Can an executor get a cryptocurrency exchange to release funds from a deceased account holder's account in Ontario?

Often, yes, but this depends on the exchange's own internal policy rather than any Ontario law written for cryptocurrency. Because there is no statute squarely on point, an executor's legal footing comes from the same general source as any other asset: once appointed, an estate trustee has authority under the Trustee Act and Estates Act to collect in and administer estate property, and can generally support a request with a death certificate and, often, a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee.

In practice, exchanges vary considerably in what they require and how quickly they respond, since each sets its own account-recovery and estate-verification process rather than following a common Ontario standard. Some accept the same documentation a bank would ask for; others have more limited or slower procedures, particularly for accounts held with exchanges based outside Canada. An executor should expect to provide proof of death, proof of their own appointment, and often additional identity verification, and should be prepared for the process to take longer than dealing with a domestic bank. Where an exchange refuses cooperation entirely, options narrow and may depend on where the exchange is legally based, which is a good reason to get advice early rather than after a refusal.