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.
Gate has invested heavily in security in recent years, publishing monthly Proof of Reserves with coverage around 125% and holding licenses in Malta (MiCA), Dubai, Japan and elsewhere. That said, its track record includes past security incidents, and none of its licensing footprint extends to Canada. Since KYC is mandatory and tied to your ID country, Canadians who slip through via VPN risk having accounts frozen with funds inside.
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. If you somehow still have funds on ByBit, withdraw to a private wallet.
Gate has invested heavily in security in recent years, publishing monthly Proof of Reserves with coverage around 125% and holding licenses in Malta (MiCA), Dubai, Japan and elsewhere. That said, its track record includes past security incidents — it operated as Bter before a rebranding following a major hack in its early years — and none of its licensing footprint extends to Canada. Since KYC is mandatory and tied to your ID country, Canadians who slip through via VPN risk having accounts frozen with funds inside.
ByBit suffered the largest crypto hack in history in February 2025 (~$1.5B ETH) but fully reimbursed all affected users. Gate has improved its security posture and publishes Proof of Reserves, but its history includes past incidents and it remains unavailable to Canadians. 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.
Gate is not a compliant crypto exchange in Canada. Canada sits on its restricted locations list, Canadian accounts were closed in April 2022, and while Gate has since obtained licenses in the EU, Dubai, Japan and even launched a US entity in 2025, it has shown no sign of registering with Canadian regulators.
ByBit exited the Canadian market in September 2023 due to Canadian regulations and Canada remains on its restricted jurisdictions list. ByBit paid a roughly $2.5 million OSC penalty for operating without registration in Ontario, then exited all of Canada rather than register. 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.
Gate is not a compliant crypto exchange in Canada. Canada sits on its restricted locations list, Canadian accounts were closed in April 2022, and while Gate has since obtained licenses in the EU, Dubai, Japan and even launched a US entity in 2025 under the Gate.com rebrand, it has shown no sign of registering with Canadian regulators.
ByBit paid a roughly $2.5 million OSC penalty and exited all of Canada in September 2023 — not merely "stopped accepting new accounts from Ontario." Gate is not registered with Canadian securities regulators and has restricted all Canadian accounts since April 2022.
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.
Gate offers a help centre, blog and live chat for users in supported countries. Reviews remain mixed, with recurring complaints on Trustpilot about slow support and withdrawal difficulties. 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.
Gate offers a help centre, blog and live chat for users in supported countries. Reviews remain mixed, with recurring complaints on Trustpilot about slow support and withdrawal difficulties. For Canadians this is academic, since the platform is off-limits entirely.
Neither platform has relevant ongoing support for Canadians. Both are off-limits entirely.
Conclusion
From a Canadian perspective, there is nothing to choose between ByBit and Gate.com — neither is available, and for different reasons.
ByBit exited Canada on September 30, 2023. If you have legacy funds on ByBit, withdraw to a private wallet — do not transfer directly to a regulated Canadian exchange as the transfer may be blocked.
Gate has restricted all Canadian accounts since April 2022 and has not returned despite its expanding global licence footprint.
For Canadians looking for well-regulated alternatives with broad coin selection — particularly those drawn to either platform's altcoin range — we recommend Kraken (200+ coins, nationally registered restricted dealer since April 2025), 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.
