Toronto-based cryptocurrency Exchange Coinsquare has acquired StellarX, a trading app and decentralized exchange for the Stellar marketplace. 'Stellar' refers to 'Stellar Lumens', Stellar Lumens is a cryptocurrency platform that focuses on remittances and cross-border Payments .
The announcement came in an official statement from the company published on February 14.
Big news for $XLM #Stellar Lumens! Coinsquare, the biggest #crypto exchange in Canada, has acquired StellarX https://t.co/60bRXn7BvU
— Stellar Lumens $XLM (@xlmstellarlumen) February 14, 2019
”New Fiat Tethers and Securities Tokens” Will Come “In Time”
According to the terms of the deal, StellarX will continue to operate and grow under its own brand. However, there is still some internal restructuring happening--BlockEQ co-founder Megha Bambra has been named as the StellarX project team lead. She and “her new team of Toronto-based developers” will continue to execute the goals that StellarX laid on its own roadmap in the autumn.
“They are a particularly strong mobile team, and we expect greatness from the coming StellarX mobile app,” wrote StellarX in a blog post about the acquisition.
The post also revealed that the acquisition would provide opportunities for StellarX that weren’t previously on the table. “In time, they will also add many things that weren’t possible under StellarX’s previous regime: new fiat tethers and securities tokens.”
Coinsquare Aligns Itself With Stellar
The acquisition represents the second recent expansion for Coinsquare, which happens to be the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Canada. In December, the exchange acquired Stellar wallet platform BlockEQ for $12 million. According to the announcement, BlockEQ “will be rebranded to become the anchor wallet for the StellarX platform.”
Coinsquare’s focus on aligning itself with the Stellar network seems to stem from a belief in the network’s potential as a payment system. “Stellar is the fastest payment network in the world and we see enormous potential to create industry-leading services on StellarX to further broader adoption,” Coinsquare CEO Cole Diamond said.
The Canadian Crypto Community On Edge Following QuadrigaCX
Coinsquare’s rise comes on the heels of the QuadrigaCX scandal. Quadriga, another Canadian cryptocurrency exchange, found itself in the midst of a disaster when its CEO passed away without sharing the keys to the exchange’s cryptocurrency reserves.
The incident has revealed regulatory and technical shortcomings surrounding many cryptocurrency exchanges; we can hope that the Canadian government rises to the occasion and builds regulations that will protect its citizens from future disasters.
