All of our content is written by Canadian crypto experts, not robots. We ensure each article is reviewed and updated regularly. Learn More

Listen

BitBuy vs Coinbase: What Is Better Platform For Canadians?

Oleg Galeev

Last updated September 19, 2024

Coinbase is one of the most reputable crypto exchanges in the world, while BitBuy is probably the most reputable in Canada. We even included BitBuy in the list of the best cryptocurrency exchanges for Canadians. Check our BitBuy vs Coinbase comparison to have a clear understanding of how different are they and which one works the best for your needs.

Description

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.

Founded in 2012, Coinbase Canada is a cryptocurrency exchange with a simple interface making it a popular choice for Canadians looking to start their crypto journey. However, more Canadians are starting using local exchanges e.g. Bitbuy. Coinbase has 56 million users and became the first cryptocurrency exchange to have an Initial Public Offering.

Coins

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

50+ including BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC

Fees

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

Extremely High
3.99% buy fee
0.50% fee per trade

Pros

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

Simple and easy interface
Good for beginners
Secure exchange with cold storage
The most popular coins offered
Users can set up automatic recurring buys
Learn to earn crypto program

Cons

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

High fees
Fewer coins than Binance
Complaints of bad customer support
No Interac e-Transfer

Account Limits

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

High limit. Purchase limit depends on account age and other factors

App

Methods to buy

Debit card
Interac e-Transfer
Wire transfer

Debit card

Security

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

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

Mobile and Desktop Trading

BitBuy and Coinbase offer well-designed desktop platforms and mobile apps, making it easy to trade on the go. Both offer a clean white background with simple text. Both desktop and mobile versions are easy to navigate.

Coinbase offers a clean white background with simple text. Both desktop and mobile versions are easy to navigate and are perfect for beginners. When people ask what the easiest crypto exchange for beginners is, most people will say Coinbase.

Coinbases’s app is almost identical to its desktop platform making it easy to trade crypto wherever you are. Safely store your debit card information and you can buy and sell top cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether in just a few clicks. On the Apple App Store, Coinbase has a 4.7-star rating with 1.3 million ratings. On Google Play it has a 4.3-star rating with 453,000 ratings. The ratings show just how popular Coinbase is.

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. However, most of the bugs are fixed and now it's getting better reviews from Android users.

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. The app uses biometrics for security.

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.

Bitbuy

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

Pro trade view

Bitbuy app interface

Bitbuy app interface while trading

Coinbase

Coinbase app offers a clean white background with simple text. It's user-friendly and easy to navigate.

Coinbase desktop interface

Coinbase portfolio

Coinbase app interface

Coinbase app interface while trading

Security Compliance

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.

Coinbase uses its own digital wallet for storing your cryptocurrency.

Coinbase keeps 98% of its cryptocurrency in cold storage. This makes it hard for thieves to steal crypto assets if the exchange is hacked. Cold storage is the most secure way to store cryptocurrency, so the fact that Coinbase does this is a huge plus.

Both Bitbuy and Coinbase are secure crypto exchanges. Coinbase uses its own digital wallet for storing your cryptocurrency and keeps 98% of its digital 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 puts it on par with crypto giant Coinbase when it comes to security.

In terms of safety, both exchanges are on the same level.

Regulatory Compliance

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.

Coinbase is a US-based cryptocurrency exchange, however, no restrictions for Canadians. Canadian residents can use Coinbase to their full capacity.

Coinbase is facing some legal action in the United States after it proposed to launch a lending platform that would allow its users to lend out crypto in return for interest. Since lending is classified as a security in the US, Coinbase has been barred from launching this service.

Compare to BitBuy, Coinbase does not allow Interac e-Transfer to deposit Canadian dollars to your account. Instead, you will have to use a debit on Coinbase to purchase cryptocurrency. Coinbase no longer allows credit cards to be linked to Canadian accounts due to the number of Canadian banks blocking cryptocurrency transactions. This is a real bummer for Coinbase.

Customer support

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.

Coinbase customer support is very slow. It took them 4 days to address our request to a real person. Even though they offer 24/7 support and a live chat option, the quality of the support is bad due to a very high volume.

Coinbase and Bitbuy have FAQs and knowledge centres on their websites. Coinbase has an extensive “beginner’s guide” section explaining various crypto topics. However, many people have complained about Coinbase’s lack of customer support from slow replies, to unanswered tickets, to not being able to contact them at all. Bitbuy, however, makes it easy to submit a support ticket and its support team replies relatively quickly.

Neither exchange offers a phone support service.

Coinbase has received several complaints about its customer support. For example, BitBuy replied to our concern within a day, while it took Coinbase 4 days to address our request to a real person.

Conclusion

While Coinbase is certainly a crypto giant and the easiest crypto exchange to use for beginners, it is not so easy for Canadians to trade crypto. There is no e-Transfer option to deposit funds, so you are limited to using your debit card - if your bank even allows the transaction. Additionally, Coinbase has the highest fees of any cryptocurrency exchange.

Bitbuy, however, 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. Bitbuy is far cheaper than Coinbase and it supports Interac e-Transfers making it easy to deposit funds. Bitbuy (visit site) is also the most secure and the most trusted of any Canadian crypto exchange, so we think it is a far better choice than Coinbase.

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

Author

Oleg Galeev

Cryptocurrency Specialist

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.