Coinsquare, the crypto exchange that has been nicknamed the “Coinbase of Canada,” has acquired Stellar wallet BlockEQ as it seeks to expand its offerings beyond cryptocurrency trading.

The Toronto-based Coinsquare announced the deal on Thursday, revealing that it had paid $12 million CAD (~$9 million USD) to acquire BlockEQ, a non-custodial wallet that allows crypto users to store XLM and other tokens that run on the Stellar network.

Coinsquare currently ranks as the second-largest crypto exchange that offers CAD trading pairs, trailing closely behind LakeBTC. Among all exchanges, Coinsquare ranks 73rd, with around $7 million in daily trading volume.

With this acquisition, Coinsquare gains a foothold in the Stellar ecosystem, a foundation which it plans to leverage to “provide new products and services using the Stellar Network.”

“We have enormous respect for what the BlockEQ team brings to Coinsquare,” said Cole Diamond, CEO of Coinsquare. “They are one of Canada’s best tech teams, and the product they’ve built is immensely valuable. That combination in partnership with Coinsquare’s technology and team means that we have the opportunity to build amazing things for the cryptocurrency community in Canada and far beyond.”

“We’re excited to be working under the Coinsquare umbrella,” added Satraj Bambra, CEO of BlockEQ. “Coinsquare was the reason we initially became interested in the cryptocurrency space, so when Cole and team approached us about coming onboard, it seemed like a natural next step.”

Coinsquare, as CCN reported, has begun to expand internationally, forming cross-border partnerships with firms such as Japanese startup DLTa21. The firm also helped launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests in blockchain industry companies.

Previously, the crypto exchange had intended to go public on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) with a $150 million CAD valuation, but the company has since put those plans on hold amid this year’s prolonged bear market.