Looking for a platform to buy and sell bitcoin, ethereum and other popular cryptocurrencies? We’ve listed the top ones here, including features and fees.
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If you want to buy and sell bitcoin, ether and other digital coins on a Canadian crypto trading platform, you have plenty of options. It’s worth shopping around. Once you start digging, you’ll see that the platforms’ features, fees and customer support varies widely. To find the best crypto trading platform for your needs—and to better understand your risk tolerance for these highly volatile assets—start with our comparison guide.
With so many crypto trading platforms to choose from, it’s essential to review their features in detail.
Newer crypto investors, for example, will benefit from a platform that offers 24/7 customer support, while more experienced investors will look for advanced trading tools like limit orders and a live order book. A large coin selection is nice to have but not necessary if you only intend to trade the most established cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and ethereum. And, of course, you’ll want to compare fees and spreads.
For our list of top crypto trading platforms, we focused on Canadian companies that:
All information was sourced from the platforms’ websites, press releases and company employees. As with other MoneySense guides and rankings, this will be updated and the list will be expanded periodically.
To view all the details in the table, slide the columns right or left using your fingers or mouse. You can also download the information to your device in Excel, CSV and PDF formats.
CoinSmart’s simple interface makes crypto trading accessible to beginners, but the platform also offers tools and services for experienced traders, such as advanced charting and order book functionality.
Pros
Cons
Founded in 2018, Calgary-based NDAX—short for National Digital Asset Exchange—has some of Canada’s lowest crypto trading fees plus a roster of over 30 coins. NDAX offers staking for certain coins; its website has a handy staking calculator.
Pros
Cons
In 2020, robo-advisor firm Wealthsimple launched Canada’s first regulated crypto platform, Wealthsimple Crypto, with a menu of two coins: bitcoin and ethereum. Today, it offers over 50 cryptocurrencies via its user-friendly Wealthsimple Trade app.
Pros
Cons
Since its launch in 2018, Newton has grown steadily, and it now offers one of the largest selections of crypto coins among Canadian trading platforms. Its fees and spreads are among the lowest on our list.
Pros
Cons
In December 2021, Bitbuy became Canada’s first crypto trading platform to be regulated as a marketplace, as well as the first to be both a registered digital asset marketplace and a restricted dealer of cryptocurrency assets. Investors can benefit from greater price transparency and more consistent fees, and their orders are matched against other live orders on Bitbuy rather than routed to a third-party dealer.
Pros
Cons
Launched in 2017, Coinberry was the first pure-play cryptocurrency trading platform to achieve regulatory registration in Canada. The company was recently acquired by WonderFi, the Vancouver-based firm that also acquired Bitbuy in March 2022—the latest sign of consolidation in Canada’s evolving crypto industry.
Pros
Cons
Bitvo only recently achieved registration with Canadian securities regulators (in April 2022), but it’s already distinguishing itself with its “Bitvo Same Day Guarantee”—which promises same-day processing for account registration, deposits and withdrawals—and its Bitvo Cash Card.
Pros
Cons
Netcoins, launched in 2014, keeps things cheap and cheerful with no fees for deposits or fiat withdrawals, flat fees for crypto withdrawals and a 0.5% fee for trades.
Pros
Cons
Cryptocurrency is a relatively new asset class that’s prone to significant price volatility—bitcoin’s highs and lows, for example, have caused investors many sleepless nights. As of mid-July 2022, the cryptocurrency is down nearly 70% from its November 2021 record high.
Before you invest, consider whether crypto fits your overall investing strategy and long-term financial goals, and—as with other speculative investments—it’s wise to limit your purchases to what you can afford to lose.
Crypto investing also has risks that you wouldn’t typically encounter when, say, buying exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or guaranteed investment certificates (GICs)—including technology risks, legal and regulatory uncertainty, and the potential for human error (including your own). It’s important to understand the different types of risk and how to protect your crypto assets.
Also good to know: In the event that a financial institution becomes insolvent or suffers a security breach, crypto assets held there aren’t covered by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) nor the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), unlike some other types of investment accounts.
These and other crypto trading platforms make buying and selling cryptocurrencies almost as easy as ordering a pizza—but do you understand how crypto works, what affects crypto prices, how to choose investments and what risks are involved?
Explore our roster of crypto articles to become a more informed investor:
Watch: How to buy bitcoin in Canada
Watch: 10 cryptocurrencies you need to know about
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Thank you for the info. Could you please share your thoughts on Utopia p2p? It is the only decentralized blockchain where the Transaction Explorer cannot be implemented.