Security Compliance
ByBit's security record now carries a major asterisk. In February 2025, attackers linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group exploited ByBit's multi-signature wallet transfer process and stole roughly $1.5 billion in Ethereum, the largest crypto theft ever recorded. To ByBit's credit, no customers lost funds: the exchange covered all losses from its own liquidity and replenished reserves within about 72 hours, a crisis response widely considered the best the industry has seen. Still, the breach shows that even cold storage and multisig setups can be defeated. Users can secure their accounts with two-factor authentication via Google Authenticator. ByBit also previously ran into trouble in Canada specifically, paying a roughly $2.5 million penalty to the Ontario Securities Commission in 2022 for operating without registration.
As a public company Bitcoin Well has a duty to be transparent with its investors and adhere to all Canadian regulations. Additionally, since you always take full custody of your bitcoin, you do not need to worry too much about the security measures of the platform, since you hold your bitcoin yourself.
ByBit's security record now carries a major asterisk. In February 2025, attackers linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group exploited ByBit's multi-signature wallet transfer process and stole roughly $1.5 billion in Ethereum, the largest crypto theft ever recorded. To ByBit's credit, no customers lost funds: the exchange covered all losses from its own liquidity and replenished reserves within about 72 hours, a crisis response widely considered the best the industry has seen. Still, the breach shows that even cold storage and multisig setups can be defeated. Since ByBit is not available to Canadians, its security arrangements are academic here.
As a public company Bitcoin Well has a duty to be transparent with its investors and adhere to all Canadian regulations. The key security advantage is structural: since you always take full custody of your bitcoin, there are no exchange-held customer funds to hack.
ByBit suffered the largest crypto hack in history in February 2025 but covered all customer losses within 72 hours and now publishes Proof of Reserves. Bitcoin Well protects users through immediate self-custody and public-company transparency obligations. Since ByBit is not available to Canadians, only Bitcoin Well's security is relevant here.
Regulatory Compliance
ByBit exited the Canadian market in 2023 due to Canadian regulations and Canada remains on its restricted jurisdictions list. Notably, ByBit has since obtained licenses elsewhere, including a MiCA license serving the EEA through ByBit EU and a UK relaunch in late 2025, but it has shown no intention of registering with Canadian regulators.
Bitcoin Well is registered with FINTRAC (registration M19811620) and with Revenu Québec, and is fully legal in Canada. As a company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, it also publishes audited financials, a level of transparency almost no other Canadian bitcoin platform offers.
ByBit exited the Canadian market in 2023 due to Canadian regulations and Canada remains on its restricted jurisdictions list. Notably, ByBit has since obtained licences elsewhere, including a MiCA licence serving the EEA through ByBit EU and a UK relaunch in late 2025, but it has shown no intention of registering with Canadian regulators. It also paid a roughly $2.5 million penalty to the Ontario Securities Commission in 2022 for operating without registration.
Bitcoin Well is registered with FINTRAC (registration M19811620) and with Revenu Québec, and is fully legal in Canada. As a company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (BTCW), it also publishes audited financials — a level of transparency almost no other Canadian bitcoin platform offers.
Bitcoin Well is registered with FINTRAC and fully authorized to serve Canadians, backed by TSXV-audited financials. ByBit exited Canada in September 2023 following its $2.5M OSC penalty and is not registered with Canadian securities regulators.
Customer support
ByBit has a helpful support centre on its website with numerous guides about crypto and how to use the exchange, plus ticket-based and chat support. For Canadians this is academic, since the platform is off-limits entirely.
Bitcoin Well runs an in-house Canadian support team available around the clock, and you can browse their help centre, open a support ticket, or even call or text their team. Most crypto platforms do not offer a phone number, so this is a big plus. Their Trustpilot rating sits around 4 stars across a modest number of reviews.
ByBit has a helpful support centre on its website with numerous guides about crypto and how to use the exchange, plus ticket-based and chat support. For Canadians this is academic, since the platform is off-limits entirely. Former Canadian users with legacy balances can still contact support, but expect friction.
Bitcoin Well runs an in-house Canadian support team available around the clock, and you can browse their help centre, open a support ticket, or even call or text their team. Most crypto platforms do not offer a phone number, so this is a genuine plus. Their Trustpilot rating sits around 4 stars across a modest number of reviews.
Bitcoin Well's around-the-clock phone and text support is the only relevant option for Canadians. ByBit's support is academic for new Canadian users, and relevant only for legacy withdrawal requests.
Conclusion
From a Canadian perspective, this comparison has a clear answer. ByBit exited Canada in September 2023 following a $2.5M OSC penalty for operating without registration, and Canada remains on its restricted jurisdictions list with no announced return.
Bitcoin Well is the clear choice for Canadians. Immediate self-custody on every purchase, bill payments for phone/electricity/CRA taxes, Lightning support, cash purchases at 200+ ATMs across Canada, and the transparency of a publicly traded TSXV company make it the most capable Bitcoin-only platform in Canada. The 1.2% online spread is not the cheapest — Bull Bitcoin's all-inclusive spread is typically slightly lower for pure online buyers — but Bitcoin Well's ATM network and TSXV listing are genuinely unique.
We recommend choosing Bitcoin Well over ByBit for your cryptocurrency trading needs. By using our referral link, you support us in conducting comprehensive independent analyses of crypto trading options for Canadians.
If you find that Bitcoin Well doesn't meet your requirements, we encourage you to explore our monthly-updated list of the best exchanges for Canadians to trade crypto.
