Tokyo Crypto Exchange Acquires Toronto’s 3iQ from Monex Group

One of Japan’s leading crypto asset exchanges is officially taking over ownership of Ontario-born fintech 3iQ.

But the hands of ownership aren’t very far apart.

Coincheck is acquiring the company from Tokyo’s Monex Group, which bought a majority stake in 3iQ in 2024 and is the parent company of Coincheck itself.

Founded in 2012, 3iQ became Canada’s first regulated Digital Asset Investment Fund Manager in 2017.

The Toronto firm has often been among the first launch certain fintech products in Canada, from The Bitcoin Fund and The Ether Fund in 2023 to the 3iQ Solana Staking ETF in 2025, which was backed by $50M from SkyBridge Capital.

“We are delighted to launch this ground-breaking 3iQ Solana Staking ETF with investments from SkyBridge Capital and other investors,” chief executive officer Pascal St-Jean commented last year. “Their support confirms both the attractiveness of SOLQ and 3iQ’s leadership in the digital asset investment space.”

In addition to (somewhat) new ownership, the Canadian company also has a new chief technology officer.

Chris Desjardins is a technology executive and seasoned entrepreneur with twenty years of experience across leadership, digital assets, and product-led software. He co-founded Tungsten, a UAE-based virtual asset custody business serving institutional clients, which was acquired by Zodia Custody. Desjardins also co-founded Big Index, a crypto wallet technology company acquired by Brane Digital Asset Custody.

“Chris’s technical expertise in digital assets and entrepreneurial experience are highly complementary to 3iQ’s ethos,” remarked St-Jean in January. “With deep knowledge spanning blockchain, digital assets and traditional finance, he is the perfect fit for this role and I look forward to working closely with him.”

“I am excited to join 3iQ as CTO, especially at this stage of the company’s growth,” stated Desjardins. “3iQ is firmly established as a leader in digital asset investment management; With the asset class continuing to go mainstream, I look forward to building upon this success and making 3iQ the preeminent crypto-asset investment manager globally.”