Best Crypto Exchanges In Canada

With 10 years of experience, $309 billion in quarterly trade volume, and nearly 100 million verified users, Coinbase is one of the largest crypto marketplaces in the world.

Its two main draws for investors are a massive selection of cryptocurrencies (including several stablecoin pairs) and numerous helpful resources for new traders. The trading fees are affected by trade volume, reaching 0% for maker fees after you pass $300 million. 

These fees will typically range between 0.2% and 0.6%. Additionally, Canadian users will have to pay $1 for every deposit or withdrawal in CAD.

The company also offers offline fund storage through Coinbase Custody and loans of up to $1 million that use Bitcoin as collateral. Furthermore, 98% of funds are placed in cold storage, and Coinbase uses sophisticated encryption and multifactor authentication on its web and mobile platforms.

Coinbase offers well-designed mobile apps that are great for beginners. It also has a detailed FAQ page and a toll-free number for customer support.

Pros:

• Large cryptocurrency selection
• Intuitive user interface
• Great for people just learning about crypto trading

Cons:

• Fees for depositing or withdrawing funds in CAD

Ndax was launched in 2018 with the goal of democratizing the access to cryptocurrencies to everyone by ensuring that investing in crypto is as easy to begin with as possible. 

It is one of the only Canadian crypto exchanges with SOC2 Type II certification, which, along with the fact that the company partners with Ledger to store all of the crypto assets and investments in cold storage, makes it among the safest exchanges available to customers right now.

As a registered money service business with the FINTRAC, Ndax is also insured against accidents and fraud, is compliant with all regulations and maintains a strict KYC policy.

There are currently 39 different cryptocurrencies to trade with, which is a smaller number compared to some of the bigger names on the market, but the majority of the biggest cryptos are all listed here, making this a non-issue for the vast number of traders.

Building a platform that provides newcomers to the cryptocurrency trading world with the most user-friendly platform wouldn't be possible without a great customer experience, which is one of the biggest advantages of Ndax, as the platform has a rich knowledge section, and its professional customer service is available through a variety of means, like email, phone and live chat on the website.

Pros:

• Offers staking
• Secure and regulated platform
• Low trading fees
• Instant withdrawal for crypto

Cons:

• Limited selection of currencies

This global exchange has over two million users in around 50 countries worldwide and offers some of the lowest trading fees on the market.

The platform supports all major cryptos and hundreds of lesser-known ones, offers USDT, ETH, and BTC trade pairing, and accepts just about any fiat currency you may need, including Canadian dollars.

While it may not have the best app (though both iOS and Android apps work well), Bitget offers some of the lowest trading fees in the industry. There is no deposit fee, but you’ll need to cover a withdrawal charge that depends on the cryptocurrency you are withdrawing. Futures fees are as low as 0.02%, and spot rate fees only go up to 0.1%.

As with most crypto exchanges, your funds are kept in a mix of cold and hot wallets, protected by numerous layers of protection, including digital signatures with asymmetric keys and multifactor authentication. Bitget is also registered with and monitored by FINTRAC.

The platform is well-designed and intuitive to use, but if you need any help, you can get in touch with customer support through email, live chat, or social media.

Pros:

• Low in-house trading fees
• Great trading interface
• Rewards for active traders

Cons:

• High transaction fees through third-party merchants

Uphold is a large online trading marketplace that offers crypto and precious metal. It’s available in 150 countries, including Canada. The platform has been around since 2015 and boasts over 10 million users worldwide.

You’ll be able to trade Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and numerous other crypto assets for anything ranging from fiat currencies to precious metals like platinum. Unfortunately, this crypto exchange will limit you to USD, GBP, or EUR deposits, and you won’t be able to use bank wire transfers.

Instead of trading fees, the platform charges a spread that ranges from 0.2% on national currencies to 3% on precious metals, with crypto hovering around 1.5%. There are no other trading commissions or deposit and withdrawal fees, and the site is very transparent about all trading costs.

The company holds regular security audits and uses state-of-the-art encryption on its servers, but we could only find information about cold storage in Europe.

Uphold is registered with FINTRAC and offers a comprehensive help center and customer support through a ticketing system and live chat on the website. There are also handy apps for Android and iOS users.

Pros:

• Earn up to 19.5% APY on crypto
• 50 simultaneous limit orders
• Regular security audits

Cons:

• Charges a spread on transactions

Bitbuy is, without a doubt, the most famous Canadian cryptocurrency exchange around. The platform has been going strong for six years, boasting millions of transactions and over 400,000 users served.

While not the most exhaustive list you’ll find online, the 25 cryptocurrencies you can trade on Bitbuy include fan-favourites such as Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Solana, and Cardano.

Canadian dollars are the only supported fiat currency, and you’ll have to use Interac or wire transfers for transactions.

The platform has very low fees that you can easily check on the website, so there are no hidden costs to worry about. In short, standard transactions are subject to a flat 1.5% charge, but you can also use an API or the site’s proprietary Pro Trade option, which lowers the cost to just 0.2% for taker and 0.1% for maker fees. Interac and wire transfers will incur 1.5% on withdrawals, while there are no fees for deposits.

Bitbuy is registered with FINTRAC and holds 99% of asset value in cold storage with BitGo, a custodian company that also provides fund insurance. The platform boasts an excellent mobile app for iOS and Android and excellent ticketing system-based customer support.

Pros:

• Competitive trading fees
• Excellent mobile app
• Great customer support

Cons:

• Limited cryptocurrency selection

Crypto.com offers over 250 cryptocurrencies, including various stablecoins and its proprietary Cronos coin (CRO) and supports six fiat currencies, including Canadian dollars.

You can’t deposit or withdraw funds more than 10 times a day or 30 times per month. The trading fees start at 0.04% per transaction and scale depending on your monthly trading volume. You can also stake the proprietary CRO currency to lower them even further.

Crypto.com is one of the safest platforms for cryptocurrency trading. It has insurance coverage for $750 million in funds across several custodian banks, holds funds in cold storage, and utilizes the latest encryption technologies to safeguard user data.  It’s also registered with FINTRAC.

The platform also lets you invest in NFTs, dabble in margin and derivatives trading, and even get a Visa card that offers numerous perks and CRO rewards.

Pros:

• Competitive trading fees
• Excellent mobile app
• Great customer support

Cons:

• Heavily incentivizes using CRO

Gemini is a New York trust company that offers custodian and cryptocurrency services to users worldwide. This marketplace offers over 50 different cryptos to buy, including stablecoins like Dai and USD Coin.

The platform supports numerous crypto and fiat currencies, offers lower fees to active traders through the ActiveTrader marketplace, the ability to earn interest on crypto investments through Gemini Earn, and even proprietary custodian and crypto wallet services.

Standard trading fees go up to 1.49%, but users on the ActiveTrader platform can get them as low as 0.03% taker and 0% maker.

Gemini used to offer 10 free withdrawals per crypto per month, but now has charges that depend on the cryptocurrency. There are no deposit fees, though.

The company is registered with FINTRAC, and most of its assets are held in cold storage. It offers customer support through email and live chat. Its two smartphone apps are highly regarded by both iOS and Android users.

Pros:

• Crypto Earn offers up to 8.05% APY on cryptocurrencies
• $200 million in insurance coverage
• Numerous handy trading tools

Cons:

• Relatively high trading fees