Security Compliance
Crypto.com is a highly secure exchange by industry standards: cold storage custody, two-factor authentication, encrypted user data, mandatory withdrawal address whitelisting with email confirmation, and substantial insurance coverage on custodied assets. For balance, it did suffer a hack in January 2022, when roughly $34 million was taken from around 483 accounts, but Crypto.com fully reimbursed affected users and overhauled its security in response, and there have been no comparable incidents since. As always, we recommend moving long-term holdings to your own crypto wallet.
Since April 2025, VirgoCX operates as a non-custodial platform, meaning it never holds your crypto. The coins you buy are delivered to your own wallet, so there is no pool of customer funds on the exchange for hackers to steal. This replaces the old model, where assets were held in cold storage with third-party custody and covered by crime insurance. The new approach is actually closer to what we always recommend anyway: holding your own coins in your own Canadian crypto wallet. Fiat balances are held with Canadian banking partners.
Crypto.com is a highly secure exchange by industry standards: cold storage custody, two-factor authentication, encrypted user data, mandatory withdrawal address whitelisting with email confirmation, and substantial insurance coverage on custodied assets. It did suffer a hack in January 2022, when roughly $34 million was taken from around 483 accounts, but Crypto.com fully reimbursed all affected users and overhauled its security in response. There have been no comparable incidents since. As always, we recommend moving long-term holdings to your own crypto wallet.
Since April 2025, VirgoCX operates as a non-custodial platform, meaning it never holds your crypto at all. The coins you buy are delivered to your own wallet, so there is no pool of customer funds on the exchange for hackers to steal. This replaced the old model where assets sat in custodied cold storage. The new approach is actually closer to what we always recommend: holding your own coins in your own Canadian crypto wallet. The trade-off is that you take on full responsibility for your own wallet security. Fiat balances are held with Canadian banking partners.
Crypto.com employs rigorous security measures including SOC 2 and ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certifications, and both exchanges are registered with FINTRAC for AML compliance.
Regulatory Compliance
Crypto.com is among the most regulated crypto platforms available to Canadians. It was the first platform to sign a Pre-registration Undertaking with the CSA and OSC in August 2022, and in May 2025 it received restricted dealer registration in every province and territory, making it only the second major global exchange after Coinbase to reach this status. It's now working toward full investment dealer registration and CIRO membership. It's also registered with FINTRAC, and globally holds a MiCA license in the EU, US money transmitter licenses, and licenses in Singapore, the UK and Dubai.
VirgoCX is registered with FINTRAC as a money services business (MSB M19955733) and appears on the Canadian Securities Administrators' list of crypto platforms authorized to do business with Canadians, so it is fully legal in Canada. It originally registered as a restricted securities dealer in 2022 but did not complete CIRO investment dealer registration, which is why it pivoted to the non-custodial model in April 2025.
Crypto.com is among the most regulated crypto platforms available to Canadians. It was the first platform to sign a Pre-Registration Undertaking with the CSA and OSC back in August 2022, and on May 8, 2025, it received restricted dealer registration in every province and territory across Canada — only the second major global exchange after Coinbase to reach this status. Crypto.com is currently working toward full investment dealer registration and CIRO membership as the next step. It is also registered with FINTRAC, and globally holds a MiCA licence in the EU, US money transmitter licences, and licences in Singapore, the UK and Dubai.
VirgoCX is registered with FINTRAC as a money services business (MSB M19955733) and appears on the Canadian Securities Administrators' list of crypto platforms authorized to do business with Canadians. It is fully legal to use in Canada. VirgoCX originally registered as a restricted securities dealer in 2022 but did not complete CIRO investment dealer registration, which is why it pivoted to the non-custodial model in April 2025 — a move that let it exit the securities dealer framework while continuing to serve Canadians lawfully under its FINTRAC registration.
Both Crypto.com and VirgoCX are registered with FINTRAC, demonstrating their commitment to financial transparency and anti-money-laundering compliance. VirgoCX is also compliant with PIPEDA, ensuring the protection of users' personal information.
Customer support
Crypto.com's customer support remains its weakest area: users love the app, security and coin range, but support is chat and ticket-based and can be slow for complex issues. On the education front, the platform now offers Crypto.com University with courses and articles for beginners, so our earlier criticism about missing educational resources no longer applies.
If you need help, you can contact VirgoCX's support team via email or live chat, and they offer multi-language support. Not many exchanges offer live chat.
Crypto.com's customer support remains its weakest area. Users love the app, security and coin range, but support is chat and ticket-based and can be slow on complex issues. On the education front, the platform now offers Crypto.com University with courses and articles for beginners, so that gap from earlier reviews no longer applies.
VirgoCX offers customer support via email and live chat with multi-language support. Not many Canadian exchanges offer live chat at all, which is a genuine plus for newer users navigating the non-custodial setup for the first time. Both platforms maintain extensive knowledge bases.
Conclusion
Both Crypto.com and VirgoCX are reliable and fully legal options for Canadians. The right choice depends on what you want from a platform.
Crypto.com is the stronger pick if you want a globally recognized exchange with a wider coin selection, Visa card rewards, staking, and one of the deepest regulatory track records in the Canadian market. Its restricted dealer registration across all provinces as of May 2025 puts it ahead of most global exchanges operating here, and the app is genuinely polished for everyday use. The main trade-offs are slower customer support and a spread baked into app pricing.
VirgoCX suits Canadians who want a simple, locally focused platform with no trading commissions and are comfortable managing their own wallet. The non-custodial model introduced in April 2025 means your crypto is never sitting on the exchange, which eliminates custodial hack risk entirely. The coin range is wide at 90+, and Quick Trade keeps things accessible for beginners once you are set up.
We recommend choosing Crypto.com over VirgoCX for most Canadians, particularly those who want a broad feature set, card rewards and a platform built for the long term under Canadian regulation. By using our referral link, you support us in conducting independent analysis of crypto trading options for Canadians.
If neither Crypto.com nor VirgoCX meets your requirements, explore our monthly-updated list of the best exchanges for Canadians for more options.
