Canadian Securities Exchange hits high in 2017 on pot, blockchain buzz

TORONTO – Trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange soared to a record high in 2017 thanks to a surge of marijuana-related listings and the buzz around blockchain technology.

The CSE’s chief executive says the number of shares that changed hands on the alternative exchange last year hit 17.4 billion, up 171 per cent from more than 6.4 billion in 2016.

Richard Carleton adds that the total value traded on the CSE surpassed $7.8 billion, up more than 403 per cent from $1.55 billion a year earlier.

That’s due in large part to the number of cannabis-related securities rising to 56, comprising 54 per cent of the CSE’s listed trading volume in 2017. Last year, the CSE had only 37 weed issuers representing 46 per cent of the trading volumes.

Meanwhile, the number of blockchain-related securities on the CSE skyrocketed to 24 last year, compared to just one in 2016.

These blockchain-related companies accounted for 14.4 per cent of the total traded volume on the exchange in 2017, compared to less than 0.04 per cent a year earlier.