Bitbuy vs. Coinbase: Which One Should Canadians Pick?

When delving into the world of cryptocurrency, Canadians often wonder, “Bitbuy vs. Coinbase: which platform offers a better trading experience?” Before you can start buying and selling cryptocurrencies, you need to choose the right cryptocurrency platform for your needs. There are also limitations that Canadians may face when using certain platforms, especially when it comes to purchasing cryptocurrency using Canadian Dollars.

It goes without saying that cryptocurrency platforms have been built explicitly for Canadians, making it easier to buy and sell crypto in the North. But smaller Canadian platforms often lack the features of larger US-based exchanges, not to mention fewer digital asset options. So, how do you weigh up which is best for you?

In this article, we will focus on two primary contenders: Bitbuy vs. Coinbase. Bitbuy is one of Canadians’ largest and most trusted cryptocurrency trading platforms, and Coinbase is a globally recognized crypto platform from the United States. So when we look at Bitbuy vs. Coinbase, which one should Canadians pick?

What is Bitbuy?

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Bitbuy is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in Canada, and for a good reason. It became the first cryptocurrency trading platform to receive full approval from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), and they are fully registered with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). BitBuy is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, and they are one of the few cryptocurrency platforms that can support trades using Canadian Dollars for both deposits and withdrawals!

With comprehensive security features, a Pro Trade platform for experienced traders and many ways to fund your account with CAD, Bitbuy is definitely one of the best cryptocurrency platforms in Canada.

What is Coinbase?

Coinbase is an American company that allows users to purchase from a huge database of digital assets using various fiat currencies. It is a very popular cryptocurrency exchange with over 89 million verified users worldwide. The platform is user-friendly, making it a great option for beginner traders plus, they have a program called Coinbase Earn where users can learn about different crypto assets and get free tokens for doing so. Canadians have some limitations compared to other cryptocurrency exchanges, but many still choose to use it because of its good reputation and reliability.

Trading Options On Bitbuy vs. Coinbase

The first thing we will look at is the range of trading options for Canadians on Bitbuy vs. Coinbase. Both platforms have established themselves as giants in the crypto exchange landscape, but there are distinct features that cater specifically to Canadian traders.

Bitbuy

Bitbuy offers many ways for Canadians to buy and sell cryptocurrency. From your Bitbuy account, you will have both crypto wallets and a fiat wallet which you can fund with Canadian Dollars. The platform makes it extremely easy to fund your account.

Deposit Methods

Bitbuy offers 5 ways to fund your account:

• Interac eTransfer
• Debit card
• Bill pay
• Wire transfer
• Crypto deposit

There is a minimum limit of $50 CAD and maximum of $10,000 CAD for e-Transfer, and a minimum of $10,000 for Wire Transfer. You can also fund your account with cryptocurrency from an external crypto wallet or exchange. Something else to note is that you can fund your Bitbuy account using your debit card. Funding this way requires a $50 minimum. Unfortunately, you cannot fund your account by credit card at this time.

Another neat feature is the ability to find your account as if you were paying a bill online. To do this, log into your online banking and add Bitbuy as a bill payment payee. Select the option to pay a bill, select Bitbuy, and enter the desired amount – as long as it’s not less than $50.

There are no fees to fund your account, but there a fees to withdraw from it. More on that later.

Coin Selection

Once you have funded your account, you can start buying cryptocurrency. Bitbuy currently supports 39 digital tokens, but they are continuing to add more.

Some of their top supported coins include, but are not limited to:

Withdrawal Methods

Another great thing that Bitbuy offers is the option to withdraw your funds back to your Canadian bank account. When you sell your cryptocurrency, your Canadian Dollars will appear in your fiat wallet, which you can then withdraw via Interac eTtransfer or Wire Transfer. If you want to move your crypto holdings off the platform, you can deposit them to an external wallet address.

Accessibility By Location

Another thing to be aware of with Bitbuy is that it is only available to those who are physically in Canada. Even if you’re a Canadian user, you won’t be able to log into your account if you’re travelling or living outside the country unless you connect with a VPN.

Coinbase

Deposit Methods

When it comes to funding your account, you can’t actually do that. Instead, you directly buy crypto one of 2 ways:

• Debit card
• Cryptocurrency

Coin Selection

Coinbase offers 266 different digital tokens for Canadians to purchase. That’s over 6x more coins than Bitbuy offers. Some of these include, but are not limited to:

Withdrawal Methods

Before you purchase cryptocurrency on Coinbase, it’s crucial to keep in mind that you will not be able to sell your tokens back to your debit card, bank account, or hold your funds in your Coinbase account.

Coinbase only offers one withdrawal method for Canadians, and that is via PayPal. Alternatively, you can send your tokens to an external wallet or another cryptocurrency platform and sell them there.

Fees On Bitbuy vs Coinbase: Deposits, Withdrawals, and Trading

Fees can quickly add up. Cryptocurrency exchanges have different fee structures and this is one of the ways that they make money. Both Bitbuy and Coinbase have different fee structures, including fees for depositing funds, processing trades and withdrawals.

Bitbuy

On Bitbuy, all deposit methods are free of charge. However, there is a charge of 1.5% to withdraw from your account, regardless if you choose eTransfer or Wire Transfer.

When it comes to trading, there is a flat 0.2% fee on all transactions both when you buy and sell cryptocurrency using the Express Trade feature. However, Bitbuy does have a Pro Trade platform for more experienced traders on which the fee structure is tiered based on trading volume over the last 90 days. With this trading feature, fees vary from 0%-2%. The more you trade, the lower the fee.

Coinbase

Coinbase has one of the highest fee structures of any cryptocurrency platform available to Canadians. There is no deposit fee since you can’t fund your account with Canadian Dollars. But you will pay a fee of 3.99% when you buy crypto with your debit card on top of the trading fee.

Now here’s where things get really frustrating. The Coinbase fee structure for trading/purchasing crypto is insanely and unnecessarily complicated. You actually pay 2 fees, and how they’re calculated is bonkers.

Here’s how it works:

1. Spread Fee: This is a base fee of 0.50%. So, for every $100 you trade, you pay 50 cents just for this fee.

2. Coinbase Fee: Now, here’s where it gets a bit tricky. You pay an additional fee, which is the bigger amount between two options – a flat fee or a variable fee.

Flat Fee: Depending on the size of your transaction:

If you trade $10 or less, you pay $0.99.
If you trade between $10.01 to $25, you pay $1.49.
If you trade between $25.01 to $50, you pay $1.99.
If you trade between $50.01 to $200, you pay $2.99.

Variable Fee: This depends on how you’re paying, which in Canada, can only be done with your debit card. Remember, the fee for debit card purchases is 3.99%.

You pay 3.99% of the total amount you’re trading. So, for every $100 you trade using these methods, you’d pay $3.99. Then, for the Coinbase Fee, you pay whichever is higher between the Flat Fee and the Variable Fee.

For example, if you’re trading $20 with a debit card:

The Spread Fee is 0.50% of $20, which is 10 cents.
The Flat Fee for $20 is $1.49.
The Variable Fee (3.99% of $20) is 79.8 cents.
Since $1.49 (Flat Fee) is higher than 79.8 cents (Variable Fee), you’d pay the Flat Fee of $1.49.

In total, for the $20 trade with a debit card, you’d pay the Spread Fee (10 cents) plus the Coinbase Fee ($1.49), making it $1.59 in fees. So in this case, you’re looking at a total trading fee of 7.95% which is just obscene.

To withdraw from Coinbase, remember that you can only do it via PayPal. The fee to withdraw is a flat $0.99.

Features Available On Bitbuy vs Coinbase

There are many different types of Canadian crypto investors. Some are just looking for somewhere to invest a bit of extra cash, while others may want to become cryptocurrency gurus. Depending on where you fall on this scale, the features you’ll want in your cryptocurrency trading platform will vary. Both Bitbuy and Coinbase are best suited for different types of traders. Let’s look at some of their features:

Bitbuy 

Bitbuy has two modes: Express Trade and Pro Trade. Express mode is incredibly user-friendly and easy for anyone to use. Pro Trade offers more robust and advanced functionality for experienced traders. Let’s take a look

Express Trade

You simply choose the cryptocurrency and how much you want to buy, and that’s it! The same goes for when you sell.

Pro Trade

But if you’re a more experienced trader and want access to additional technical analysis tools you can use Pro Trade mode, which has many different interactive charts. You can see the live order book to spot great entry and exit points, set market orders, stop losses, and more.

Referral Bonuses

Bitbuy also has a referral program in which you’ll get $40 CAN for free every time someone signs up with your referral link and deposits at least $250 CAN. The person you referred will receive $40 CAN too! Other than that, you won’t find many other special features within the Bitbuy platform.

Coinbase

Like Bitbuy, Coinbase also has two trading platforms: Coinbase and Coinbase Pro. On Bitbuy, you can switch between the two seamlessly, but not on Coinbase. Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are two entirely different platforms, and you’ll need to set up your accounts separately.

Coinbase (Standard Platform)

The standard Coinbase platform is user-friendly and straightforward to use. Here, you can execute instant spot trades by purchasing crypto at the current price with your debit card.

Coinbase Pro

Like Pro Trade on Bitbuy, Coinbase Pro offers advanced features for experienced traders. Unfortunately, most of those enhanced features aren’t accessible to Canadians. Not to mention, you can engage in crypto-to-crypto trades on Coinbase Pro. There is no option to purchase crypto using CAD.

Coinbase also has some other great features, including Coinbase Earn, which is a bank of educational resources on different types of cryptocurrency. You get to learn about digital token projects and then test your knowledge with a little quiz. Once you pass, you’ll get free crypto as a reward!

Coinbase Wallet is another valuable feature, which is a self-custody crypto wallet. You can use the Coinbase Wallet to store non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrency, and only you are in control of the keys. You can also use the app to explore the decentralized web on your phone or browser. Similar to Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Wallet is its own standalone app.

Ease Of Use

In terms of ease of use on Bitbuy vs Coinbase, both are on an equal playing field. The platforms look very similar, and both enable you to purchase cryptocurrency very easily. Both Bitbuy and Coinbase offer advanced trading platforms for those who want more analytics and charts, but it’s not essential to use these features, especially if you’re new to crypto.

Both platforms also have mobile apps that are incredibly straightforward to use. Again, there are some limitations with Coinbase because you can only purchase with a debit card. But the app still makes this process seamless.

Security Features On Bitbuy vs Coinbase

Both Bitbuy and Coinbase are trusted and secure cryptocurrency platforms, but there are a few differences between the security features of each platform.

Bitbuy

Bitbuy is considered to be the most secure cryptocurrency trading platform in Canada. They take their security features to the next level with comprehensive network security secured by SOC, ISO and FIOS 140-2 compliant cloud providers. They also have third-party security audits every month and weekly suspicious activity reviews.

Beyond that, they store 99% of funds in offline wallets with a BitGo Trust Company, and their hot wallets are also fully insured. Bitbuy has a privately maintained codebase, meaning that core components are all closed-source and safe.

Coinbase 

Coinbase stores 98% of digital assets offline in cold storage wallets, so you can rest assured that your funds are safe. The remaining 2% of assets kept in hot wallets are fully insured. They are also a public company that is registered with FINTRAC. Because of that, they are 100% transparent with all those who hold shares in the company.

On top of that, Coinbase has an in-depth verification process compared to other cryptocurrency exchanges and requires multi-layered authentication for logging into your account, like fingerprint/face ID and 2FA. Where security is concerned, Bitbuy is the safest for Canadians.

Pros & Cons of Bitbuy vs Coinbase

When deciding between Bitbuy vs Coinbase, it’s essential to weigh the advantages and drawbacks of each platform side by side. Both exchanges have carved out a significant presence in the crypto world, but they come with distinct benefits and limitations. Here’s a glance at the pros and cons of Bitbuy vsCoinbase to help you make an informed choice.

	Pros	Cons
Bitbuy	? Made by Canadians for Canadians ?Can both deposit/withdraw Canadian Dollars directly to/from your bank account ? Highly secure, with 99% of assets stored in BitGo cold storage ? Competitive trading fees ?Pro Trade mode is easy to access & all features are available ? Express Trade mode is very straightforward to use	? Only 39 cryptocurrency options ? Not a lot of extra features ?Minimum deposit amount of $50 ?You can’t fund your account with a credit card
Coinbase	? Over 250 different cryptocurrency assets ? User-friendly mobile app and desktop trading interface ? Earn free cryptocurrency with Coinbase Earn	?Can only purchase cryptocurrency with a debit card ?Extremely high trading fees ?Fee structure is overly complicated ? Can only cash out to PayPal ? Coinbase Pro features limited in Canada ? Low limits on cryptocurrency purchases

Bitbuy vs. Coinbase: Which One should Canadians pick?

Now that we’ve broken down all the pros and cons of Bitbuy vs. Coinbase, which one should Canadians pick? Spoiler alert: It’s Bitbuy. Sure, if you want access to a more extensive list of coins, then Coinbase is better.

But in every other regard, Bitbuy is the better choice – no contest. Being a Canadian platform, it’s way easier to buy and sell cryptocurrency without having to jump through any hoops. You have a lot more funding and withdrawal options that make life easier. Plus, the fees on Bitbuy are significantly lower and more transparent than Coinbase. 

There are other platforms that offer lower fees than Bitbuy and Coinbase, like Newton, but when just comparing the two, Bitbuy is the best option. While Bitbuy only supports 39 cryptocurrencies currently, they are some of the most popular ones. So, unless you’re really set on trading lesser-known altcoins, it may not make a big difference.

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