When I first started out and ventured into the world of cryptocurrency in 2014, there weren’t too many options when trying to purchase cryptocurrencies as a Canadian. There were often limitations, and restrictions I had to overcome living north of the border! But times have changed, and crypto exchanges are popping up everywhere, still… there are ones to avoid and ones to use, especially if you are Canadian. I found funding to be the most difficult with the various exchanges, and so I’ll focus on that in this blog post.
https://www.coinbase.com/join/5a29c4ab2a414502fefc42ed
I’ll start with one of the biggest ones out there, Coinbase. I have to say is not very Canadian friendly. Sure you can open an account to trade, but to fund, it’s damn near impossible. Up until a few weeks ago, you were able to fund via your Canadian credit card, but still it had a limit of about $250, which really restricts your buying power. Now it seems the big 5 banks in Canada are banning credit and debit card purchases of cryptocurrency. So sure you can open an account at Coinbase, but funding isn’t going to be an option available to you. If you already have your cryptocurrency purchased elsewhere, having an account with Coinbase gives you access to Gdax, which is a great trading tool and platform, so that is the plus side of things from a trading perspective.
The Canadian banks seem to be colluding together to curb Canadians from buying cryptocurrencies. This in my view is a huge mistake by the banks, having been a former banker myself, it’s not shocking to me that they are discouraging the Canadian crypto community from investing and trading crypto. Canadian banks are generally very conservative, and are never the first to adapt new tech or concepts. This in my view is a huge missed opportunity, instead of shunning away this type of market, they should be embracing it, making it a part of their overall business and incorporating new financial instruments that will allow Canadians to access the cryptocurrency markets safely and securely. Perhaps we are still a few years away from that happening. But I’m getting off topic, so let’s move on.
Another one that I wouldn’t highly recommend for Canadians is Quadrigacx. Oddly enough, this is a Canadian based operation from Vancouver, BC. It seems to be a smaller operation than the other exchanges, with a few core employees. What irked me about their service was their identification process which takes a huge amount of time, we are talking 2 weeks long as it is a manual process that is done one by one by their staff. So imagine trying to get into the market at a dip and finding out the delay in their ID process could very well have you lose out on a great buying opportunity. In addition, their funding options are limited and have high minimums or very low maximums, and their fees are comparatively high. For these reasons it isn’t the best option for Canadians, but as an exchange, I can say that they are pretty decent in transaction fees and liquidity.
https://localbitcoins.com/?ch=och1
Now let’s talk about a really great option for Canadians, LocalBitcoins. This is unique, because you get to purchase cryptocurrencies directly from other local Canadians. It’s a peer to peer localized cryptocurrency market. This allows you to skirt the banks ban altogether, and still be able to invest in cryptocurrencies. Localbitcoins acts as an escrow and charges a very small fee for their service which allows you to purchase safely and securely.
http://coinsquare.io/register?r=91A75D496
I’m also going to talk about another really good option for Canadians, that would be Coinsquare. This is a Toronto based exchange, and it is by far the easiest way to get into the crypto space. Their fees are low, their funding options are vast, and their identification process was instant, and I mean within a matter of seconds. Their transaction fees are low, and they have a wider variety of coins you could purchase than other exchanges. Their support is excellent and respond very quickly to any queries you may have. All in all, I can’t think of any negatives for Coinsquare. I think they will probably turn into one of the leading Canadian cryptocurrency exchanges in the near future.
One thing I haven’t touched on with all of these Canadian crypto exchanges, is security. This is probably the most important aspect that sometimes gets overlooked. Exchanges are always under attack and susceptible to attacks by hackers. No exchange is 100% immune to this type of attack, it could happen. If you held all your coins in one of the exchanges, you could very well lose it all if it was hacked. This is really not an uncommon thing in the cryptocurrency world, so be wary, no matter how secure you think it is, it could very well happen. Which is why I always recommend that you only use the exchanges as a point of entry into cryptocurrency. Use it as a means to fund and purchase coins, but then take it off their exchange and into a secure cold wallet as soon as you can. If you use their exchange to primarily trade, then keep a small amount and consistently off load your coins as your balance starts to grow.
So ultimately, there are two very good options for Canadians who are looking to use a cryptocurrency exchange. My first choice would be LocalBitcoins and secondly will be Coinsquare. In fact, I would recommend you open accounts with both exchanges, and spread your activity among them equally, so you don’t have everything in one basket so to speak. Both are great options.
LocalBitcoins: https://localbitcoins.com/?ch=och1
Coinsquare: http://coinsquare.io/register?r=91A75D496
For full transparency, please note that I am an affiliate of the above exchanges, but I only recommend them because I have personally used them, and in my humble opinion, they are the best cryptocurrency exchanges specifically for Canadians. I wish someone had given me these recommendations when I first started out, as that would have saved me a lot of aggravation, time and money. Please follow, comment, upvote, or resteem my post if you found my post helpful. Thank you.
