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NDAX vs. VirgoCX: What Works Better For Canadians in 2024

Oleg Galeev

Last updated September 20, 2024

In this review, we compare two popular Canadian cryptocurrency exchanges, NDAX and VirgoCX, evaluating key aspects such as mobile and desktop trading, security, compliance, and customer support. While both platforms have their strengths, there are key differences in their security measures, customer support, and compliance with Canadian federal regulations.

Description

National Digital Asset Exchange Inc (NDAX) claims to have both the lowest fees and the most coins available in Canada (not 100% true). It has a beginner-friendly platform and a high-rated app.

VirgoCX is based in Ontario, and offers Canadians an easy way to trade crypto. They have an NFT marketplace, OTC services to trade large amounts of crypto, and a foreign currency exchange should you wish to convert your fiat. 

Coins

Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, XRP, EOS, Stellar Lumens, Dogecoin, Cardano, USDT, Chainlink, Polkadot, Uniswap, The Graph, Compound, Aave, and Polygon.

VirgoCX offers Canadians the ability to trade over 50 cryptocurrencies.

Fees

  • Fixed 0.2% buy/sell fee
  • Free deposits
  • $25 fixed fee for wire/bank withdrawals
  • Free CAD deposits and withdrawals
  • Free crypto deposits
  • High spreads

Pros

  • Free deposits
  • No deposit/withdrawal minimum or maximum
  • Fixed 0.2% buy/sell fee
  • Wide range of coins available
  • Fast Interac deposits 
  • Send, request, and gift crypto to another NDAX user for free, instantly
  • Address whitelisting
  • Free deposits and withdrawals
  • Interac e-Transfer available
  • OTC Desk
  • NFT marketplace
  • Insurance for crypto assets
  • Fully regulated in Canada
  • USD and CAD accepted
  • Crypto education portal
  • Advanced trading features
  • Quick Trade available

Cons

  • Only CAD deposits accepted
  • No credit/debit cards accepted
  • $25 fixed fee for wire/bank withdrawals
  • Hidden fees
  • Advanced trading platforms can be confusing for beginners
  • Relatively higher spreads than other exchanges

Account Limits

  • Deposit $100 - $10,000 via Interac daily
  • $50 minimum e-Transfer withdrawal
  • $20,000 minimum for wire transfers
  • Interac e-Transfer deposit maximum is $10000/day (same for withdrawals)

Methods to buy

  • Interac e-Transfer
  • Wire transfer
  • Bank draft
  • Interac e-Transfer
  • Wire Transfer
  • Bill Payment
  • Credit & Debit card

Security

Assets stored in cold storage using the Ledger Vault (amount unknown)

  • $1 Million in crime insurance coverage
  • Cold storage
  • All fiat assets are held with their Canadian banking partner
  • FINTRAC and PIPEDA compliant

Mobile and Desktop Trading

Both NDAX and VirgoCX provide robust desktop platforms and mobile apps to meet varying trading needs. The NDAX mobile app on the App Store scores 4.7/5, known for its intuitive interface and fast transaction execution. The VirgoCX mobile app, rating 3.6/5 on the App Store, stands out with its user-friendly design and reliability. Both platforms offer advanced trading options on their desktop platforms, boasting well-organized dashboards, detailed charting tools, and several order types for an optimized trading experience.

NDAX

NDAX has a packed website full of helpful resources. There is a page about each cryptocurrency they offer. These articles include the coin’s history, use cases, charting, how to buy, and more. 

NDAX has an iOS app with a 4.6-star rating with 550 reviews. Its Android app has a 4.0-star rating with 80 reviews. It has obviously done a good job with its app and people seem to like it.

NDAX Desktop interface

NDAX desktop interface

How to buy Polkadot on NDAX crypto exchange

NDAX trading screen

Ndax app screenshot

NDAX app interface

Ndax buying crypto app

NDAX app interface while trading

VirgoCX

VirgoCX has a mobile app for both iPhone and Android users. On iOS, the VirgoCX app has a 3.6-star rating with over 50 reviews. On Google Play it does not currently have a rating but has many positive reviews. Some reviewers say the verification process takes a long time, but others say the app is easy to use and reliable. 

Advanced trading with VirgoCX

Advanced trading with VirgoCX

Main dashboard on VirgoCX

Main dashboard on VirgoCX

Quick trade and Advanced trade on VirgoCX mobile app

Quick trade on VirgoCX app

VirgoCX mobile app

VirgoCX mobile app view

Security Compliance

NDAX keeps its digital assets in cold storage using Ledger Vault, although they do not state the percentage. Ledger is a big name in the cryptocurrency space, known for making secure hardware wallets. 

When signing up to NDAX, you are forced to enable two-factor authentication. Most crypto exchanges will leave this optional, but we think everybody should do it, so we like this mandatory policy.

Additionally, when you wish to change your details such as your email, address, phone number etc, NDAX requires you to submit a selfie with a handwritten note outlining the request. 

VirgoCX offers $1 Million in crime insurance coverage with Coinbase Custody. Should the exchange be compromised, VirgoCX could potentially refund any customers’ stolen coins. 

VirgoCX’s crypto assets are held in cold storage with Coinbase Custody and only a small amount are kept on the platform for trading. All fiat assets are held with their Canadian banking partner, though it is not mentioned who the partner is. However, we always recommend transferring all the funds to your own Canadian crypto wallet.

VirgoCX takes an extra step in security by offering $1 million in crime insurance coverage with Coinbase Custody and only keeps a small amount of assets on the platform for trading. NDAX also maintains high security standards, with 95% of its digital assets kept in cold storage. However, there isn't information available about NDAX providing insurance for its users' assets.

Regulatory Compliance

NDAX is registered as a Money Service Business with FINTRAC and AMF, NDAX is fully compliant with Canadian regulations. 

VirgoCX is registered with FINTRAC and PIPEDA. Therefore, it is fully compliant in Canada. VirgoCX also has regular audits which prove that its reserves exist. 

NDAX and VirgoCX are registered with FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada), demonstrating their commitment to maintaining financial transparency and preventing money laundering activities. Furthermore, VirgoCX is also compliant with PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act), ensuring the protection of users' personal information.

Customer support

NDAX provides a knowledge centre on its website. Articles here answer some of the most common questions. They also have a live chat function, which is handy when you need a quick answer. You can also email them for support. Confusingly, NDAX lists its phone number on its contact page, which is rare for a crypto exchange to do. We weren’t sure if this meant they had phone support, so we reached out via email to ask. They got back to us a very impressive 20 minutes later to let us know that they only have email support. So that’s that. Still, that’s the fastest response we’ve seen.

If you need help, you can contact VirgoCX’s support team via email or live chat 24/7. They also offer multi-language support. Not many exchanges offer live chat.

VirgoCX has a slight edge in terms of customer support. They offer 24/7 support through email or live chat, and also offer multi-language support. NDAX, on the other hand, provides support via email and phone, with some complaints about slow response times.

Conclusion

Both NDAX and VirgoCX offer solid platforms for cryptocurrency trading, with user-friendly interfaces, good security measures, and compliance with Canadian regulations. However, NDAX stands out as the better option due to its robust security measures and its competitive trading fee structure. Although VirgoCX has a broader offering of cryptocurrencies, the slightly simpler fee structure of NDAX makes it a more attractive option for users, especially for those who value cost-effectiveness and simplicity over variety.

We recommend choosing NDAX over VirgoCX for your cryptocurrency trading needs. By opting for NDAX through our referral link, you support us in conducting comprehensive independent analyses of crypto trading options for Canadians.

If you find that neither NDAX nor VirgoCX meets your requirements, we encourage you to explore our monthly-updated list of the best exchanges for Canadians to trade crypto. This list provides a range of alternative options that may better suit your specific needs and preferences.

Author

Oleg is a Canadian citizen & crypto expert who has been trading since 2016. He started out with Coinbase, Kraken and Peer-to-Peer exchanges. After some time, centralized exchanges started charging crazy fees to their users.

He decided to review different crypto exchanges that operate in Canada and start a Youtube channel in order to educate Canadians on what kinds of things are going inside each one while giving them unbiased advice. On top of that, Oleg also has experience with NFT, airdrops, and crypto staking and he is constantly checking on new crypto assets.

His writing has been featured in popular Canadian media sources such as Toronto Sun and Ottawa Citizen.