Security Compliance
CoinField marketed itself as a highly secure exchange using cold storage, multi-signature wallets and encryption. The regulatory record tells a different story: the OSC found the platform did not have sufficient crypto assets in custody to satisfy investor withdrawal requests and misled both investors and the regulator about why withdrawals were delayed. Whatever its technical security, customer funds were not safe. This is a textbook example of why we recommend holding your own coins in your own crypto wallet rather than leaving them on any exchange.
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.
CoinField marketed itself as a highly secure exchange using cold storage, multi-signature wallets and encryption. The regulatory record tells a different story: the OSC found the platform did not have sufficient crypto assets in custody to satisfy investor withdrawal requests and misled both investors and the regulator about why withdrawals were delayed. Whatever its technical security, customer funds were not safe.
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.
CoinField marketed itself as secure but the OSC found it misled investors about the state of customer funds — a reminder that security marketing claims cannot be taken at face value. 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
CoinField's FINTRAC registration was ceased, and the company was never registered with Canadian securities regulators. In August 2024, Ontario's Capital Markets Tribunal found it violated securities law through unregistered trading, illegal distribution and misleading investors, and in 2025 it was permanently banned from Ontario's capital markets with over $3 million in combined penalties, disgorgement and costs. CoinField did not participate in the proceedings.
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.
CoinField's FINTRAC registration was ceased, and the company was never registered with Canadian securities regulators. In August 2024, Ontario's Capital Markets Tribunal found it violated securities law through unregistered trading, illegal distribution and misleading investors. In 2025 it was permanently banned from Ontario's capital markets with over $3 million in combined penalties, disgorgement and costs. CoinField did not participate in the proceedings.
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.
CoinField had its FINTRAC registration ceased, was never registered with Canadian securities regulators, and was permanently banned from Ontario's capital markets in 2025 for securities violations. BitMEX lists all of Canada as a restricted jurisdiction and is not registered with Canadian securities regulators.
Customer support
There is no customer support because there is no company left to contact. Former customers with unfulfilled withdrawals were harmed when the platform collapsed, and the tribunal noted the total harm to investors remains uncertain. If you were affected, you can report your experience to the OSC. If anyone contacts you claiming to recover your lost CoinField funds for a fee, that is a recovery scam, a common second-wave fraud targeting victims of collapsed exchanges.
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.
There is no CoinField customer support because there is no company left to contact. Former customers with unfulfilled withdrawals were harmed when the platform collapsed, and the tribunal noted the total harm to investors remains uncertain. If you were affected, you can report your experience to the OSC. If anyone contacts you claiming to recover your lost CoinField funds for a fee, that is a recovery scam.
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 has relevant ongoing support for Canadians. CoinField has no support function at all; BitMEX's support is academic for Canadian users.
Conclusion
From a Canadian perspective, there is nothing to choose between CoinField and BitMEX — neither is available, and for very different reasons.
CoinField is not a legitimate operating exchange. It collapsed in 2023 with unfulfilled customer withdrawals, was permanently banned from Ontario's capital markets in 2025, and impostor scam sites now operate under its name. Avoid any site presenting itself as CoinField. If you were a CoinField customer with unmet withdrawals, report your experience to the OSC. If anyone contacts you offering to recover your funds for a fee, that is a recovery scam.
BitMEX has listed all of Canada as a restricted jurisdiction since late 2023 — not just Ontario and Quebec as it did previously — and its founders pleaded guilty in the US to AML failures with a $100 million fine.
For Canadians looking for well-regulated alternatives, 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.
