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Binance vs. Bitbuy: What Works Better For Canadians?

Oleg Galeev

Last updated September 19, 2024

Binance vs. Bitbuy feratured image

BitBuy is probably the most reputable crypto platform in Canada, while Binance is one of the world’s biggest and well-known cryptocurrency exchanges available for Canadians. How do they fare for Canadians looking to buy crypto? The OCryptoCanada team did some extensive research to see how these two popular crypto exchanges compare. Check our Binance vs Bitbuy comparison.

Binance has announced its exit from the Canadian market on 30 September 2023, citing regulatory uncertainties. As a result, we can't recommend Binance over BitBuy.

Description

Binance was founded in 2017 and is based in Malta. It averages $2 billion in daily volume and executes 1.4 million transactions per second. Canadians can purchase and trade hundreds of different coins with advanced order types. Binance stopped operating in Canada in July 2022.

Bitbuy was founded in 2016 and it offers nine of the most popular cryptocurrencies. It has an Express platform for beginners and a Pro platform for more experienced traders.

Coins

400+ including BTC, ETH, XRP, DOGE, USDT

Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, EOS, Stellar, LINK, AAVE, Solana (SOL)Cardano (ADA)Polkadot (DOT), Dogecoin (DOGE), Uniswap (UNI), Sushiswap (SUSHI), Polygon (MATIC), MANA and USDC

Fees

Low
0.1% to 0.02% buy fee depending on VIP level

  • 1.5% CAD withdrawal fees for e-Transfer
  • 0.5% fee for wire transfer
  • 0.79% spread
  • 0.1% Maker 0.2% Taker fees
  • Wire transfer 0.50% ($20k min)
  • 0.00025 BTC crypto withdrawal fee

Pros

  • Good for Canadians looking to buy and trade altcoins
  • DEX/P2P trading
  • Advanced order types
  • Margin trading
  • Derivatives and futures trading
  • Stock token trading
  • 400+ coins
  • Low fees
  • Simple or advanced interface
  • Offers seven of the world’s most popular cryptocurrencies
  • Express Trade and Pro Trade makes it suitable for beginners and advanced traders
  • OTC Desk available
  • Digital assets held in cold storage
  • $20 referral bonus
  • Interac e-Transfer available
  • Industry leader in compliance and security

Cons

  • No Interac e-Transfer
  • Not available in Ontario at the moment
  • Deposits can take a few hours
  • 1.5% Interac e-Transfer fee (both in and out)
  • Low Android app rating
  • Low rating on Trust Pilot

Account Limits

N/A

  • Deposit $100 - $10,000 via Interac daily
  • $50 minimum e-Transfer withdrawal
  • $20,000 minimum for wire transfers

Methods to buy

Credit/debit, SWIFT bank transfer with USD

  • Debit card
  • Interac e-Transfer
  • Wire transfer

Security

2FA, coins held in cold storage with multi-signature wallets, KYC verification process

  • Up to 98% of digital assets are held in cold storage
  • Users can withdraw crypto to private wallets
  • Bitcoin backed 1:1 with Knox insurance policy

Mobile and Desktop Trading

Binance can be used on the web, desktop or mobile. Unfortunately, all of their platforms can be quite overwhelming, even for experienced traders. Binance is hard to navigate and it can become confusing quite quickly. 

Binance’s iOS app has a 4.6-star rating with 24,000 reviews and its Android app has a 4.5-star rating with 337,000 reviews. This shows just how highly rated Binance is as a crypto exchange. 

The mobile app is far more simple than Binance’s desktop or web platforms. You can easily deposit, trade, and withdraw without the confusing options and features.

Binance’s app interface also closely resembles its desktop counterpart, though, at first glance, it does not seem as user-friendly and intuitive as Coinbase. Binance offers its users multiple ways to purchase crypto depending on the type of trade you want. On its desktop platform, you can select “Convert” for a quick debit or credit purchase, or “Classic” or “Advanced” for more trading types.

If you’re a seasoned investor and wish to access all of Binance’s trading tools such as advanced charting, then the advanced tool will be most suitable for you. Navigating the Binance dashboard, however, can be quite confusing. Binance has so many features that it’s difficult just to locate the wallet you want.

The Bitbuy app has a 4.6-star rating and 6,000 ratings on the Apple App Store. It has a 2-star rating with 1,000 ratings on Google Play. According to reviewers, the Android app has bugs that prevent them from logging in and verifying their account. They also claim customer support is poor. 

The iOS app is easy to use and offers a modern interface like the desktop platform. There is live charting where you can find volume and order book data. Easily deposit funds to your account, and click on your profile tab for your referral details. 

Bitbuy’s Express Trade is suitable for beginners or anyone seeking a quick market trade. The Pro Trade platform is geared toward more experienced traders who wish to place advanced order types.

Binance Canada

Binance has a rating of 4.6 stars on the Apple App Store with 22,000 ratings. On Google Play, it has 4.5 stars with 271,000 ratings.

Binance’s app allows its users to switch between the Lite and Pro interfaces making it suitable for both beginners and experienced traders.

Binance’s app interface also closely resembles its desktop counterpart, though, at first glance, it does not seem as user-friendly and intuitive as Coinbase. Binance offers its users multiple ways to purchase crypto depending on the type of trade you want. On its desktop platform, you can select “Convert” for a quick debit or credit purchase, or “Classic” or “Advanced” for more trading types.

Binance desktop platform (Convert)

Binance Convert

Binance desktop platform for advanced users

Binance Advanced

Binance Lite App for beginner users view

Binance Lite App for beginner users

Binance Advanced mobile view for Canadians

Binance App for advanced users

Bitbuy

The Bitbuy app has a 4.6-star rating and 6,000 ratings on the Apple App Store. It has a 2-star rating with 1,000 ratings on Google Play. According to reviewers, the Android app has bugs that prevent them from logging in and verifying their account. They also claim customer support is poor. 

The iOS app is easy to use and offers a modern interface like the desktop platform. There is live charting where you can find volume and order book data. Easily deposit funds to your account, and click on your profile tab for your referral details. 

Bitbuy’s Express Trade is suitable for beginners or anyone seeking a quick market trade. The Pro Trade platform is geared toward more experienced traders who wish to place advanced order types.

Express trade view for Bitbuy crypto exchange

Express trade view

Bitbuy's Pro trade

Pro trade view

Bitbuy app interface

Bitbuy app interface

Bitbuy app interface while trading

Security Compliance

Binance offers world-class security meaning your coins are in relatively safe hands. It offers two-factor authentication, so you can prevent unauthorized access to your account.

Keep in mind, Binance has been hacked before. Back in 2019, hackers stole 7,000 Bitcoin along with customers’ 2FA codes and API tokens. The hackers used phishing and viruses to gain access to the exchange. However, because Binance holds most of its digital assets in cold storage, the hackers only got away with what was in the hot wallet – about 2% of Binance’s Bitcoin holdings at the time.

As long as you take precautions, and transfer your crypto off the exchange to an external cryptocurrency wallet, you should be safe.

Bitbuy is one of the safest crypto exchanges for Canadians. The Blockchain Intelligence Group has completed its third annual proof of reserves and due diligence report confirming that Bitbuy exceeds its mandate requiring 95% of customer funds to be held in cold storage. Bitbuy keeps 98% of Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum funds in cold storage, which is one of the highest percentages we’ve seen.

Both Bitbuy and Binance are secure crypto exchanges. Binance is a major player in the crypto space, offering peace of mind by ensuring your assets are with a reputable company.  However, being a giant also makes you a target for hackers. Binance has in fact been hacked before. In 2019, hackers stole 7,000 BTC, which was about 2% of Binance’s Bitcoin holdings at the time. Luckily, that was all the hackers could get their hands on as Binance keeps almost all assets in cold storage. 

As for Bitbuy, the Blockchain Intelligence Group has completed its third annual proof of reserves and due diligence report confirming that Bitbuy exceeds its mandate requiring 95% of customer funds to be held in cold storage. Bitbuy keeps 98% of Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum funds in cold storage, which is one of the highest percentages we’ve seen. Bitbuy is one of the top Canadian crypto exchanges when it comes to security. 

Regulatory Compliance

Binance has no restrictions for Canadians, except for Ontario residents. You can use it at full capacity whether it’s a simple buy order at market price or a more advanced order type. 

Bitbuy is an industry leader in Canadian regulatory adherence and compliance. In addition to being a Virtual Asset Service Provider and registered Money Service Business with FINTRAC, Bitbuy’s leadership team is a member of the IIROC Crypto-Asset Working Group, which helps to set high-quality regulatory standards and strengthen Canadian markets. 

Bitbuy is an industry leader in Canadian regulatory adherence and compliance. In addition to being a Virtual Asset Service Provider and registered Money Service Business with FINTRAC, Bitbuy’s leadership team is a member of the IIROC Crypto-Asset Working Group, which helps to set high-quality regulatory standards and strengthen Canadian markets. We think Bitbuy is doing a stellar job of complying with Canadian laws and regulations.

Binance on the other hand has faced some recent trouble regarding regulations in Canada. Since Binance allows futures trading on its platform, they have recently stopped operating in Ontario rather than comply with Ontario securities regulations. Some fear that Binance may face regulatory action in other provinces as well. However, on 29 December 2021, Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) allowed Binance to continue its operations in Canada and resume business in Ontario. As a result, Binance officially became fully legit in Canada.

Customer support

Binance offers 24/7 support and a live chat option. In addition, Binance also has helpful FAQs and online ticketing service for their customers. Binance replied to our concern within a day.

Binance has FAQs and a knowledge centre on their website. They make it easy to submit a support ticket but the reply might take a while.

Binance and Bitbuy have FAQs and knowledge centres on their websites. Binance makes it hard for you to contact support by trying to get you to read their support articles first. Bitbuy, however, makes it easy to submit a support ticket.

Conclusion

Although Binance has hundreds of cryptocurrencies available, it isn’t easy or cheap for Canadians to purchase them. There is no Interac e-Transfer option available unless you go through a third-party provider which incurs fees. Additionally, not all Canadian banks allow credit or debit card crypto purchases. This makes it a hassle to deposit funds.

Bitbuy is dedicated to making it easy for Canadians to trade cryptocurrency and we would encourage you to support Canadian crypto exchanges like Bitbuy for this reason. 

Additionally, Bitbuy is one of the cheapest Canadian crypto exchanges, the most secure, and the most trusted. We think Bitbuy is the best choice for Canadians looking to trade crypto. Sign up by using this link and get free $20 when you trade $250 CAD or more.

On top of these two, we would recommend Coinsmart for a number of reasons. Why? Check on our Coinsmart review.

Author

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.