Note: Neither platform is available to Canadians. Binance withdrew from the Canadian market in May 2023 after refusing new CSA investor-protection requirements, and it remains unavailable in every province and territory. Bitvo wound down in November 2023 with client accounts migrated to Bitbuy, which is now owned by Robinhood following the June 2026 WonderFi acquisition. This comparison is preserved for historical reference only.
In this comparison, we examine Binance and Bitvo, two cryptocurrency exchanges in Canada that once catered to different user bases. Binance is a global giant with a vast selection of cryptocurrencies and advanced trading options. Bitvo was a Canadian-focused platform with a user-friendly interface and unique offerings like their cash card, it wound down in November 2023. Neither is available to Canadians in 2026.
Binance Vs Bitvo: Which Is Better For Canadians?
Neither is an option for Canadians today. Binance left Canada in May 2023 after announcing on May 12, 2023 that new Canadian securities rules made operating there untenable. Bitvo stopped operating on its own in November 2023 when Bitbuy bought all of its client accounts and the Bitvo.com domain. I recommend Coinbase instead (9.8/10, #1 on my list): open a Coinbase account.
Every row below comes from each company’s own pages and the Canadian registries, checked October 2026. Where a row has no fair winner, it says so.
Binance Vs Bitvo: Master Spec Table
Binance
Bitvo
Winner
Company
Binance, founded 2017 by Changpeng Zhao. Canadian entity: Binance Canada Capital Markets Inc. (FINTRAC, ceased). Funding and staff: Not published.
Bitvo Inc., Calgary, founded 2018. Bitbuy bought all client accounts (17,000+ per WonderFi) and the domain in November 2023. Founders and funding: Not published.
Depends
Regulation
FINTRAC MSB M21783493 (Binance Canada Capital Markets Inc.) Ceased 2023-05-30. Not on the CSA authorized or banned list as of 2026-10-02.
FINTRAC MSB M20580992 Ceased 2024-10-08. Bitvo Inc. is under CSA Expired Decisions.
Tie
Assets
Hundreds of coins globally, none accessible from Canada.
Small list: BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC, ADA, QCAD.
Depends
Price
Historic global base spot fee 0.1% with BNB discounts. Not applicable to Canadians.
Zero trading commission, revenue from the spread (rate Not published). 1% withdrawal fee, $15 minimum.
Depends
CAD In
No longer available to Canadians
Free deposits; Interac e-Transfer about 30 minutes, no minimum deposit.
Depends
CAD Out
No longer available to Canadians
1% withdrawal fee with a $15 minimum.
Depends
Crypto In And Out
Legacy Canadian users can withdraw crypto to a private wallet. Networks and minimums: Not published.
No longer available to Canadians
Depends
Custody
Cold storage with multi-signature wallets and the SAFU fund, per Binance. No Canadian entity holds assets today.
Full reserve, never lent customer funds. BitGo custody, over 80% in cold storage.
Depends
Verification (KYC)
No longer available to Canadians
No longer available to Canadians
Depends
Account Types
No longer available to Canadians
No longer available to Canadians
Depends
Provinces
No longer available to Canadians
No longer available to Canadians
Depends
Extra Products
No longer available to Canadians
Bitvo Cash Card and the Same Day Guarantee.
Depends
Tax Tools
No longer available to Canadians
No longer available to Canadians
Depends
App
Available in supported countries; for Canadians only to withdraw legacy balances.
What Are The Key Differences Between Binance And Bitvo?
Binance Vs Bitvo: Side By Side
Binance
Bitvo
Description
Founded in 2017 by Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, a McGill graduate raised in Canada, Binance was the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, offering hundreds of coins, deep liquidity and every product type. It withdrew from Canada in May 2023 after announcing that new Canadian securities rules made operating there untenable, and it is unavailable in every province and territory.
Bitvo was a Calgary-based cryptocurrency exchange, founded in 2018, known for its Same Day Guarantee, zero trading fees and 24/7 phone support. In November 2023 its client accounts were acquired by Bitbuy and the Bitvo platform was wound down. It is also remembered as the exchange FTX almost bought, a deal terminated days after FTX's collapse in November 2022.
Coins
Hundreds of cryptocurrencies including BTC, ETH, XRP, DOGE and USDT, none accessible from Canada.
A small selection including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin, Cardano and QCAD, Canada's first mass-market stablecoin.
Fees
A 0.1% base spot fee, dropping with volume and BNB discounts, was historically among the cheapest anywhere. Not applicable to Canadians now.
Free deposits, zero trading fees (revenue came from the spread), and a 1% withdrawal fee with a $15 minimum.
Pros
Largest exchange in the world with the deepest liquidity
Huge altcoin selection and low fees
Advanced order types, margin, futures and P2P trading
Lite and Pro interfaces for beginners and veterans alike
No trading fees
The Same Day Guarantee
The Bitvo Cash Card
Rare 24/7 phone support
Cons
Exited Canada in May 2023 rather than accept the new CSA requirements that every registered platform accepted
Fined roughly $6 million by FINTRAC for anti-money-laundering reporting failures in Canada
Pleaded guilty in the US in 2023 with an approximately $4.3 billion settlement, with founder CZ serving prison time before a 2025 pardon
Faced Canadian class action litigation over derivatives previously sold to retail investors
Using it via VPN violates its terms, risks frozen funds, and leaves you with no recourse in Canada
Platform wound down in November 2023 with client accounts sold to Bitbuy
High spreads masked the "zero fee" pitch
The 1% withdrawal fee was a sore point
Small coin selection even at its peak
Security
2FA, cold storage with multi-signature wallets, mandatory KYC and the SAFU emergency fund. The 2019 hack (7,000 BTC stolen from the hot wallet, roughly 2% of holdings, fully reimbursed) was a reminder that even giants get breached.
Bitvo operated on a full reserve basis, meaning it never lent customer funds, and held client assets with third-party custodian BitGo, with over 80% in cold storage. No customer funds were reported lost in the wind-down.
Methods To Buy
Canadians cannot buy crypto on Binance. Legacy users with balances should withdraw to a private wallet. Binance said it hoped to return one day but no return has been announced, so treat any offer of Binance access for Canadians as a scam.
There was no way to buy through Bitvo after the migration. Former clients were moved to Bitbuy. A site claiming to be Bitvo and taking deposits is an impostor.
App
The app works in supported countries; for Canadians its only remaining function was withdrawing legacy balances.
Not published. The website and apps are no longer operational.
Account Limits
Not applicable. New Canadian registrations were blocked and legacy Canadian accounts were moved to withdrawal-only status.
No minimum deposit. Free 30-minute Interac e-Transfer deposits.
How Do You Fund And Cash Out Binance And Bitvo In Canada?
Bitvo: CAD Deposits (When It Operated)
Method
Fee
Minimum
Maximum
Speed
Interac e-Transfer
Free
No minimum
Not published
about 30 minutes
Bitvo: CAD Withdrawals (When It Operated)
Method
Fee
Minimum
Maximum
Speed
Fiat withdrawal
1%
CAD 15 fee minimum
Not published
Not published
Legacy Canadian accounts are withdrawal-only. No current funding methods. All funding now ended. Accounts moved to Bitbuy.
What Do Binance And Bitvo Offer Beyond Buying And Selling?
Binance Only
Derivatives, margin and P2P (historic): Binance offered futures, margin and P2P trading globally. Canadian retail access ended in May 2023.
Bitvo Only
Bitvo Cash Card: A prepaid card product listed among Bitvo's strengths.
Same Day Guarantee: A funding-speed promise Bitvo marketed.
What Happens To Your Money If Binance Or Bitvo Fails?
Binance: Binance has no Canadian entity registered or recognized today, so Canadian regulators give you no recourse. If you still hold a balance, withdraw it to a wallet you control; legacy Canadian accounts were set to withdrawal-only. Using a VPN to keep trading breaks Binance's terms and can freeze your funds. Treat sites and Telegram groups offering Binance access to Canadians as scams.
Bitvo: This was a merger, not a collapse: Bitvo's client accounts moved to Bitbuy, which has since moved to Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd. and now Robinhood, per the registry. Check that you are logged into your account with the current owner and withdraw to a wallet if you prefer. Do not send crypto to an old Bitvo address or trust a site using the Bitvo name.
How Are Binance And Bitvo Treated For Tax In Canada?
Binance: Trades on Binance were dispositions for CRA purposes. Export your trade and deposit history while you can still log in for withdrawals. Export formats: Not published.
Bitvo: Trades on Bitvo were dispositions for CRA purposes. Ask for or export your Bitvo history from your migrated Bitbuy account. Export formats: Not published.
Selling, swapping or spending crypto is a disposition for the CRA on any platform. This is not tax advice: see my guide to crypto taxes in Canada.
Which Should You Choose, Binance Or Bitvo?
Choose Binance If
You want a registered platform that serves Canadians today: Coinbase is our number one replacement, with free Interac e-Transfer funding and a Canadian restricted dealer registration.
Choose Bitvo If
You want a registered platform that serves Canadians today: Coinbase is our number one replacement, with free Interac e-Transfer funding and a Canadian restricted dealer registration.
What Happened To Binance?
Binance left Canada in May 2023. On May 12, 2023 it announced that new Canadian securities rules made operating there untenable. Global News reported that the new rules covered stablecoins and crypto contracts, with a CAD 100 million escrow mentioned. A few weeks later, on May 30, 2023, the FINTRAC registry shows Binance Canada Capital Markets Inc. (M21783493) as ceased.
Binance is not on the CSA authorized list and it is not on the CSA banned list. It simply is not here. It said it hoped to return one day, but I found no sign of a return.
Binance: Timeline
Date
Event
May 12, 2023
Binance announces it is leaving Canada
May 30, 2023
FINTRAC lists Binance Canada Capital Markets Inc. as ceased
What Should Existing Binance Users Do?
If you still hold anything on Binance, treat it as an account at a platform that does not serve Canada. I have not verified current withdrawal terms for Canadian users, so confirm them in Binance's own Canada FAQ before you move money, and move long-term holdings to your own wallet.
What Happened To Bitvo?
Bitvo did not leave Canada. It merged into Bitbuy. In November 2023 Bitbuy bought all of Bitvo's client accounts, more than 17,000 according to WonderFi, along with the Bitvo.com domain, and Bitvo stopped operating on its own. Bitvo.com no longer resolves in DNS.
The FINTRAC registry lists Bitvo Inc. (M20580992) as ceased on October 8, 2024, and the CSA site files Bitvo Inc. under expired decisions. Bitbuy itself has since been folded into Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd. and then Robinhood, so a Bitvo account holder is now, in practice, a Robinhood-era Bitbuy customer.
Bitvo: Timeline
Date
Event
Nov 15, 2023
Bitbuy announces it bought Bitvo client accounts and the Bitvo.com domain
Oct 8, 2024
FINTRAC lists Bitvo Inc. as ceased
Jun 1, 2026
Robinhood closes its WonderFi purchase; Bitbuy is now part of Robinhood
What Should Existing Bitvo Users Do?
If you had a Bitvo account, it was moved to Bitbuy in 2023, and Bitbuy customers are now being invited to move to the Robinhood app. Log in through Bitbuy or Robinhood rather than looking for Bitvo, and if you want to leave, withdraw to your own wallet or to a registered platform.
What Should Binance And Bitvo Users Use Instead?
Neither platform can take new Canadian customers, so the real question is where to go next. My status registry points to Kraken and NDAX. The facts below come from each platform's own pages and the CSA lists.
Registered Alternatives, Compared
Platform
Regulation
Trading Cost
Interac E-Transfer Funding
Coins
Kraken
CSA Restricted Dealer (Payward Canada Inc.), decision April 1, 2025
Kraken Pro 0.40% maker / 0.80% taker at the entry tier; Instant Buy 1% plus spread
Free, min CAD 5
About 490 (derived)
NDAX
CIRO investment dealer member; CSA decision December 19, 2024
Flat 0.20% on every buy and sell
Free
77 assets
Why Kraken Fits
Registered Restricted Dealer (Payward Canada) with a broad coin list and CAD Interac funding.
Kraken has two price lists. Instant Buy and recurring trades cost 1% plus a spread, and custom orders 1.5%. Kraken Pro starts at 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker, dropping to 0.30% and 0.60% from USD 2.5K of 30-day volume, and 0.22% and 0.38% from USD 10K. Kraken Plus offers zero trading fees on up to USD 10,000 of monthly volume, though the spread and card fees still apply.
Payward Canada Inc. is a Restricted Dealer, registered with the Ontario Securities Commission and the securities regulators of each province and territory, under a CSA decision dated April 1, 2025. It is not on CIRO's membership list. Kraken's Proof of Reserves snapshot for June 30, 2026 shows reserve ratios of 102.9% for BTC, 100.5% for ETH, 100.6% for SOL, 102.3% for XRP and 100.3% for ADA. Canadian clients also face a net purchase limit of CAD 30,000 over a rolling 12 months (CAD 100,000 for Eligible Investors) on assets other than BTC, ETH, LTC and BCH.
Kraken: Pros And Cons
Pros
Restricted Dealer registered across Canada
Kraken Pro fees start at 0.40% and 0.80%
Free Interac e-Transfer deposits
Proof of Reserves published
Cons
Instant Buy costs 1% plus spread
CAD 10 Interac withdrawal fee
Purchase limits on most non-major assets (not in AB, BC, MB, QC, SK)
Alberta-based registered Canadian platform with CAD funding, the nearest like-for-like for an Alberta-origin exchange.
NDAX charges a flat 0.20% on every buy and sell, with no volume tiers and no maker and taker split. That makes it one of the cheapest options in Canada for casual trading.
NDAX Canada Inc. is a CIRO investment dealer and marketplace member, with CIRO membership terms imposed and a CSA decision on December 19, 2024. NDAX describes cold and hot wallet storage, multi-signature authorization, MPC protection and regular security audits. I found no insurance dollar figure or proof-of-reserves report on the pages I checked.
NDAX: Pros And Cons
Pros
Flat 0.20% fee on every trade
Free Interac e-Transfer and wire deposits
CIRO investment dealer
Highest app-store ratings of the platforms I checked
What Changed For Binance And Bitvo In October 2026?
: Robinhood closed its WonderFi purchase, so Bitbuy, which absorbed Bitvo, is now part of Robinhood.
: FINTRAC lists Bitvo Inc. as ceased.
: Bitbuy announced it had bought Bitvo's client accounts and the Bitvo.com domain.
: FINTRAC lists Binance Canada Capital Markets Inc. (M21783493) as ceased.
: Binance announces it is leaving the Canadian market.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Happened To Binance?
Binance left Canada in May 2023. On May 12, 2023 it announced that new Canadian securities rules made operating there untenable. Global News reported that the new rules covered stablecoins and crypto contracts, with a CAD 100 million escrow mentioned. A few weeks later, on May 30, 2023, the FINTRAC registry shows Binance Canada Capital Markets Inc. (M21783493) as ceased.
What Happened To Bitvo?
Bitvo did not leave Canada. It merged into Bitbuy. In November 2023 Bitbuy bought all of Bitvo's client accounts, more than 17,000 according to WonderFi, along with the Bitvo.com domain, and Bitvo stopped operating on its own. Bitvo.com no longer resolves in DNS.
Can Canadians Still Use Binance Or Bitvo?
No. Binance left Canada in May 2023 and is not available to Canadian residents. No. Bitvo no longer operates on its own. Its accounts were moved to Bitbuy in November 2023.
What Is The Best Alternative To Binance And Bitvo?
Kraken: Beginners who want to learn, then cheaper trading on Kraken Pro. NDAX: Low flat fees and cheap cash-outs to your bank.
How Do I Protect My Funds If A Platform Closes?
Keep only what you are actively trading on an exchange, withdraw long-term holdings to your own wallet, and use platforms that appear on the CSA authorized list. A platform that is banned, restricted or gone gives you no Canadian investor protection.
Do Binance And Bitvo Have Limit Orders?
Binance: Yes globally, not for Canadians. Bitvo: Not published
Which Coins Can You Buy On Binance And Bitvo?
Binance: Hundreds globally, none for Canadians Bitvo: Small list, closed
Is The Spread The Fee On Binance And Bitvo?
Binance: No longer applicable. Bitvo: No longer applicable.
Does CIPF Cover My Crypto On Binance Or Bitvo?
Binance: CIPF never covers crypto, and this platform no longer serves Canadians. Bitvo: CIPF never covers crypto, and this platform no longer serves Canadians.
Are Binance And Bitvo Available In Every Province?
Binance: No longer available in any province. Bitvo: No longer available in any province.
Do Interac Deposits Work On Weekends On Binance And Bitvo?
Binance: No longer applicable. Bitvo: No longer applicable.
What Is The Minimum Buy On Binance And Bitvo?
Binance: No longer applicable. Bitvo: No longer applicable.
Can A Business Use Binance Or Bitvo?
Binance: No longer applicable. Bitvo: No longer applicable.
Oleg is a Canadian citizen & crypto expert who has been trading since 2016. He started out with Coinbase, Kraken and Peer-to-Peer exchanges. After some time, centralized exchanges started charging crazy fees to their users.
He decided to review different crypto exchanges that operate in Canada and start a Youtube channel in order to educate Canadians on what kinds of things are going inside each one while giving them unbiased advice. On top of that, Oleg also has experience with NFT, airdrops, and crypto staking and he is constantly checking on new crypto assets.
His writing has been featured in popular Canadian media sources such as Toronto Sun and Ottawa Citizen.
