Looking for the best crypto app in Canada to buy bitcoin? This post is for you.
Getting started with investing in bitcoin has never been easier. There are now several crypto apps and exchanges to choose from. And with its status as the most popular cryptocurrency, you can be sure that any of the crypto apps will support bitcoin.
But which apps are the best for buying bitcoin Canada? Read on to find out.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the world’s most popular and widely used cryptocurrencies. It was invented in 2008 as a decentralized digital currency that can facilitate peer-to-peer payments without the use of an intermediary.
The maximum number of bitcoins that can be mined is limited to 21 million. At the time of writing this, more than 19.1 million bitcoins are already in existence. Because of this, the value of bitcoin has skyrocketed since its introduction, reaching a high of almost $67,000 in October 2021.
A unit of bitcoin can be subdivided into satoshis. A satoshi is equivalent to 100 millionth of a bitcoin, or 0.00000001 BTC.
Best Crypto Apps to Buy Bitcoin in Canada
Ready to start investing or trading bitcoin? Here are the best crypto apps in Canada for bitcoin trading:
1. Bitbuy
- Coins: 25+
- Bonus: $20
Bitbuy was founded in 2016 and operates out of Toronto, Canada.
Like many of the other apps to buy bitcoin on this list, Bitbuy is registered as a Money Service Business and regulated by FINTRAC. But Bitbuy became the first regulated crypto marketplace in Canada last year.
Available Coins: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, EOS, AAVE, Cardano, Dogecoin, Polkadot, Chainlink, Polygon, Solana, SushiSwap, UniSwap, Stellar Lumens
Account Funding Options: Interac e-Transfer, bank wire and crypto deposits.
Trading Fees: 0.2% fees on the Express Trade platform; 0.1-0.2% for Pro Trade and API users.
Other Fees: 1.50% to deposit and withdraw using Interac e-transfers. Bank wires are 0.5% to deposit and 1.0% to withdraw. Crypto withdrawal fees vary across the digital currencies supported: bitcoin costs 0.00025 BTC.
Promotion: You’ll get $20 bonus when you sign up and make a single deposit of at least $250. Bitbuy will also pay you a bonus of $20 for each friend you refer to their crypto trading app.
Extra Features: Pro Trade and API for users looking to trade large amounts.
Read more: Bitbuy Review and Referral Code
2. Newton
- Coins: 70+
- Bonus: $25
Second on this list of the best crypto apps for buying bitcoin in Canada is Newton.
Newton is a Toronto-based top crypto trading platform that provides a platform to buy bitcoin in Canada. It was founded in 2018 and currently offers one of the cheapest and best platforms available to Canadians.
Available Coins: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, USD Coin, Litecoin, Monero, Ripple, Tether, QCAD, Stellar Lumens and many more
Account Funding Options: Interac e-Transfer, wire transfers, pre-authorized debit and crypto deposits.
Trading Fees: There are no trading fees at Newton. But they make money through the spreads on the quoted prices.
Other Fees: CAD deposits are free, and Newton will cover the mining fees for withdrawals up to $5. Crypto withdrawal fees also vary across the supported coins.
Promotion: Get $25 when you sign up and buy a minimum of $100 in cryptocurrencies. Newton will also pay you $25 for referring your friends.
Extra Features: Newton Pro for more professional trading tools, smaller spreads, more liquidity and lower fees.
Read more: Newton Review and Referral Code
3. NDAX
- Coins: 30+
- Bonus: $10
National Digital Asset Exchange Inc. (NDAX) is a calgary-based cryptocurreny trading app that was founded in 2017.
Supported Coins: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, EOS, Stellar, Dogecoin, Cardano, Tether, Chainlink, Polkadot and more
Account Funding Options: Interac e-Transfer, Wire Transfer, Bank Draft and Crypto Deposits. There are no minimum or maximum limits for each of the options and processing times vary from 0-30 minutes for Interac and 0-1 day for wire transfers and bank draft.
Trading Fees: 0.20% for buying and selling crypto. Quoted prices also have some spread built in.
Other Fees: NDAX charges flat fees for making withdrawals – $25 CAD withdrawals and varying fees for the crypto assets.
Promotion: Get $25 when you sign up using an NDAX referral link and deposit a minimum of $100. You’ll also earn up to $25 for each friend you refer.
Extra Features: NDAX Wealth for investors looking to trade large volumes
Read more: NDAX Review & Referral Bonus
4. Shakepay
- Coins: 2
- Bonus: $5
Shakepay is a Montreal-based tech company that provides a crypto platform for Canadians to trade digital currencies in an easy and accessible way. It was founded in 2015 and counts more than 600,000 Canadians as users.
It is arguably the most user-friendly app to buy bitcoin in Canada on this list.
Available Coins: Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Account Funding Options: Interac e-Transfer, wire transfers and crypto deposits.
Trading Fees: Shakepay does not charge a separate trading fee. Their charge is built into the prices you see as a margin.
Other Fees: CAD deposits and withdrawals are free. Bitcoin and Ether deposits are also free and Shakepay covers the mining fees if you need to withdraw.
Promotion: Get $5 when you sign up and trade at least $100. If you refer your friends, both of you will get $5 bonus after they also meet the trade requirement.
Extra Features: ShakingSats that gives your free Satoshi just for opening the app and shaking your phone daily.
You can also transfer funds to other Shakepay users within the app. And if you like, you can join the waitlist for Shakepay Card, a bitcoin cash-back card.
Read more: Shakepay Referral Code & Review
5. CoinSmart
- Coins: 16+
- Bonus: $20
CoinSmart is another Toronto-based crypto app that lets you buy bitcoin in Canada. It was launched in 2018 and registered with FINTRAC as a Money Service Business.
It is suitable for anyone looking to buy bitcoin irrespective of their experience level.
Supported Coins: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ripple, EOS, Stellar, Cardano, Tether and more
Account Funding Options: Interac e-Transfer, wire transfers, bank draft, credit/debit cards and crypto deposits.
Trading Fees: Between 0.2% to 0.4% depending on the currency pairs.
Other Fees: 1.5% fee on Interac e-transfers deposits below $2,000. Funding with bank wire and bank draft are free. CAD withdrawals using EFT or bank wire cost 1% with a minimum charge of $15. Crypto funding is free, but withdrawals attract flat fees.
Promotion: Earn $20 referral bonus when you sign up and deposit a minimum of $100. You can also refer your friends for more bonus.
Extra Features: CoinSmart Premium and OTC for individuals or corporations looking to trade large volumes. There’s also SmartPay, a feature that makes it easy to invoice and start accepting crypto payments.
Learn more: CoinSmart Review and Referral Bonus
6. Netcoins
- Coins: 30+
- Bonus: $25
Netcoins was launched in 2014 so it’s been serving Canadians for long. It is a publicly listed company through its parent company, BIGG Digital Assets.
It provides an easy to use and intuitive app for anyone looking to buy bitcoin in Canada.
Available Coins: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Tether, Litecoin, XRP, EOS, ALGO and more
Account Funding Options: Interac e-Transfer, online bill payment and bank wires
Trading Fees: 0.5% trading fee plus additional markups/spread.
Other Fees: CAD deposits and withdrawals are free. Depositing your crypto is free too, but withdrawals come with a flat fee (Bitcoin – 0.0005 BTC)
Promotion: Get $25 when you sign up using a referral link and trade a minimum of $100. And $25 for every person you refer.
Read more: Netcoins Review & Referral Code
7. Coinberry
- Coins: 30+
- Bonus: $50
Next on this list of the best apps to buy bitcoin in Canada is Coinberry.
Coinberry was launched back in 2017 and registered as a money service business with FINTRAC. In addition to its crypto exchange, it also provides an easy way for individuals, merchants and municipalities to start accepting bitcoin.
Available Coins: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Stellar, XRP and more.
Account Funding Options: Interac e-Transfer, wire transfers and crypto deposits.
Trading Fees: Fees are charged as a spread added to the quoted price, and will usually range between 0-2.5%.
Other Fees: No fees to deposit or withdraw fiat currencies. Crypto withdrawal fees vary depending on the digital currency: bitcoin costs 0.0005 BTC.
Promotion: Get $30 bonus when you sign up and trade a minimum of $50. Coinberry will pay you the same bonus for each friend you refer plus up to $475 in trade credit.
Extra Features: Coinberry Pay that lets you start accepting bitcoin payments, donations or tips. AutoPilot for automatic crypto investing.
Read more: Coinberry Review & Referral Bonus
8. Wealthsimple Crypto
- Coins: 40+
- Bonus: $25
Wealthsimple Crypto is a crypto trading app from Wealthsimple, Canada’s most popular robo-advisor.
It was launched in 2020 with support for bitcoin and Ethereum trading but it has now expanded to other crypto assets. It lets Canadians start buying bitcoin with as little as $1.
The platform is registered under the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) Regulatory Sandbox.
Available Coins: Bitcoin, Ethereum and several others
Account Funding Options: Electronic funds transfers (EFT).
Trading Fees: No trading fees on the bitcoin buying app. However, an operations fee of between 1.5-2.0% is included as a spread.
Promotion: Wealthsimple Crypto will give you a bonus of $25 after you sign up and trade a minimum of $150. Referring your friends will also get you some bonus.
Extra Features: The crypto app is available within Wealthsimple Trade app so you can trade ETFs and stocks commission-free within the same app.
Read more: Wealthsimple Crypto Review & Promotion
9. MogoCrypto
- Coins: 1
- Bonus: $10
Finally on this list of the best apps to buy bitcoin in Canada, we have MogoCrypto.
MogoCrypto is a bitcoin trading app from Mogo, a financial technology company that offers several financial products to Canadians. The features of the crypto app is currently limited and only bitcoin is supported for now.
Wealthsimple Crypto and MogoCrypto are the only bitcoin buying apps on this list that do not allow you deposit or withdraw bitcoin into your account.
Available Coin: Only bitcoin is available on the MogoCrypto app
Account Funding Options: Interac e-Transfer
Trading Fees: 1% trading fee plus additional fees and markups charged by their partners.
Promotion: Get $10 when you sign up using a referral link – $5 when you open a Mogo account and another $5 when you deposit at least $100.
Extra Features and Products: Free credit scores, free identity fraud protection, loans and more are also provided by Mogo.
The foreign crypto trading platforms are not listed below.
But if you want to trade more altcoins than the ones offered at the Canadian exchanges, then it is worthwhile to open an account with some of the bigger foreign trading platforms.
Not only do they have lower trade commissions, they also support more digital currencies.
The top foreign crypto platform Canadians can trade bitcoin on include:
- Binance (up to 100 USDT in trade commission rebate)
- Crypto.com ($25 bonus)
- Coinbase
Note that Binance no longer operates in Ontario.
Learn more about the crypto exchanges below:
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Bitcoin App
In choosing the best app to buy bitcoin in Canada, here are a few factors you should consider:
Deposit and Withdrawal Fees: These fees can quickly add up, especially if you’ll be funding or withdrawing smaller amount and the app charges a flat fee for the service.
Luckily, there are several apps that allow free deposits and withdrawals of fiat currency.
Trading Fees: This is a little tricky. While some bitcoin trading apps charge a trading commission with some small spread, others make their money strictly from the spread added to quoted prices. So you should consider both the fees and spread when making a decision.
Other Coins Offered: You may only be looking to trade bitcoin today, but your needs may change. With the exception of MogoCrypto that only supports bitcoin, many of the other apps to buy bitcoin in Canada also support Ethereum, the second most capitalized cryptocurrencies.
Some of them even offer 10+ digital coins for trade.
Regulation: It is important to ensure that the app you’re using to buy crypto is regulated and registered with all the relevant Canadian government bodies and regulators.
Many of these apps operate as Money Service Business and are regulated by FINTRAC. Wealthsimple Crypto, however, operates under the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) Regulatory Sandbox
Security: The security of the platform and how they store your bitcoin assets is also important. You want to be sure your investments will be safe if the platform is hacked or compromised. So look out for bitcoin trading apps that use cold storage through their bitcoin custodian.
But the best practice is to withdraw and store your own bitcoin in a hardware wallet, like Ledger Nano S, for offline storage.
What is the Best App to Buy Bitcoin in Canada?
The best bitcoin buying app is the one that best meets your unique needs. Shakepay is well-designed and perfect for new crypto traders, though it only supports bitcoin and Ethereum for now. NDAX and Newton have a good selection of digital coins and the lowest overall cost in Canada.
And if you want to keep your bitcoin trading within the same app where you invest in ETFs and stocks, then Wealthsimple Crypto is the best app available for this.
That said, any of the apps above are a good starting point especially if you’re just looking to trade small amounts occasionally.
Alternatives to Bitcoin Buying Apps
Bitcoin trading can be complicated, but many of the apps for buying bitcoin in Canada make it simple and accessible to everyone.
But if you’re looking to start investing in Bitcoin without all the extra stress of opening an account with a crypto exchange, getting a hardware wallet and so on, then consider investing through a bitcoin ETF.
Bitcoin ETFs make crypto investing as simple as logging into your brokerage account and placing a trade. Meaning, you’ll be able to buy them at your existing brokerages and for free in some instance. Questrade and Wealthsimple Trade allow free ETF purchases for example.
You’ll have to pay some management fees for the convenience, as high as 1.5% in some cases.
Learn more about the best bitcoin ETFs in Canada here.
Related: Top Ether ETFs in Canada
Is Bitcoin Legal In Canada?
Bitcoin is legal in Canada, so you can buy or sell it, or make purchases with it if accepted by the merchants. In fact, Coinberry partnered with some municipalities for tax payments using bitcoin.
But while it is a digital representation of value, the Government of Canada does not consider it a legal tender yet. But any gains you make on your trading of bitcoin may be subject to tax.
Is Bitcoin Safe?
There have been widely publicized cases of bitcoin platforms getting hacked or people losing their private keys and access to their bitcoin holdings. Canadians may still remember the QuadrigaCX case.
As a decentralized system with no central authority, you’re responsible for the safe-keeping of your bitcoin. So your bitcoin is as safe as the security measures you or your bitcoin buying app has in place.
Cold storage, or storing bitcoin offline, is the most secure way of storing your digital assets. And many of the bitcoin exchanges above store the bulk of their holdings in cold storage.
For added comfort and to stay in control, you can withdrawal your cryptocurrencies and store in a hardware wallet. You can get the 2 below for less than $100 in Canada:
Bitcoin Trading Apps in Canada FAQs
The best app to buy bitcoin in Canada is the one that best meets your unique needs. But NDAX and Newton are highly recommended for their good selection of digital coins and lower overall costs. Shakepay is also great for beginners and it has extra cool features.
Yes, all the bitcoin trading apps have some form of referral programs and promotion. Generally, the bonus will be paid after you’ve successfully verified your account and either deposited a minimum amount (usually $100) or traded the same amount.
Your bitcoin gains may be subject to tax in Canada as either income or capital gains. How your gains are taxed depends on how a number of factors. You can check this CRA guide for more information.
Liked this post about the best pps to buy bitcoin in Canada? Or have any other bitcoin buying apps that should be on the list? Let me know in the comments.
Related: Top Crypto ETFs in Canada
