The exchange for everyone provides a transparent and low fee model, with charts, API connectivity, and a live order book. 95% cold storage policy and 2FA enabled on all transactions. Recently audited for proof of reserves and security by a 3rd party blockchain security firm.
Bitbuy is one of the safest exchanges in Canada and provides all of the necessary tools for users to get started. Bitbuy is a Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform launched in 2016 by Adam Goldman. The platform is based in Toronto, Ontario, serves more than 400,000 Canadians, and supports over 15 cryptocurrencies.
- In December 2021 the exchange became the first cryptocurrency marketplace in Canada to be registered by the Ontario Securities Commission.
- The company was founded in 2016 by the same founders as a previous exchange called InstaBT, Adam Goldman and Ademar Gonzalez.
- Users looking to take advantage of its benefits need to contact Bitbuy’s customer support to request access.
- The exchange was established in 2016 and has grown to become a popular and trusted marketplace for Canadian crypto-traders with now more than 350,000 users.
- Deposits can be made in all of the above fiat and cryptocurrencies.
The team also maintains a blog with news and reports as well as with tutorials. The best features of Bitbuy are its catered range of products for Canadian users. Bitbuy is designed to be simple to use for newbies to crypto who desire access to regulator-approved crypto access, https://broker-review.org/ as well as ease of access to banking relationships in Canada. Bitbuy fees are competitive in line with the rest of the industry with an easy-to-understand structure in place across the board for traders. This fee structure varies depending on how you trade with the exchange.
Top 5 Exchanges
Bitbuy’s mobile app has received excellent reviews, with a 4.6/5 rating on the App Store from 6,000+ reviews. Bitbuy is available to customers that reside in Canada only. The exchange is limited to deposits in Canadian dollars from Canadian banks or financial institutions. Bitbuy supports two payment options for its customers located in Canada. Users can deposit CAD to the exchange via bank account transfer and Interac e-Transfers.
Makers are parties that introduce liquidity to the marketplace while takers perform opposite actions. If you place a limit order to either buy or sell an asset, you are considered a maker, but if you execute a market order, then you are a taker. There is also a minimum trade value of CAD 25,000 on the Private Wealth desk, meaning that the service is specifically designed to facilitate large orders. To do so, open your Bitbuy account, scroll down to Dogecoin on the main screen and click Buy. If you’re not familiar with cryptocurrency but still want to invest, Bitbuy is an excellent way to do so.
Bitbuy Customer Support
Even so, you can find better trade rates at other international exchanges but there are always trade-offs – they are either unregulated, has worse UX, or lacks proper customer support. Much like Coinbase and Coinbase Pro, Bitbuy offers two types of trades – express and pro. They range between 0% and 1.5% for maker fees, and 0.1% and 1.5% for taker fees . Notably, Bitbuy offers access to CAD trading pairs and easy access to CAD fiat on-ramps and off-ramps.
“Bitbuy was extremely forthcoming in the information they provided, and this information was provided in a timely and complete matter. This commitment to transparency is something that should be both a consumer expectation and self-regulatory best practice. Bitbuy is one of the more popular services for buying Bitcoin in Canada.
How Trustworthy Is Bitbuy?
Two senior staff members, Torstien Braaten and Dean Skurka, are also on the IIROC crypto asset working group. Yes, you can trust Bitbuy, as it is the most secure and trusted Canadian cryptocurrency exchange. Bitbuy is registered with FINTRAC as a Money Services Provider, and their servers are secured across multiple world class cloud providers and disaster recovery locations. Bitbuy’s privately maintained codebase keeps core components closed source, so your intellectual property is safe from prying eyes. Bitbuy has been around since 2016 but still only offers 17 different cryptocurrencies.
Notably on the Bitbuy strategic partners list are legendary Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary and FTX co-founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. The biggest drawback to using the Express Trade service, however, is the cost as it is significantly more expensive to buy or sell cryptocurrency this way than it is to use the Pro interface. Do note that, for each wallet, Bitbuy also provides an approximate Canadian Dollar balance in addition to total crypto balance and available balance. Deposit Bitbuy supported cryptos, for the purposes of trading and investing. Users can easily transfer cryptos between their external wallets and their Bitbuy wallets. Users may view transaction histories by deposits, withdrawals, and referrals.
At Bitbuy, the fee rates range between 0% to 1.5% for both makers and takers. They follow a tiered fee schedule i.e. as the trading volume increases, the fee rates decrease. Note that withdrawals can be held by the exchange for up to 3 business days for security confirmations.
US users trading at FTX US need to do KYC procedures and likewise for Bitbuy for Canadians. Fees may be slightly more competitive at FTX as a trader’s volume is higher, since FTX offers both fee incentives for volume and for holders of its FTT token, though Bitbuy offers no incentives. FTX will win against Bitbuy for all intermediate or advanced traders, as FTX offers 323 coins and 492 trading pairs, which is far higher than Bitbuy’s ~15 coins offering. Ultimately, advanced users who desire both competitive fees and a greater selection of trading products than what either Bitbuy or Coinbase offer may find the choices below equally valuable. Top tier security protocols are offered for users of Bitbuy, with two-factor authentication being a default and 95% of assets being stored in cold wallets.
Investment Products
You will need a cell phone with a North American phone number (+1 country code) to activate and use our two-factor authentication security protocol. Additionally, there is a comprehensive support page and FAQ section to assist in navigating the platform and addressing general queries. Once the account has been funded, users can contact the OTC desk by email. In order to trade OTC, users will need to sign up and get verified before depositing $50,000 in CAD or equivalent in BTC or ETH. Settlement with sameday outbound wire transfers to any bank in Canada.
Bitbuy delivers traders and investors with a multi-tiered security platform. Through the Express Trade page, investors are able to buy and sell Bitbuy supported cryptos. In addition to the key wallet features, users may also view 24-hour chart movements and bid and ask prices for each individual crypto, as shown below.
Was Bitbuy hacked?
Although Bitbuy hasn't been hacked before, it's likely that if you lost your funds due to a security flaw at Bitbuy that you would be refunded. Bitbuy has a comprehensive insurance policy with BitGo to cover investor's assets in the event of a hack.
All users of Bitbuy are required to undergo the same KYC verification procedures as per Canadian regulatory compliance. Trading fees are incurred when an order is filled by the exchange’s matching engine. If an order does not execute, there is no fee charged until it does execute at a later point, or it can be canceled. You can also reach out to the customer service team through one of their many social media channels for a fast and professional response. Securities.io is committed to rigorous editorial standards. We may receive compensation when you click on links to products we review.
Bitbuy Platform Attributes
Hold their digital assets within personal wallets outside of the platform. As shown below, users are provided with a reserved balance and balance in Canadian Dollars. Additionally, users are provided with account balances for each crypto. Bitbuy also provides a total crypto balance in Canadian Dollar equivalent.
The app allows users to access all of the features they use on the desktop web version, including buying, selling and transferring CAD and crypto. Our mission is to make cryptocurrency available to everyone. You can quickly and easily buy and sell bitcoins and other digital currencies on your desktop or mobile device. CoinSmart allows you to buy and sell Litecoin Cash, Bitcoin Cash… Quick Trade allows you to trade Bitcoin in Canada, along with many other digital currencies.
If you are using their Express Trade function then a flat fee of 0.2% on buying and selling applies to all cryptocurrencies. When it comes to security while trading with Bitbuy, they are also conscious of creating a secure environment. Device and 2FA Authentication via Google Authenticator and Authy are in place for those trading through the platform. This is in addition to the cold storage of assets provided. More than 99% of crypto on the exchange is held in cold storage. Of this 99%, an average of 98.12% as of the most recent audit, is held as proof of reserve.
Is Bitbuy Legit Exchange?
Yes, Bitbuy is a legitimate platform, and it is registered with FINTRAC as an MSB or Money Service Business.
It is focused and customer-oriented, aiming to foster its local customer base, smooth functioning, and regulatory compliance rather than being a global conglomerate. It can be a trustworthy choice if you are looking for a crypto exchanges platform. It complies with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada or FINTRAC. After the account has been set up, you can start funding your account by bank wire, by depositing crypto, or through an e-transfer. BitBuy offers a limited amount of crypto and fiat deposit and withdrawal methods. According to coinmarketcap.com, BitBuy is one of the smallest exchanges by volume, with $1,348,222 in trading volume for the past 24 hours, with the majority of trading done with ETH and BTC.
The trading fee is normally a percentage of the value of the trade order. Many exchanges charge what we call taker fees, from the takers, and what we call maker fees, from the makers. The takers are the people who “take” orders from the order book. This means that they remove order options from the order book and thereby remove liquidity. Makers are the ones who put the orders on the order book in the first place. Binance is the leading global crypto established exchange by trading volume, offering a much larger selection of cryptocurrencies than Bitbuy—over 351 coins and over 1300 pairs.