Security Compliance
CoinSmart's wind-down was orderly and regulator-supervised, with no reported loss of customer funds, the same clean pattern as Coinberry and Bitvo, and the opposite of CoinField. Its legacy custody arrangement with BitGo and its OSC registration are what made the seamless handover possible.
Newton holds 80% of client assets offline in custodial cold storage with Coinbase and the remaining 20% in hot wallets secured by Fireblocks, with crypto assets covered by an insurance policy. Customer data is stored on Canadian servers with daily offsite backups, and the platform is tested internally every month and externally every year for vulnerabilities. Mandatory two-factor authentication and direct bank integration round out fraud protection.
CoinSmart's wind-down was orderly and regulator-supervised, with no reported loss of customer funds, the same clean pattern as Coinberry and Bitvo, and the opposite of CoinField. Its legacy custody arrangement with BitGo and its OSC registration are what made the seamless handover possible.
Newton holds 80% of client assets offline in custodial cold storage with Coinbase and the remaining 20% in hot wallets secured by Fireblocks, with crypto assets covered by an insurance policy. Customer data is stored on Canadian servers with daily offsite backups, and the platform is tested internally every month and externally every year for vulnerabilities. Mandatory two-factor authentication and direct bank integration round out fraud protection.
CoinSmart had an orderly, regulator-supervised wind-down with no customer fund losses. Newton holds 80% of assets in cold storage with Coinbase Custody, 20% in Fireblocks-secured hot wallets, mandatory 2FA, and monthly and annual penetration testing. Only Newton is relevant for Canadian users here.
Regulatory Compliance
CoinSmart was registered with FINTRAC and was one of the first crypto platforms granted registration by the Ontario Securities Commission, a status that shaped its ending: rather than stranding users, its accounts were transferred to another registered platform under regulatory oversight. The full successor chain: CoinSmart into WonderFi (July 2023), client accounts to Bitbuy (September 2023), WonderFi to Robinhood (June 2026). Former CoinSmart users needing historical transaction records for taxes should log into Bitbuy and request their history from support.
Newton is regulated by the Canadian Securities Administrators, FINTRAC, and securities regulators in every province and territory, a major step up from its early days as a FINTRAC-only MSB. It was among the first Canadian exchanges to pursue securities registration, and its affiliation with DV Trading adds institutional market-making depth behind its pricing.
CoinSmart was registered with FINTRAC and was one of the first crypto platforms granted registration by the Ontario Securities Commission, a status that shaped its ending: rather than stranding users, its accounts were transferred to another registered platform under regulatory oversight. The full successor chain: CoinSmart into WonderFi (July 2023), client accounts to Bitbuy (September 2023), WonderFi to Robinhood (June 2026). Former CoinSmart users needing historical transaction records for taxes should log into Bitbuy and request their history from support.
Newton is regulated by the Canadian Securities Administrators, FINTRAC, and securities regulators in every province and territory, a major step up from its early days as a FINTRAC-only MSB. It was among the first Canadian exchanges to pursue securities registration, and its affiliation with DV Trading adds institutional market-making depth behind its pricing.
CoinSmart was FINTRAC-registered and OSC-authorized; its successor chain ends with Bitbuy/Robinhood as of June 2026. Newton is registered with FINTRAC and the CSA in every Canadian province and territory — not merely "registered with FINTRAC and PIPEDA-compliant."
Customer support
There is no CoinSmart support team anymore; former users should contact Bitbuy support ([email protected]) referencing their old CoinSmart account. Two practical warnings: anyone offering to "recover" CoinSmart funds for a fee is running a recovery scam, and any active website using the CoinSmart name to solicit deposits is an impostor.
Newton has FAQs and a knowledge centre on its website, with support handled through online tickets. There's no phone or live chat, and its middling Trustpilot score mostly reflects slow support and ID-verification frustrations rather than fund-safety issues. For simple buy-and-hold users the support model is adequate; anyone who values a human on demand should look at NDAX or Netcoins instead.
There is no CoinSmart support team anymore; former users should contact Bitbuy support referencing their old CoinSmart account. Two practical warnings: anyone offering to "recover" CoinSmart funds for a fee is running a recovery scam, and any active website using the CoinSmart name to solicit deposits is an impostor.
Newton has FAQs and a knowledge centre on its website, with support handled through online tickets. There's no phone or live chat, and its middling Trustpilot score mostly reflects slow support and ID-verification frustrations rather than fund-safety issues. For simple buy-and-hold users the support model is adequate; anyone who values a human on demand should look at NDAX or Netcoins instead.
Newton's ticket-based support is the only relevant option for Canadians. Former CoinSmart users route through Bitbuy/Robinhood support.
Conclusion
CoinSmart is no longer an independent exchange. It merged into WonderFi in July 2023 and its client accounts moved to Bitbuy in September 2023. Bitbuy is now owned by Robinhood following the June 2026 WonderFi acquisition. If you were a CoinSmart user, log into Bitbuy with your old CoinSmart email to access your account and history. Never send crypto to an old CoinSmart deposit address. If anyone offers to recover your CoinSmart funds for a fee, it is a scam.
Newton is the clear choice for Canadians in this comparison. Zero commissions, 70+ coins, free Interac deposits and withdrawals, 80% cold storage with Coinbase Custody, CSA registration in every province, and Newton Pro now live for advanced traders make it one of the stronger beginner-to-intermediate platforms in Canada. The honest caveats are spread costs (the "no-fee" marketing glosses over how spreads have widened), ticket-only support, and a Trustpilot rating dragged down by verification friction — none of which are fund-safety concerns.
We recommend choosing Newton over CoinSmart for your cryptocurrency trading needs. By using our referral link, you get $25 and support us in conducting comprehensive independent analyses of crypto trading options for Canadians.
If you find that Newton doesn't meet your requirements, we encourage you to explore our monthly-updated list of the best exchanges for Canadians to trade crypto.
