at the OSC said.

Additionally, KuCoin is charged with a $2,000,000 fine and an additional $96,550 for the charges related to the inquiry. The OSC previously issued a warning to cryptocurrency trading platforms that facilitate the trade of securities and derivatives to get in touch with the regulator to register. While KuCoin and Bybit missed the deadline, they carried on with business as usual without getting in touch with the OSC.

The OSC is in contact with international securities authorities to exchange information in support of these initiatives and will continue to take enforcement action against non-compliant crypto-asset trading platforms.