WonderFi Technologies, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform backed by Kevin O’Leary, is expanding its footprint in Canada by purchasing the country’s first regulated cryptocurrency exchange.

WonderFi agreed to pay nearly 206 million Canadian dollars (US$162 million) to acquire BitBuy’s parent company First Ledger Corp..According to officials, WonderFi aims to be an end-to-end consumer platform for encryption and DeFi announcement.

Founded in 2016, Bitbuy became a fully regulated cryptocurrency exchange in Canada after obtaining permission from the Ontario Securities Commission in November last year. The platform has more than 375,000 users and a transaction volume of more than US$3.4 billion. The announcement stated that Bitbuy generated more than $24 million in revenue in the twelve months ending September 30, 2021.

Transaction details show that WonderFi will issue 70 million new shares and pay US$15.7 million in advance cash and US$23 million in deferred cash, and provide funding for the acquisition through vendor recovery notes due within 12 months. The announcement read: “WonderFi will retain almost all existing Bitbuy employees and sign employment agreements with key members of the management team.”

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Ben Samaroo, CEO of WonderFi, emphasized the importance of the licensing market as a gateway to the digital asset economy:

“The integration of Bitbuy’s product suite will accelerate and expand the scope and scope that WonderFi can provide to the market, and will drive the company’s long-term growth and value.”

Kevin O’Leary, former Bitcoin (Bitcoin) Critics who have turned to crypto advocates commented that the acquisition will enable the two teams to “possess the bandwidth, assets and licenses to provide an institution-level compliant encryption platform for investors interested in accessing centralized and decentralized financial services.”

in a Cointelegraph exclusive interview, This Shark tank The celebrity said that if stablecoin regulation becomes more precise, he is ready to increase his cryptocurrency distribution to 20%. O’Leary is more interested in stablecoins linked to the U.S. dollar because he believes they can effectively hedge against rising inflation.