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Newton vs. Coinbase: What Works Better For Canadians in 2024

Oleg Galeev

Last updated September 19, 2024

We are comparing Newton and Coinbase, two popular cryptocurrency exchanges, examining their strengths and weaknesses for Canadians in 2024. Differences include the availability of specific features and services, with Newton offering zero-fee trading, while Coinbase emphasizes its extensive educational resources.

Description

Newton prides itself on being Canada’s first no-fee cryptocurrency exchange. They claim their exchange is 2-3x lower than most other exchanges.

Founded in 2012, Coinbase Canada is a cryptocurrency exchange with a simple interface making it a popular choice for Canadians looking to start their crypto journey. However, more Canadians are starting using local exchanges e.g. Bitbuy. Coinbase has 56 million users and became the first cryptocurrency exchange to have an Initial Public Offering.

Coins

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, Stellar, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, USDC, USDT, Chainlink, Aave, Uniswap, Polygon, Compound, SushiSwap, Curve, Synthetix, Dai, Polkadot

50+ including BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC

Fees

0% CAD funding
0% CAD withdrawal
0% crypto deposit/withdrawals (up to $5 network fee waived)
No commissions or trading fees
0.40% to 0.72% spread

Extremely High
3.99% buy fee
0.50% fee per trade

Pros

No fees at all
Wide selection of coins available
You can export a T5 statement
Sleek interface
Newton Pro for advanced traders in Beta stage

Simple and easy interface
Good for beginners
Secure exchange with cold storage
The most popular coins offered
Users can set up automatic recurring buys
Learn to earn crypto program

Cons

Very high spreads
No live chat support
No credit card deposits. Debit must be pre-approved.

High fees
Fewer coins than Binance
Complaints of bad customer support
No Interac e-Transfer

Account Limits

$10,000 max daily Interac e-Transfer deposit/withdrawal
$70,000 max weekly Interac e-Transfer deposit/withdrawal
$5,000 electronic funds transfer deposit
$50,000 electronic funds transfer withdrawal
$1M wire transfer deposit/withdrawal
$5M daily trading limit

High limit. Purchase limit depends on account age and other factors

App

Methods to buy

Interac e-Transfer
Wire transfer
Connect bank account

Debit card

Security

Daily exchange backups
Third-party custody of assets, mostly offline
Direct bank intergration to reduce fraud

2FA, coins held in cold storage with multi-signature wallets, KYC verification process

Mobile and Desktop Trading

Both Newton and Coinbase offer seamless mobile and desktop platforms for trading cryptocurrencies. Newton's mobile app holds a 4.6-star rating on iOS, while Coinbase's iOS and Android apps enjoy 4.7 and 4.1-star ratings, respectively. Both platforms' desktop versions are lauded for their user-friendly interfaces, enabling smooth trading experiences for both beginners and seasoned traders.

Newton

Newton has a user-friendly interface and a modern, clean look. It’s simple and easy to use.

Newton’s overall design is clean and modern. They also usual casual and friendly language. It doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously, which is refreshing. At first glance, Newton seems user-friendly and fairly simple.

Its iOS app has a rating of 4.4 stars with 5.6k reviews, and its Android app has a rating of 2.8 stars with 800 reviews.

Newton desktop interface

Market order with Newton

Newton app interface

Newton app interface while trading

Coinbase

Coinbase app offers a clean white background with simple text. It's user-friendly and easy to navigate.

Coinbases’s app is almost identical to its desktop platform making it easy to trade crypto wherever you are. Safely store your debit card information and you can buy and sell top cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether in just a few clicks. On the Apple App Store, Coinbase has a 4.7-star rating with 1.3 million ratings. On Google Play it has a 4.3-star rating with 453,000 ratings.

Coinbase desktop interface

Coinbase portfolio

Coinbase app interface

Coinbase app interface while trading

Security Compliance

Newton does daily backups to minimize risk and states on its website that customer data is stored in Canada. They also perform daily site backups, have offline third-party storage for digital assets, and they allow their customers to directly connect their bank account to reduce fraud.

Coinbase uses its own digital wallet for storing your cryptocurrency.

Coinbase keeps 98% of its cryptocurrency in cold storage. This makes it hard for thieves to steal crypto assets if the exchange is hacked. Cold storage is the most secure way to store cryptocurrency, so the fact that Coinbase does this is a huge plus.

Safety is paramount in both Newton and Coinbase. Newton leverages military-grade encryption protocols to safeguard user data and funds, storing 95-98% of digital assets offline in cold storage.

Coinbase also takes stringent security measures, holding 98% of cryptocurrencies in cold storage and mandating two-factor authentication on all accounts. In terms of safety, both platforms stand on equal ground.

Regulatory Compliance

Newton is fully compliant with FINTRAC regulations in Canada.

Coinbase is a US-based cryptocurrency exchange, however, no restrictions for Canadians. Canadian residents can use Coinbase to their full capacity.

Newton and Coinbase are compliant with Canadian regulations. Newton is a registered Money Service Business (MSB) under FINTRAC, Canada's financial intelligence unit, which regulates anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing.

Coinbase, though US-based, also adheres to Canadian laws and guidelines, operating as a MSB in compliance with FINTRAC.

Customer support

Newton has FAQs and a knowledge center on the website. Customers can message the support teams either online via their support pages or through email. Newton does not have a phone and live support.

Coinbase customer support is very slow. It took them 4 days to address our request to a real person. Even though they offer 24/7 support and a live chat option, the quality of the support is bad due to a very high volume.

Newton's customer support team is available 24/7 via email and live chat, providing timely assistance for user queries and concerns.

Coinbase, while offering live chat, email, and recently implemented 24/7 phone support, has faced criticism for slow response times, making Newton's support services the more reliable option.

Conclusion

While both Newton and Coinbase have proven to be efficient platforms for cryptocurrency trading, Newton edges out as the winner for Canadian users in 2024. With zero-fee trading, robust security measures, and superior customer support, Newton offers a more tailored and cost-effective trading experience for Canadians compared to Coinbase.

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

If you find that neither Newton nor Coinbase 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 Galeev

Cryptocurrency Specialist

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.