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Bitbuy vs. Shakepay: What Works Better For Canadians?

Oleg Galeev

Last updated September 19, 2024

Bitbuy vs. Shakepay with Canadian flag background

Bitbuy and Shakepay offer Canadians a simple and fast way to purchase cryptocurrency. If you’re looking for a cryptocurrency exchange for Canadians that offers a quick way to buy crypto with Canadian dollars, then Bitbuy and Shakepay are two of the best options. Which one is better? At OCryptoCanada, we conducted extensive research to compare these two Canadian crypto exchanges. Check out our Bitbuy vs. Shakepay comparison below.

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.

Shakepay is an easy way for Canadians to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum. Offering fast and free account deposits, Shakepay allows Canadians to sign up and buy crypto in minutes. Shakepay has 600,000+ users.

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

Bitcoin, Ethereum

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
  • Free crypto withdrawal 
  • Free account deposit/withdrawal 
  • Trading fee spread: 1.2% - 2.5%

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
  • Assets stored in cold storage
  • User-friendly
  • Interac e-Transfer available
  • Funding your account takes minutes not hours
  • Can transfer coins to a private wallet
  • Free to deposit/withdraw
  • Set up automatic recurring buys
  • Referral program gives you free Bitcoin every day Crypto visa card with Bitcoin cashback

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
  • Fairly high spread
  • Users do not hold private keys within Shakepay 
  • Only two cryptocurrencies are available

Account Limits

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

Deposit up to $10,000 via Interac daily

App

Methods to buy

  • Debit card
  • Interac e-Transfer
  • Wire transfer
  • Debit card
  • Interac e-Transfer
  • Wire transfer

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
  • Assets are held in cold storage (percentage unknown)
  • Users can withdraw crypto to private wallets

Mobile and Desktop Trading

Shakepay offers a simple and beginner-friendly way to purchase Bitcoin and Ethereum via its desktop platform or its mobile app. Shakepay’s app is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. The app has a 4.5-star rating with 12,000 ratings on the App Store and a 4.6-star rating with 7,000 ratings on Google Play. 

Shakepay’s app is incredibly simple to use, just like its desktop platform. Since it is a beginner-friendly crypto exchange, there aren’t many features that will confuse you. It offers a simple and clean interface with basic charting for Bitcoin and Ethereum. Funding your account and purchasing crypto is easy with just a few clicks. 

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. Clearly, its Android app needs some work with reviewers stating it has bugs that prevent them from logging in, verifying their account or claiming customer support is poor. 

Much like its desktop counterpart, however, the iOS app is easy to use and offers a clean interface. There is live charting including volume and order book data, simple funding options, a profile tab with your referral details, and the app uses biometrics for security. Bitbuy’s Express Trade is great for beginners or anyone seeking a quick market trade. Its Pro Trade platform is suitable for more experienced traders wanting advanced order types and more market data. 

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

Shakepay

Shakepay offers a simple and beginner-friendly way to purchase Bitcoin and Ethereum via its desktop platform or its mobile app. Shakepay’s app is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. The app has a 4.5-star rating with 12,000 ratings on the App Store and a 4.6-star rating with 7,000 ratings on Google Play. 

Shakepay’s app is incredibly simple to use, just like its desktop platform. Since it is a beginner-friendly crypto exchange, there aren’t many features that will confuse you. It offers a simple and clean interface with basic charting for Bitcoin and Ethereum. Funding your account and purchasing crypto is easy with just a few clicks. 

Shakepay main screen on desktop app

Shakepay desktop interface

Shakepay mobile app screenshot

Shakepay app interface

Shakepay app while trading

Shakepay 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.

Shakepay hold users’ funds in cold storage, though they do not publicize the percentage. Shakepay has existed since 2015, and so far, never has been hacked.

Shakepay states on its website that digital assets are backed by an insurance policy, though it does not mention any details. 

Shakepay also offers two-factor authentication (2FA) for their customers, so you can be sure no one else is accessing your account. With Shakepay, you will also need to confirm via email when withdrawing funds. If you set up 2FA for your email account, you can be pretty sure no unauthorized person is withdrawing funds from your account.

 

Shakepay and Bitbuy hold users’ funds in cold storage, though Shakepay does not publicize the percentage, Bitbuy states that 95% of its digital assets are stored in cold storage. Cold storage is the most secure way to hold cryptocurrency and by keeping digital assets offline, Shakepay and Bitbuy reduce the risk of losing your funds from hackers. Shakepay has existed since 2015 and Bitbuy since 2016, and so far, neither has been hacked. Shakepay states on its website that digital assets are backed by an insurance policy, though it does not mention any details. Bitbuy states that it has a 1:1 Bitcoin insurance policy with Knox, meaning users can have peace of mind knowing their holdings are covered. 

Shakepay and Bitbuy offer two-factor authentication (2FA) for their customers, so you can be sure no one else is accessing your account. With Shakepay, you will also need to confirm via email when withdrawing funds. If you set up 2FA for your email account, you can be pretty sure no unauthorized person is withdrawing funds from your account. Bitbuy requires you to confirm via email any time you sign in with a new device. 

While you won’t hold the private keys to your wallet when keeping your cryptocurrency in your Shakepay wallet, you can withdraw your funds to your personal wallet, for example, a Ledger hardware wallet, to keep your crypto secure. 

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. 

Shakepay is regulated as a Money Service Business (MSB) by FINTRAC. Shakepay is based in Montreal and is allowed to operate in every Canadian province. 

Shakepay and Bitbuy are regulated as a Money Service Business (MSB) by FINTRAC. Shakepay is based in Montreal, and Bitbuy is based in Toronto. Both exchanges are allowed to operate in every Canadian province. 

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.

Shakepay offers chat support, helpful FAQs and access to customer support via their website.

Shakepay claims it has “customer service that cares.” It offers a useful support section on its website that can answer some of the most common questions and you can contact support via email at [email protected]. Shakepay claims that support tickets can be answered within hours, even on weekends. We reached out to the support team via email to see how quickly they would respond. We received a reply the next day, less than 24 hours later. 

Shakepay and Bitbuy offer helpful FAQs and access to customer support via their website. Bitbuy customers can email support, submit a ticket on its website, or contact support via the app. Shakepay customers can contact support through the app or website. 

Conclusion

Both Shakepay and Bitbuy offer an easy and convenient way for Canadians to purchase cryptocurrency. While ShakePay only offers Bitcoin and Ethereum, unlike other beginner-friendly platforms such as Wealthsimple, Shakepay allows you to withdraw your crypto to a private wallet. With its near-instant free deposits, Shakepay is the best choice if you’re looking to only purchase Bitcoin or Ethereum as cheaply as possible.

Bitbuy is a more comprehensive platform than Shakepay. It is more transparent than Shakepay about its security and insurance, and it also offers more cryptocurrencies. Though it has higher fees, these fees are not unreasonable or different from most cryptocurrency exchanges. Bitbuy works best for traders with a little bit of experience, who want a more accessible customer support team and more transparency about its security and insurance. Check more on their website.

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. 

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