Katherine Ross

In a 2022 survey released on Wednesday, the Bank of Canada broke down the ownership of cryptocurrencies in <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/canada" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Canada</a>. 



The report found that Canadians sold out of their bitcoin positions in 2022, but did not ”shift out of Bitcoin and into other cryptoassets, as we observed decreased ownership of altcoins.”



Possibly adding to that statistic is the fact that the Bank of Canada found that under a third of bitcoin owners “are highly literate about how the Bitcoin system actually works, while a slightly larger proportion have basically no knowledge.”



But altcoin ownership remained roughly the same in 2022 as it was in 2021. Only about a percent of Canadians surveyed owned a stablecoin.&nbsp;



Meanwhile, “&#8230;the ownership rate for ether, the second most popular cryptoasset, declined from 7% in 2021 to 4% in 2022,” the Bank wrote.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/cbdc-canadians-survey">Canadians appear willing to embrace CBDC: Survey</a>



The Bank of Canada found that, in 2021, bitcoin holders cashed out for profit while “the decline in Bitcoin ownership from 13% to 10% contrasts with stable ownership rates observed from 2017 to 2018 (5%) when prices declined even more than between 2021 and 2022.”&nbsp;



Last year, the price of bitcoin was volatile as crypto winter settled in and the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/one-year-since-terra">collapses of TerraUSD</a> and FTX sent shockwaves throughout crypto.&nbsp;



The Bank of Canada believes that the decline in bitcoin ownership in 2022 “shouldn’t be surprising” because 2021 saw many Canadians invest “record” amounts in traditional financial assets as well as cryptos — such as bitcoin, which helped to “explain the increase in the ownership rate to 13% in 2021.&nbsp;



Jumping into investments isn’t the only reason that Canadians were interested in bitcoin, however. The Bank noted that 24% of bitcoin owners in 2022 “cited technology-related reasons, such as an interest in new technologies, for holding the cryptoasset.” Only 11% said that they held bitcoin for payment reasons.&nbsp;



“With the exception of 2021, the percentage of owners citing payment-related reasons for owning bitcoin has steadily declined from its peak in 2016,” the Bank said.



The Bank stated that the volatility not only in crypto markets, but also in financial markets, helped to “reduce investors’ appetites for risky assets, including cryptocurrencies.”



The tight regulatory environment was also noted, between the Canadian Securities Administration forcing cryptocurrency platforms to “comply with investor protection laws” and the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/regulation-by-enforcement-unsustainable">US SEC regulating through enforcement</a> helped to lessen the appetite.



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Bitcoin

Bitcoin, ether ownership fell in 2022, Bank of Canada finds. Here’s why.

David Canellis

Portfolio managers tied to the Royal Bank of Canada — the nation’s largest bank — slashed stakes across the majority of their crypto-related portfolios last quarter.



Blockworks analyzed the RBC’s SEC filings totaling 34 affiliated entities (including outside asset managers that do business with RBC), to get a pulse on institutional sentiment on equities linked to cryptocurrency operations.&nbsp;



(A number of outside asset managers that do business with one of RBC’s affiliates, including the state-run pension fund Alaska Permanent, were represented in the SEC disclosures. It’s likely as a result that this analysis includes stocks owned by third-party managers running limited partner or proprietary capital.)



Some crypto stocks were cut entirely. Embattled <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/regulatory-oversight-culpable-signature-collapse">crypto-friendly bank Signature</a> through RBC’s most recent SEC stock disclosure has fallen off from RBC’s institutional portfolio list — same with bitcoin mining firms Argo, Mawson Infrastructure and Iris Energy.&nbsp;



All are publicly traded on major exchanges, with the exception of Signature, considering the company’s stock now trades over the counter (OTC) for pennies on the dollar after its collapse.&nbsp;



RBC allocators held more than 41,000 Signature shares at the end of last year, worth nearly $4.8 million at the time. The bank would collapse less than two months later. It’s unclear exactly when the shares were sold, and the holdings appear to have represented a fraction of the bank’s overall holdings at the time.&nbsp;



Their stakes in the three bitcoin miners were far smaller, only worth a few thousand dollars altogether. SEC filings are denominated in US dollars, not Canadian dollars.&nbsp;



Other bitcoin miners are holding on, despite being slashed significantly. Funds doing business with RBC sold shares in 11 mining stocks. The selling activity for <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/riot-new-york-times-post">Riot</a>, Cipher, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/hive-intel-efficiency-upgrade">Hive</a> and <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/marathon-sec-subpoena-montana">Marathon</a> were all cut by upwards of 40% in share count terms.&nbsp;



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Financial services firm <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bakkt-discontinues-consumer-app">Bakkt</a> was also shed by two-thirds,&nbsp;</li>



<li>bitcoin-heavy <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/microstrategy-nearly-even-on-bitcoin">MicroStrategy</a> by one-third (although $6.8 million in bonds were added),</li>



<li>and SEC favorite <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-to-be-future-giant">Coinbase</a> by 11%.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-flourish wp-block-embed-flourish"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="Interactive or visual content" src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/13800811/embed#?secret=RxM0gvqBtd" data-secret="RxM0gvqBtd" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="575" width="700"></iframe>
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">If Block were on this chart, it would dwarf all other positions</figcaption></figure>



RBC institutional investment portfolios now contain $4.8 million in COIN, per the SEC filings.



Not all moves made were bearish. RBC allocators boosted positions across 10 crypto and crypto-adjacent stocks. <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/record-q1-crypto-ma">Hut 8</a> scored a near-55% boost, going from 21,745 shares ($43,000) to 33,171 ($65,600) quarter on quarter.



Jack Dorsey’s fintech <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/jack-dorsey-block-bitcoin-mining">Block</a>, the firm behind BTC-friendly Cash App, was also bumped by half, with RBC portfolio managers altogether disclosing 2 million shares ($137.5 million), and an additional $9.2 million in corporate bonds.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/robinhood-class-action-dismissal">Robinhood</a> was more than doubled (now at 156,300 shares worth $1.35 million), as was ProShares’ bitcoin strategy ETF, BITO, although RBC funds still only disclosed $10,000 of the stock.



One surprise is <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/silvergate-lays-off-230">Silvergate</a>, the other crypto-friendly bank that faced an untimely demise earlier this year.&nbsp;



As of March 31, RBC portfolios held 84% more Silvergate shares than the previous quarter — 16,335 shares compared to 8,878.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Crypto exposure still minimal for Royal Bank of Canada</h2>



Altogether, RBC allocators held $108 million in crypto and crypto-adjacent stocks at the end of 2022. They, through their most recent disclosures, held $156.5 million — although Block makes up nearly 94% of that exposure (these figures also contain options as expressed via puts).



One year ago, that figure was closer to $200 million, and two years ago it was more than $754 million.&nbsp;



But again, those stats were skewed by RBC’s enormous stake in Block, worth $703 million. Block’s share price has since collapsed by three quarters.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-flourish wp-block-embed-flourish"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="Interactive or visual content" src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/13801134/embed#?secret=v3V4xmNLz2" data-secret="v3V4xmNLz2" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="575" width="700"></iframe>
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Block hasn’t performed very well over the year to date, either</figcaption></figure>



Bitcoin miner Greenidge has proven a manager favorite, with total share count popping more than 350% year on year, from 535 to 2,459, but the stake is tiny, just $9,000.



In fact, all of RBC’s disclosed crypto exposure is miniscule compared to its overall holdings. RBC itself managed $1.5 trillion in assets as of the first quarter, while its institutional funds disclosed a US-listed stock portfolio of almost $354 billion.



That puts RBC’s crypto exposure weight at just 0.04%. 



Just for the record.



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Canada

Royal Bank of Canada Allocators Cut Most Crypto Stocks Last Quarter

Jacquelyn Melinek

<div id="highlights-block_621557c086517" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Rod Bolger has over 25 years of experience in traditional financial institutions from other industry players like Bank of America, Citigroup and PwC</li>
 <li>Celsius has over $8.2 billion in loans processed, over $18.9 billion in assets and about two million community members as of Feb. 18</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Cryptocurrency lender Celsius has tapped a Royal Bank of Canada alum as its new chief financial officer, the company’s CEO Alex Mashinsky told Blockworks.



Rod Bolger previously held the same title at the Canadian bank, one of the country’s largest. He has over 25 years of experience in traditional finance, with resume stints including Bank of America, Citigroup and PwC.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="300" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rod-Bolger-celsius-cfo.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-17763" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rod-Bolger-celsius-cfo.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rod-Bolger-celsius-cfo.jpg?w=150 150w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rod-Bolger-celsius-cfo.jpg?w=257 257w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rod-Bolger-celsius-cfo.jpg?w=261 261w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rod-Bolger-celsius-cfo.jpg?w=219 219w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rod-Bolger-celsius-cfo.jpg?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rod-Bolger-celsius-cfo.jpg?w=50 50w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>Rod Bolger, Celsius CFO | Source: Celsius</figcaption></figure></div>



Bolger replaces Celsius’ Interim CFO Roni Cohen-Pavon, who will remain in his role as the company’s chief revenue officer. Cohen-Pavon stepped in after former CFO Yaron Shalem was suspended last year following his arrest in Israel on suspicion of money laundering, Blockworks <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-suspends-cfo-due-to-external-fraud-sexual-assault-investigation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.



Mashinsky told Blockworks that Shalem has since been dismissed.



“[Shalem] was questioned by the police in relation to a matter that happened before he joined Celsius, so we suspended him. And since then, he’s no longer with the company,” Mashinsky said. “It’s not a good situation, but nothing he did had to do with Celsius, so there was no money missing or wrongdoing that occured at Celsius.”



Bolger is tasked with implementing controls to protect client assets and help the company expand globally.



&#8220;I am thrilled for the opportunity to join such a fast growing mission-based company such as Celsius,&#8221; Bolger said in a statement. “I feel fortunate to be able to bring my traditional finance and banking experience to help grow this visionary global company.&#8221;



This move adds to the ongoing trend of talent migrating from other industries, mainly finance, into crypto. This shift has been building for years and is expected to continue to accelerate, Blockworks <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/the-upside-is-huge-tradfi-talent-flocks-to-crypto/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.



Bolger made over $4 million at RBC, according to <a href="https://www.erieri.com/executive/salary/rod-bolger-akvo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a> by the Economic Research Institute. He left the bank in September 2021 after five years. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“The fact that he wanted to jump into crypto is phenomenal,” Mashinsky said. It’s rare that high-paid executives at banks leave for crypto companies, but Bolger did, which speaks volumes to the crypto industry’s ability to attract talent, Mashinsky added. </blockquote>



“There are CFOs who do number-crunching, and there are CFOs who love creating businesses and, [Bolger] is doing the latter,” he said.



Celsius has over $8.2 billion in loans processed, over $18.9 billion in assets and about two million community members, as of Feb. 18, its website <a href="https://celsius.network/about-us" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stated</a>. In November, the company expanded its Series B funding round from $400 million to an oversubscribed <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/?s=celsius#:~:text=Celsius%20Expands%20its%20Series%20B%20From%20%24400M%20to%20Oversubscribed%20%24750M" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$750 million</a>, marking one of the largest funding rounds in crypto history.



Celsius hopes that it can continue to “build that bridge from TradFi to crypto” alongside other crypto-focused companies by bringing in talent from both traditional finance and crypto, Mashinsky commented.



“We don’t want to take the worst habits from Wall Street, we want to bring the best ideas that help crypto…there are trillions of dollars [in traditional finance] that need to cross that bridge, and that’s what is at stake,” Mashinsky said.



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