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.
BitMEX's technical security record is genuinely strong: it has never been hacked, keeps all bitcoin in cold storage with multi-signature wallets, and has employees manually audit withdrawals. Its regulatory record is another matter. BitMEX and its founders pleaded guilty to violating the US Bank Secrecy Act for failing to run an anti-money-laundering program, the company was fined $100 million in January 2025, and its three co-founders were pardoned by President Trump in March 2025. Funds on the platform have historically been safe from hackers; the risk was always regulatory.
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. It now publishes Proof of Reserves. 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.
BitMEX's technical security record is genuinely strong: it has never been hacked, keeps all bitcoin in cold storage with multi-signature wallets, and has employees manually audit withdrawals. Its regulatory record is another matter. BitMEX and its founders pleaded guilty to violating the US Bank Secrecy Act for failing to run an anti-money-laundering program, the company was fined $100 million in January 2025, and its three co-founders were pardoned by President Trump in March 2025. Funds on the platform have historically been safe from hackers; the risk was always regulatory.
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. BitMEX has a strong technical security record with cold storage and manual withdrawal audits, but its regulatory history includes a $100M US fine for AML failures. Neither platform is relevant to Canadians going forward.
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.
BitMEX initially restricted only Ontario and Québec, but as of late 2023 its Restricted Jurisdiction Policy lists all of Canada as restricted. Its US legal troubles have concluded with guilty pleas, a $100 million fine and subsequent presidential pardons for the founders. There is no indication BitMEX intends to register with Canadian regulators or return to the Canadian market.
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.
BitMEX initially restricted only Ontario and Québec, but as of late 2023 its Restricted Jurisdiction Policy lists all of Canada as restricted. Its US legal troubles have concluded with guilty pleas, a $100 million fine and subsequent presidential pardons for the founders. There is no indication BitMEX intends to register with Canadian regulators or return to the Canadian market.
Neither ByBit nor BitMEX is registered with Canadian securities regulators or authorized to serve Canadian retail crypto investors. ByBit exited Canada in September 2023 following its $2.5M OSC penalty. BitMEX lists all of Canada as a restricted jurisdiction — not just Ontario.
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.
BitMEX offers support via a contact form on its website and has a detailed FAQ section. For Canadians this is academic, since the platform is off-limits entirely.
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.
BitMEX offers support via a contact form on its website and has a detailed FAQ section. For Canadians this is academic, since the platform is off-limits entirely.
Neither platform's ongoing support is relevant to Canadians. Both are relevant only for the specific scenario of recovering legacy funds, and both present friction in that process.
Conclusion
From a Canadian perspective, there is nothing to choose between ByBit and BitMEX — neither is available. ByBit exited Canada in September 2023 following a $2.5M OSC penalty. BitMEX has listed all of Canada as a restricted jurisdiction since late 2023 — not just Ontario and Quebec as it did previously.
If you have legacy funds on ByBit, their support centre still handles withdrawal requests for former Canadian users. If you have legacy funds on BitMEX, contact their support via the website form.
For Canadians looking for well-regulated alternatives with advanced trading features, we recommend Kraken (200+ coins, nationally registered restricted dealer since April 2025, with Kraken Pro fees that compete globally), Crypto.com (400+ coins, restricted dealer since May 2025), or NDAX (60+ coins, CIRO investment dealer with a flat 0.2% fee). See our full list of the best crypto exchanges in Canada for more options.
