Shakepay is a top Canadian cryptocurrency platform that allows you to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum. It has gained a lot of traction in recent years and now counts more than 1,000,000 Canadians as users.
But is Shakepay safe and legal? In this blog post, we will take a look at Shakepay’s safety and legality, and answer those questions for you.
We will also discuss the pros and cons of using Shakepay, so that you can decide if it is the right platform for you.
Shakepay
Rating 4/5
Beginner-friendly crypto platform
No trading commissions, but spread included in prices
Earn free satoshis daily with ShakingSats
Bitcoin cash back with the Shakepay Card
MIN. OPENING BAL $5 CRYPTOCURRENCIES 2
SIGN-UP BONUS $5 after trading a minimum of $100
Is Shakepay Safe?
The short answer is yes, Shakepay is safe to use. The company follows industry best practices to keep your money safe, prevent unauthorized access to your account and keep your personal data safe.
Security of funds
The majority of cryptocurrency assets on the Shakepay platform are held in cold storage, which means that they are offline and not connected to the internet. This helps to protect your funds from hacking attacks.
Shakepay also has an insurance policy in place to cover theft, loss of private keys, and damages to the crypto held in cold storage.
Your funds and cryptocurrencies are also segregated and held in different accounts as those belonging to Shakepay.
Account Security
Shakepay takes several steps to secure your account and prevent unauthorized access.
These include two-factor authentication, which requires you to provide a second piece of information (usually a code that is sent to your phone) to log in to your account.
You can also lock access to the Shakepay app using a PIN code, Face ID, or biometric unlock.
Finally, all communications or connections between the app and the Shakepay server uses HTTPS and passwords are hashed.
Personal data security
Shakepay takes your personal data security seriously and has implemented many measures to protect it.
All personal data is stored on servers in an encrypted format using 256-bit AES encryption and Shakepay employees only have access to the data that they need to do their job.
You can also choose to have your account locked if there is suspicious activity or if you lose your phone.
Finally, Shakepay complies with all privacy laws such as the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) in Canada and An Act Respecting the Protection Of Personal Information in the Private Sector in Quebec.
Independent Review of Security Practices
Shakepay even went a step further by getting an independent review of its security systems, procedures, and reserves by cybersecurity firm, CipherBlade.
The report concluded that the Shakepay platform is “adequately secure given the current climate” and that they have enough cryptocurrency assets to cover the crypto balances of their users.
CipherBlade also noted that “the percentage of cryptocurrency Customer Assets held in cold storage is both adequate and reasonable given customer withdrawal demand“
However, it is important to remember that no platform or system is 100% secure. There have been cases of exchanges being hacked and losing customer funds, so you should always take steps to protect your account and funds.
Is Shakepay Legal?
The short answer is yes, Shakepay is a legal platform to use for your cryptocurrency transactions in Canada. The company has been in business since 2015 and has built up a good reputation in the industry.
It is registered as a money service business with FINTRAC, the financial intelligence unit of the Canadian government, with registration number #M17065696. This means that it is subject to certain anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.
This also means that they have to follow all the rules and regulations set by the government, which helps to ensure that your money is safe. However, your funds at Shakepay do not have CDIC deposit protection like deposits in your bank account.
Shakepay is also regulated by Revenu Quebec with registration number #904007.
However, Shakepay is not registered or regulated by the Ontario Securities Commission or any of the other provincial securities regulators for now.
Tips to protect your funds and crypto
Even though the best crypto platforms have measures in place to protect your funds, it is always important to be vigilant and take some basic precautions:
- Never share your account details with anyone
- Use a strong password that is unique to Shakepay account
- Enable two factor authentication (two step verification) on your account
- Don’t keep too much cash (Canadian dollars) on the platform since you won’t have CDIC protection
- Invest in a crypto wallet to store your coins offline
Learn more: Best Crypto Wallets in Canada
Conclusion
Shakepay is a legal and safe platform to use for your cryptocurrency transactions in Canada. The company follows industry best practices to keep your money safe, prevent unauthorized access to your account and keep your personal data safe.
The Shakepay platform has never been hacked and has even undergone an independent review which found its security systems to be adequate.
When it comes to online security, Shakepay is about as good as it gets. However, it is always important to take some basic precautions when using any online platform, especially when dealing with money.
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