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Bitbuy Review: All there is to know
Luis Clark
- URL: https://bitbuy.ca/en/
- Headquarter: Toronto, CA
- Year Founded: 2016
- Platform App: Desktop/Mobile
- No. of Cryptos: 24
- Fiats Available: CAD
- Withdraw Method: Interac E-Transfer/Wire Transfer/Crypto/ETF
- Payment Method: Interac E-transfer/Wire Transfer/Crypto
Our Opinion
Bitbuy is arguably one of the best crypto exchange platform for both beginners and seasoned investors. It comes with express and pro-trade platforms offering the most popular cryptocurrencies. Incorporated as a Money Service Business, MBS, and registered with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada, FINTRAC, Bitbuy is the best option.
An Overview of Bitbuy
Bitbuy was founded in 2013 as InstaBT by Adam Goldman in Toronto. Three years later, the company rebranded to Bitbuy to expand its operations and its digital currency selection options. Bitbuy was later acquired by WonderFi Technologies in 2022.
The platforms serve Canadian users, only accepting citizens or permanent residents, and only using Canadian dollars as their fiat currency for withdrawals, funding, and trading.
The company is registered as a Money Services Business, MSB, and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada, FINTRAC. FINTRAC is the Canadian Government Regulatory Body that oversees and facilitates the detection, prevention, and deterrence of financing of terrorist activities and money laundering. It ensures the protection of personal information under its control.
With its wide Canadian Dollar-crypto pairings available through the Pro Trade platform, it sets itself aside from the rest. In addition, it’s the only platform providing 1:1 full BTC insurance with Knox to all customers for free. It has the best and easy-to-use platform making it the best option for beginner investors entering the crypto market.
Drawing from our experience, Bitbuy is one of the best and most popular online crypto exchanges supporting Canada’s buying, selling, depositing, and withdrawing crypto assets.
This Bitbuy review gives an expert analysis of the platform, how it works, supported crypto assets, fees, security measures, and how it compares to its competitors.
Pros
- Great customer support
- Easy-to-use mobile app and website
- Regulated by the Ontario Securities Commission, OSC
- Purchase and sell crypto assets in Canadian dollars
- Support for instant e-transfers
- Offers the Bitbuy express trade and Bitbuy pro-trade platforms
- Provides an offline Bitcoin vault with a 1:1 insurance policy
- 99% of the assets are held in cold storage
- OTC Desk for large trades is available
- Has an Interac e transfer feature available
- High-security measures
- Instant verification
- Low trading fees
- Low Latency Machine Engine
- Multiple Order Types
- Third-Party Auditors
- Generous Referral Program
Cons
- The low rating of its Android app
- 1.5% Interac e-transfer fee for withdrawals
- Only available for Canadians
- $10,000 minimum for wire transfer
- Accepts only one fiat currency - CAD
Key Features of Bitbuy
Start trading crypto in minutes with the easy-to-set-up account process.
Available Mobile app for iOS and Android and on the web.
Bitbuy Private Wealth (OTC).
Compliant and Regulated – Approved by the OSC and registered with FINTRAC.
Extremely secure – 99% of your crypto kept secure in their cold storage and insured.
Cryptocurrencies Available on Bitbuy
Bitbuy provides a good number of digital currencies on the exchange. Currently, the platform supports trading for 24 crypto assets, including:
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin cash
- AAVE
- Chainlink
- Dogecoin
- Decentraland
- Litecoin
- Etherium
- Solana
- Polygon
- Uniswap
- Sushiswap
- US Dollar Coin, USDC
This is a lesser selection than some of the leading exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase. However, it is an ideal option for Canadian investors looking to diversify their portfolios with the popular crypto assets.
Our analysis of this exchange revealed that, with Bitbuy, you can sell your digital assets via the Express Trade. You can fund your account with CAD using a wire transfer or the Interac e transfer. Users can deposit crypto by sending the assets to their specific Bitbuy wallet address for the specific cryptocurrency.
Bitbuy Fees
Bitbuy does not charge any deposit or withdrawal fees or account management fees. There are minimum and maximum deposit amounts. You’ll be required to fund $50 which is a reasonable amount for everyday investors. Depending on the feature you’re using, you’ll also be charged various trading fees. However, Bitbuy’s trading fees are quite low compared to the competition.
Pro Trading and API client: Buys & Sells 0%-2% Fee
Express trade: Buys & Sells 0%-2% Fee
Bitbuy Deposit and Withdrawal Fees
Payment Methods
Canadian citizens can deposit Canadian dollars into their fiat wallets through the Interac e-transfer or bank transfer. Bitbuy doesn’t provide a credit or debit card option. With Bitbuy it’s best to make larger deposits instead of frequent smaller ones.
Bitbuy Security
From our extensive Bitbuy review, we believe this cryptocurrency exchange is safe for Canadian citizens.
Offline storage is the safest way to keep your crypto assets safe and Bitbuy is one of the best exchanges with this feature. The platform clearly states the percentage of digital coins kept offline which is 99%.
In addition, Bitbuy has a comprehensive insurance policy backed up by BitGo. Users can store their Bitcoin in the platform’s offline vault covered by a value-matched insurance policy. It also conducts frequent financial audits fully regulated as an MBS by FINTRAC. You can also set up two-factor authentication on your account for additional security.
Staking Rewards
Crypto staking is where customers deposit cryptos into a smart contract on a network to earn tokens as a reward. By setting aside digital assets, the users validate transactions made on the PoS, Proof of Stake blockchain. This process or mechanism is designed to improve the security of the network.
So, when you stake your digital assets, you earn rewards for contributing to the blockchain network, and the reward is usually a percentage of the amount of crypto staked. In other words, staking is like saving money in a bank, where it earns interest in return. Bitbuy offers up to 13.92% on staking rewards where investors can use the reward for staking tokens and reinvest them in staking. It also offer a easy to use tool to calculate your rewards.
Opening a Bitbuy Account
Getting started on Bitbuy is easy and free. You just need to follow the steps outlined below:
Visit Bitbuy homepage and click sign up
Enter your email address and choose a password
Verify your email address
Sign in and add a North American phone number
Verify the code sent via text
Fill in your personal details including name, address, and date of birth
Click on “request verification”
Upload a picture of your ID
Upload a selfie with the ID and a piece of paper written “Bitbuy Use Only” and include the date
Upload your financial statements such as a bank, mortgage, or credit card
Upload your utility bill (water, electric, Internet, phone, etc)
Click on “request verification”
Your documents and information will be processed within 1-2 business days
If you encounter any problem during the process, you can contact their support system or utilize the online support page. Upon verification, you can add funds from your bank account via the Interac e-Transfer feature or wire transfer.
Trading Experience on Bitbuy
Bitbuy is specially designed for both novice and experienced traders. Newbies can use the Express trade feature to buy and sell crypto, making it easy to start trading.
However, for experienced traders looking for more control over their orders and more market data, the platform offers the Pro Trading feature. Users can access this feature immediately after opening and verifying their accounts.
This feature lets users set limits and market orders instead of purchasing digital assets at the given quote price like in express trading. The pro-trade platform lets you get more data, and offers charting tools where you can add different indicators for more technical analysis.
The more advanced traders can access the API feature which lets them automate their trading, which is crucial if they’re algorithmic traders or building any type of trading bots.
OTC Trades
OTC or Over-the-counter trading involves transactions between sellers and buyers instead of the automated market marker. This means that when using OTC trade, you’re making a deal with one company or person instead of depending on the exchange to handle the trade.
OTC crypto trading is ideal for huge trades where one wants to get the best deal and minimize the risk of market volatility which can lock in the order price. Our findings show that Bitbuy provides OTC trading if investing over $50,000 for BTC and ETH, and $20,000 for any other coin. You automatically unlock this feature when you fund your Bitbuy account with $50,000 worth of ETC/BTC equivalent or Canadian dollars.
Bitbuy Business Crypto
Although Bitbuy covers everyday investors, you can also create a Bitbuy Corporate account if you want to add Bitcoin to your Company’s balance sheet. Big companies such as Tesla add Bitcoin to their balance sheets to diversify assets and as an inflation hedge.
Bitbuy Customer Support
Bitbuy prides itself on one of the best and most comprehensive customer support features. You can find all your burning answers on its website which includes guides to the frequently asked questions such as making deposits and verification.
Moreover, you can submit your request using their online form or contact them via email. You’ll get a personalized response instantly.
Customer Satisfaction
Our research indicates that Bitbuy provides a secure and user-friendly platform making it easier for Canadian citizens to purchase and sell with seamless deposit methods.
Users can trade safely as the trading platform often conducts financial audits, monthly security audits, as well as transaction reporting audits via trusted third parties.
In addition, the servers are secured across various world-class cloud providers as well as disaster recovery locations.
Bitbuy also has mobile applications for both Android and iOS, making it possible to view the prices and trade at any time. It also has a website that is specially designed for beginner investors.
Account Management
Opening and managing a Bitbuy account is easy. In conjunction with Passiv, the platform allows users to turn their accounts into their own personalized crypto index fund. The feature allows one to easily allocate cash and rebalance the portfolio in a single click.
You can also upgrade to Elite for free for the first year to access the following premium features.
- Place trades directly from Passiv across all accounts
- Select how Passiv manages assets in multiple currencies
- Receive notifications whenever the portfolio drifts out of alignment
- Allocate your digital assets into groups and assign allocations to a group instead of single assets
To access this, you should follow the steps below
- Connect the account
- Set up a target portfolio
- Let Passiv handle all your work
- Automate Investments
- Passiv saves you time by calculating and executing the trades required to keep the portfolio balanced
- Maintain Your Target Allocation
You can build your portfolio and maintain a target allocation. Passiv’s “buy-only” feature allows you to identify the underweight crypto asset in your portfolio or “enable selling” to conduct a full rebalance.
Cash Management
Users can use the cash management rules to assist with dollar-cost averaging. This gives them greater control and flexibility over the cash held in the Bitbuy account.
Connect Traditional Brokerages
You can use passiv to connect your accounts from any partner platform and manage them all as single or multiple portfolios.
Bitbuy Referral Program
With the Bitbuy referral program, you receive $20 for every person you refer using your referral code and make a minimum deposit of $250. The referrals will also receive $20 making it a win-win situation. Most crypto exchanges give $5 to $10 in free crypto for creating and funding a new account. This makes Bitbuy one of the highest payouts in the market.
Is Bitbuy Right For You?
Bitbuy is one of the best and most legitimate crypto exchange platforms in Canada. It is fully regulated, and has a secure platform that has never had any hacking issues. It comes with a mobile application and desktop site that is ideal for both beginners and experienced traders.
It also supports the major altcoins and provides top-notch security measures, with advanced 2FA and a 99% cold storage security policy. The hot, warm, and cold wallets are separated from the main network, protecting both the users and the company.
Final Thoughts
BitBuy is a great crypto exchange for Canadians, especially beginners. It provides an easy-to-use platform to buy and sell digital assets with Canadian dollars using its Express trade feature. It also has the Pro Trade platform for more experienced traders with advanced charts by Trading View and OTC desk to handle large trades of over $50,000. Currently, the platform supports 17 different cryptos which are less compared to other platforms such as Binance with over 600 cryptos.
To sign up for a Bitbuy account, you’ll need a cellphone with a North American number to activate and use the two-factor authentication security protocol. There are two methods to get verified on the platform, automatically and manually. Automatic verification requires you to enter your personal information such as name, address, date of birth, etc, and get verified using a third-party identity verification service.
The manual verification process requires you to upload verification documents to verify the account. With over a seven-year track record, Bitbuy is one of the safest and best crypto exchange platforms in Canada. Their low fees, top emphasis on transparency, high transaction speeds, and top security make it one of the best crypto exchange platforms.
Our extensive analysis of the Canadian Crypto Exchanges doesn’t stop here. You can also read our Binace Canada Review as an alternative to BitBuy or our best crypto exchange Canada Guide to see what are the best cryptocurrency exchanges in the Canadian market.
See how BitBuy Compares with Other Canadian Crypto Exchanges:
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
Bitbuy is a legitimate crypto exchange platform and is a Money Service Business registered with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada, FINTRAC. This means it follows all the Canadian regulations.
BitBuy is completely sage with a 99% cold storage policy. It also enforces a 2-factor authentication following all Canadian regulations as a registered MSB, with FINTRAC.
Since Bitbuy operates as a regulated exchange, the fees are slightly higher compared to other exchanges.
Normally, verification is instant. Bitbuy operates with third-party providers for identity verification. If this fails, you can manually complete the verification by uploading documents like government ID, bank statement, or utility bill.
Yes, you can securely buy Dogecoin (DODGE) in Canada with Bitbuy. The platform supports 25 of the most popular altcoins in the market.
Bitbuy is a money service business MSB, registered with FINTRAC and therefore required to report to the Canada Revenue Agency, CRA.
Bitbuy is aimed at both beginners and experienced traders. Beginners can use the express trade platform while seasoned traders can use the advanced trading platform which has more trading features such as a detailed reports analysis centre for example.
With its excellent customer support and a large variety of cryptocurrency assets on offer, Bitbuy users are in good hands.
The Bitbuy platform offers lower trading fees than many competitor and has an excellent advanced trading platform on offer that’s especially interesting for advanced traders.
Depositing Canadian dollars, instant verification process and many other features makes Bitbuy a stand-out exchange, which should be considered by any serious investor.
We always try to provide the most accurate information available, and make sure our team follow through.
If you want to know more about our Crypto Exchanges Review Methodology follow the link below
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