Best Crypto Exchanges in Canada in 2022

Since the collapse of Quadriga in 2019, thought to be the largest crypto exchange in Canada by trading volumes at the time, it’s understandable that investors in the region may be cautious when it comes to transferring their hard-earned money into any exchange (CEX). 

This has led onto the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) cracking down on exchanges operating in the region, who don’t have regulatory approval. Even Binance, the largest crypto exchanges in the world, is one exchange that Canadians may have difficulty using. In March 2022, the CEX stopped allowing users in the province of Ontario from opening new accounts, due to a dispute with the regulator. 

However, it does need to be noted that the OSC only has regulatory powers in the province of Ontario and are no more far reaching than this. With this said, there are 6 crypto trading platforms registered with the OSC, and a number of worldwide exchanges still available, even in Ontario. Here are our top picks when choosing an accessible Canadian exchange:

Coinsmart, with its headquarters in Toronto, is a CEX that was granted restricted dealer registration with the Ontario Securities Commission in 2021. This means they’re able to operate in all provinces within the borders of Canada.

Coinsmart offer extremely low trading fees of only 0.2% per trade. Like a number of other exchanges, bank wire transfers are also free. However, if an instant transfer is required, by debit or credit card, there is a fee of up to 6% that goes with this. 24/7 customer support is available via phone, live chat or email, and the CEX supports 16 coins. 

Coinberry, again based in Toronto, was the first platform to be granted registered status with the OSC, and is still the only exchange on the market that is both insured, OSC/FINTRAC registered, and PIPEDA compliant. 

The CEX doesn’t charge a fee for users who fund their account instantaneously, using Interac e-Transfer deposits, and doesn’t charge users who withdraw funds to CAD either. Although, the fees payable, are a little higher than other CEXs, these are included in the price advertised to users, so it does help to make trading a cleaner experience.

The biggest drawback to the Coinberry is that the CEX only allows its users to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, and Stellar, which is quite a small pool of coins compared to other platforms.

Bitbuy, yet another CEX with its headquarters in Toronto, is an exchange that is currently only available to Canadian residents. The exchange is another that has been granted restricted dealer registration with the Ontario Securities Commission, so is also available to use in all provinces of Canada. 

The CEX again offers a low trading fee of 0.2% per trade, like Coinsmart. It also supports a similar number of coins to Coinsmart, 15 in total. To date, the CEX has processed more than $4 billion in trades across it’s 350,000+ users. 

Other OSC Approved Exchanges

Netcoins, Wealth Simple, and Fidelity Digital Assets are the only other 3 cryptocurrency platforms approved by the OSC, in Ontario.

Worldwide Exchanges

As mentioned, a number of worldwide cryptocurrency exchanges are still available to Canadian residents, with even Binance still accesible to Canadian residents outside of Ontario. However, it simply means that they haven’t been approved by the OSC.

These include the likes of Crypto.com, who are hard for any Canadian investor to ignore with their current marketing strategy, Coinbase, the US behemoth, Gemini, Kraken, and even the likes of KuCoin.