Coinsquare Capital Markets Inc. (“Coinsquare”) is offering crypto contracts to purchase and sell Shiba Inu in reliance on a prospectus exemption granted by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) in the exemptive relief decision dated October 12, 2022. The statutory rights of action for damages and the right of rescission in section 130.1 of the Securities Act (Ontario) and similar legislation in the other CSA jurisdictions do not apply in respect of a misrepresentation in this statement to the extent that a crypto contract is distributed under the above-noted prospectus relief.
No securities regulatory authority in Canada or any other jurisdiction has expressed an opinion about any of the crypto assets (or crypto contracts) that are available through Coinsquare’s platform, including an opinion that the crypto assets are not themselves securities and/or derivatives.
Coinsquare has compiled the information contained in this Crypto Asset Statement to the best of its ability based on publicly available information.
Shiba Inu was founded by an anonymous person or collective named Ryoshi in August 2020. One of its unique qualities include having an intentionally abundant supply (1 quadrillion) to justify a low price per unit and high circulation. Historically, one of the most prominent uses of this Ethereum-backed meme token contender to Dogecoin was for India’s Covid-relief fund. From the 50% that Ryoshi handed over to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, SHIB was utilized for the largest crypto donation in history. Buterin then proceeded to burn 40% of its total supply to a dead wallet, ensuring Shiba Inu’s long-term success and stability. Since its inception, the Shiba Inu Ecosystem has been created, which includes ShibaSwap DEX, LEASH (a dogecoin peg token), and BONE (ShibaSwap governance token). At this time, Coinsquare only supports trading for SHIB.1
As with all assets, investing in Shiba Inu is not without some general risks. Many of these risks are identified and explained in our Risk Statement.
The relevant sections in the Risk Statement are as follows:
Platform Risk, Short History Risk, Price Volatility, Potential Decrease in Global Demand for Digital Assets, Potential for Illiquid Markets, Transfers of Digital Assets are Irreversible, Concentration Risks, Uncertainty in Regulation, Financial Institutions May Refuse to Support Transactions Involving Digital Assets, Digital Assets’ Blockchain May Temporarily or Permanently Fork and/or Split, Cyber-Security Risk, Airdrops, Issues with Cryptography Underlying Digital Asset Networks, Internet Risk, Open Loop System, Risk if Entity Gains a 51% Share of Digital Asset Network, Possible Increase in Transaction Fees, Possible Increase in Service Fees, Limited Canadian Investor Protection Fund Account, No Voting Rights, Custody of Digital Assets, Custody Risk Insurance, Threats to Coinsquare’s Physical Assets, Covid-19 Outbreak, Use of Leverage, Halting, Suspending, and Discontinuing Digital Assets.
In addition to the general risks, we outline some risks that are specific to Shiba Inu below. While we make an effort to identify every source of risk, we encourage you to do your own research and ensure you are comfortable investing in Shiba Inu.
As SHIB is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum network, it is highly dependent on the continued stability of that network. Any fundamental issues in the Ethereum network may impact SHIB’s smart contract or token value. Investors should consider this dependency when evaluating Shiba Inu.2
Shiba Inu is one of many digital assets that could be classified as a memecoin. Memecoins follow internet trends and are susceptible to volatility influenced by social media activity, online jokes, and adoption or comments by celebrities or public figures. In October 2021, Shiba Inu saw a very fast and very significant increase in its market capitalization as its meme status grew. However, as with typical internet memes, trends may be fleeting and those steep increases could level off very quickly as meme-followers lose interest.3
To be made available for trading on Coinsquare’s platform, a digital asset must pass the following due diligence reviews:
Coinsquare undertakes these three levels of due diligence in order to determine whether the digital asset is compliant with our legal and regulatory obligations, is secure, and has historical data supporting a beneficial business case. Coinsquare’s New Product Committee must provide final approval for a new digital asset to be made available on the platform.
