Security Compliance
KuCoin offers two-factor authentication and has tightened compliance considerably since its early years. Its history still matters though: $275 million was stolen by North Korean hackers in 2020, with about $200 million recovered, and in 2025 its operator pleaded guilty in the US to anti-money-laundering failures. If you somehow still have funds on the exchange, move them to a private crypto wallet.
Shakepay holds the majority of users' funds in cold storage with insurance covering risks like theft or key loss, and client funds are held 1:1 with approved custodians. Operating since 2015, it has never been hacked. As a CIRO member, Shakepay's CAD balances carry Canadian Investor Protection Fund coverage up to $1 million, though crypto assets fall outside CIPF. Two-factor authentication, biometric login and email withdrawal confirmations round out account security.
KuCoin offers two-factor authentication and has tightened compliance considerably since its early years. Its history still matters: $275 million was stolen by North Korean hackers in 2020, with about $200 million later recovered — one of the largest exchange hacks on record. In 2025 its operator pleaded guilty in the US to anti-money-laundering failures with ~$297 million in penalties. If you still have funds on the exchange, move them to a private crypto wallet — but note that incoming transfers from KuCoin may be blocked by regulated Canadian exchanges, so withdraw to your own wallet first and then transfer from there.
Shakepay holds the majority of users' funds in cold storage with insurance covering risks like theft or key loss, and client funds are held 1:1 with approved custodians. Operating since 2015, it has never been hacked. As a CIRO member, Shakepay's CAD balances carry Canadian Investor Protection Fund coverage up to $1 million, though crypto assets fall outside CIPF. Two-factor authentication, biometric login and email withdrawal confirmations round out account security.
KuCoin has tightened its security posture post-2020 but its $275M hack history and US guilty plea are major red flags regardless of geography. Shakepay holds client crypto in insured cold storage, mandates 2FA and biometric login, and as a CIRO investment dealer carries CIPF coverage on CAD balances. Since KuCoin is not available to Canadians, only Shakepay's security is relevant here.
Regulatory Compliance
KuCoin is banned in Canada. After ignoring OSC proceedings entirely, KuCoin received a permanent ban from Ontario's capital markets in June 2022 along with the maximum penalties the tribunal could impose, about $2 million plus costs, and the CSA lists it as a banned platform nationwide. Mandatory KYC since July 2023 means there is no longer any workaround, and using a VPN violates KuCoin's own terms with the risk of frozen funds and zero consumer protection or legal recourse in Canada. This is a hard no for Canadians, not a grey area.
Shakepay is one of the most regulated crypto platforms in Canada. Beyond its FINTRAC Money Service Business registration, it became a CIRO-registered investment dealer in January 2025, the first Quebec-based crypto platform to reach that tier, and the first crypto-native member of Payments Canada in May 2025. Its bitcoin-backed lending product operates under a three-year exemptive relief from Quebec's AMF with passport coverage across all provinces. Montreal-based, it operates in every Canadian province and territory.
KuCoin is banned in Canada. After ignoring OSC proceedings entirely, KuCoin received a permanent ban from Ontario's capital markets in June 2022 along with the maximum penalties the tribunal could impose — about $2 million plus costs. The CSA lists it as a banned platform nationwide — not just Ontario. Mandatory KYC since July 2023 means there is no longer any workaround, and using a VPN violates KuCoin's own terms with the risk of frozen funds and zero consumer protection or legal recourse in Canada. This is a hard no for Canadians, not a grey area.
Shakepay is one of the most regulated crypto platforms in Canada. Beyond its FINTRAC Money Service Business registration, it became a CIRO-registered investment dealer in January 2025, the first Quebec-based crypto platform to reach that tier, and the first crypto-native member of Payments Canada in May 2025. Its bitcoin-backed lending product operates under a three-year exemptive relief from Quebec's AMF with passport coverage across all provinces. It operates in every Canadian province and territory.
KuCoin is permanently banned from Canadian capital markets nationwide and is not registered with Canadian securities regulators. Shakepay is registered with FINTRAC and operates as a full CIRO investment dealer with CIPF coverage on fiat — the highest individual investor protection available in Canadian crypto.
Customer support
KuCoin offers FAQs, an online ticketing system and 24/7 live chat for users in supported countries. For Canadians the only relevant support scenario is recovering legacy funds, and be prepared for friction, since closed-jurisdiction withdrawals often involve extra verification steps.
Shakepay offers chat support, helpful FAQs and email support at [email protected], with tickets typically answered within hours, even on weekends. When we tested it, we received a reply in under 24 hours, and customer reviews consistently rank Shakepay's support among the friendliest in Canadian crypto.
KuCoin offers FAQs, an online ticketing system and 24/7 live chat for users in supported countries. For Canadians the only relevant support scenario is recovering legacy funds, and be prepared for friction since closed-jurisdiction withdrawals often involve extra verification steps.
Shakepay offers chat support, helpful FAQs and email support, with tickets typically answered within hours, even on weekends. When we tested it, we received a reply in under 24 hours, and customer reviews consistently rank Shakepay's support among the friendliest in Canadian crypto.
Shakepay's fast, friendly support is the only relevant option for Canadians. KuCoin's support is relevant only for recovering legacy funds, where expect friction.
Conclusion
From a Canadian perspective, this comparison has a clear answer. KuCoin is permanently banned in Canada — the CSA lists it as a banned platform nationwide, not just in Ontario — and was hacked for $275 million in 2020. Recommending it for Canadians is wrong on every level.
Shakepay is the clear choice. As a full CIRO investment dealer since January 2025, Shakepay holds the highest individual regulatory protection available in Canadian crypto, with CIPF coverage on CAD balances up to $1 million. Add free crypto withdrawals with network fees covered, ShakingSats, the Shakepay Card with bitcoin cashback, interest on CAD balances, bitcoin-backed loans launched in April 2026, and it is genuinely hard to beat for Bitcoin and Ethereum buyers in Canada. The main trade-offs are the high spread (not ideal for active traders) and only two coins. For more coins, Kraken, NDAX or Wealthsimple Crypto are worth comparing.
If you have legacy funds on KuCoin, withdraw them to your own wallet immediately — do not transfer directly to a regulated Canadian exchange, as some platforms block incoming transfers from KuCoin. Route through your own wallet first.
We recommend choosing Shakepay over KuCoin for your cryptocurrency trading needs. By using our referral link, you get $10 and support us in conducting comprehensive independent analyses of crypto trading options for Canadians.
If you find that neither KuCoin nor Shakepay meets your requirements, we encourage you to explore our monthly-updated list of the best exchanges for Canadians to trade crypto.
