What is Bitbuy?

Made in Toronto, Bitbuy is the exclusive Canadian cryptocurrency exchange. For Canadian traders who have trouble opening and getting verified on other international crypto exchanges and getting verified - Bitbuy could be a valuable solution. 

At the time of writing, the exchange operates only in Canada. In January 2022, Bitbuy became the first regulated marketplace in the country. Considering Bitbuy’s trade volume, it is one of the largest crypto exchanges with over 400,000 registered users. 

Currently, Bitbuy offers trading for 25 cryptocurrencies. It also offers numerous CAD - crypto and crypto-crypto pairs. With some advanced trading features, Bitbuy is suitable for beginners as well as pro traders. 

• Bitbuy is a Canadian-only exchange that caters to Canadian traders. With over 400,000 registered users, it is the largest exchange in Canada.
• In 2022, Bitbuy became the first regulated marketplace in Canada. It was already a restricted dealer in the country. 
• Currently, the exchange offers 25 cryptocurrencies along with several trading services

Bitbuy Company Overview

Bitbuy was founded in 2013, but it was only in 2016 that it was incorporated. Ademar Gonzalez and Adam Goldman teamed up to create this advanced trading platform for Canadian traders. Currently, Bitbuy is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. 

The exchange is a subsidiary of First Ledger Corporation, a company that offers solutions to investors. Initially, Bitbuy was named ‘InstaBT’ but was later rebranded as ‘Bitbuy’, after expansion. 

In January 2022, Bitbuy became a regulated exchange. In fact, it’s the first exchange to be regulated in Canada. 

Following this, in March 2022, WonderFi Technologies acquired First Ledger Corp. This made Bitbuy users a part of WonderFi’s ecosystem. The company has a strong reputation in the industry.

WonderFi Technologies provides financial services through decentralized finance. Based in Vancouver, Canada, the tech company trades under the ticker WNDR on TSX. 

Bitbuy has also partnered up with important names like Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank and Sam Bankman-Fried, the FTX founder. 

How Does Bitbuy Work?

Bitbuy is a cryptocurrency exchange that lets users buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies. After signing up, Bitbuy users get access to the following features:

• Buy, sell, and trade about 25 cryptocurrencies
• Trade with CAD-crypto pairs
• Use Express Trade for quick and easy trading
• Use Pro Trade for advanced trading
• Settle huge payments with OTC

How to Sign Up on Bitbuy?

The signup process for Bitbuy is straightforward and swift. To register, here’s what you have to do:

• Go to the homepage of Bitbuy and click on “Get Started”
• Fill in all the details. This includes email, password, and other information.
• Set up a strong password
• Hit the ‘Create Account’ button

After this, you’ll be asked to verify your email and phone number. This also verifies your identity via an automated process. 

In case you get verified automatically, the verification will happen manually. For this, you’ll be asked to provide the following documents:

• Govt. issued ID
• Financial statement
• Selfie with your ID
• Utility Bills

Once you get verified and fund your account, you’re ready to trade on Bitbuy.

Bitbuy Review: Pros and Cons

Before you sign up to BitBuy, you need to make sure that the exchange meets all your expectations. For a quick review and overview, here are the pros and cons explained in brief.

Bitbuy Pros

Here’s why Bitbuy is perfect:

• High Security

Bitbuy has a clean record so far, and has never been hacked. The exchange has teamed up with Knox Insurance to ensure the safety of digital assets. Furthermore, Bitbuy stores 95% of the digital assets in cold storage.

• Fiat Integration for CAD

One of the biggest perks of using Bitbuy is that it accepts Canadian Dollars. Traders can deposit and withdraw CAD smoothly. 

• Responsive Customer Support

Bitbuy offers customer assistance via email. You can also fill up the query ticket on the website. The support agents will get back to you within 24 hours. 

Bitbuy Cons

And here’s why you might have second thoughts:

• Exclusive to Canada

While this might good news for Canadians, it’s a slight disappointment to traders from other countries. Bitbuy is available only in Canada. To sign up for the exchange, you need a Canadian phone number.

• Limited cryptocurrencies 

As of now, Bitbuy supports 25 cryptocurrencies, which include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and other major coins. Even though this is a limited selection, Bitbuy is planning to expand it in the future. 

Bitbuy supported cryptocurrencies

As mentioned earlier, Bitbuy supports 25 cryptocurrencies for trading, it includes most of the major coins. 

Here are some of the coins you can find on Bitbuy: 

• Bitcoin
• Ethereum
• Bitcoin Cash
• EOS
• Cardano
• Solana
• Ripple’s XRP
• Stellar’s Lumen
• Litecoin

Bitbuy also offers several trading pairs. For crypto-crypto and CAD-crypto trading pairs, you need a Pro Trade account.

Bitbuy fees

Bitbuy’s fees are more or less in keeping with other similar exchanges in the market. While fees aren’t exactly something that Bitbuy brags about, they are on the lower side. 

• If you have a Pro Trade account, you will be charged a 0.10% maker fee and a 0.20% taker fee.
• For an Express Trade account, you will be charged 0.20% for buying and selling.

Bitbuy deposit methods

Traders can deposit funds to their Bitbuy account in Canadian Dollars (CAD). At the moment, you can deposit via Interac or bank wire. The cheapest method to fund your account is the wire/bank account transfer.

Bitbuy trading services offered

As mentioned earlier, Bitbuy offers trading services for beginners as well as expert traders. You can sign up for Express Trade or Pro Trade depending on your preference.

Here’s a quick rundown on what Bitbuy has to offer:

Pro Trade

If you want to do more than just buy and sell coins, then you can switch to Pro Trade mode. This is an advanced trading platform that offers crypto-crypto and CAD-crypto trades. Users can place advanced order types, including market and limit orders. 

Express Trade

For beginners and casual traders, Express Trade offers quick buying and selling of cryptocurrencies. The beginner-friendly interface allows simple trade of the 25 supported cryptocurrencies. 

API

Bitbuy offers API for more than 10 markets. API users can get access to CAD-to-crypto and crypto-to-crypto pairs. The API service is best suited for institutions, algo traders, developers, and businesses that want to automate trading. 

OTC

Bitbuy also offers OTC for trades that go over $50,000 CAD, BTC, or ETH. For OTC, you get assistance from experienced traders to execute the trade. As you get live prices for trades, there’s minimal slippage. 

Other Features and Services Offered by Bitbuy

To make your trading experience smooth and seamless, Bitbuy offers some useful features. 

Bitbuy Wallet

The exchange offers a highly secure crypto wallet that enables users to store their digital assets or use them to fund their Bitbuy account. As mentioned earlier, Bitbuy has partnered with Knox, which lets users take their holdings offline with the vault. The assets are further insured by the exchange. 

Bitbuy security: Is Bitbuy Safe? 

Let’s take an overview of the regulatory compliance, security, and user account safety of Bitbuy.

Regulatory Compliance

Bitbuy is well-known for its regulatory compliance and security. To begin with, the exchange is registered with FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada). Bitbuy is a licensed MSB under this regulatory body.

Bitbuy is one of the very few exchanges regulated by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). Further, the parent company WonderFi Technology is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and trades under the ticker WNDR. 

In early 2022, Bitbuy became Canada’s first regulated marketplace. Before this, the exchange was already a restricted dealer. 

Exchange Security

In 2019, Cipherblade conducted an audit for reserves and security. Bitbuy passed the audit with flying colours and the report inferred that it had a 1:1 ratio for fiat solvency. You can read the full report here. 

Cipherblade is a cybersecurity agency based in the US. The company investigates crypto thefts and has expertise in blockchain forensics. 

To ensure the safety of assets on the platform, Bitbuy stores 95% of the assets in cold storage systems. Further, the hot and cold wallets are separated from the core network. Bitbuy has built its own custodial wallet and doesn’t rely on third parties for those services. 

All these security measures have worked well for the exchange. So far, Bitbuy has never been hacked, and neither has it faced any security issues. User Account Security

For users, the exchange offers two-factor authentication for their accounts. You can use 2FA to log into the account and for withdrawals. 

Bitbuy Alternatives: Bitbuy vs CoinSmart

As Bitbuy and CoinSmart are both Canadian exchanges, they often get compared. To help you decide which platform is suitable for you, here’s a quick overview of them. 

‍

How to Contact Bitbuy

Bitbuy offers multiple ways of getting in touch with the support agents. Here’s how you can contact customer service:

• Email - [email protected]
• Email Ticket - https://support.bitbuy.ca/hc/en-us/requests/new
• Facebook - http://facebook.com/bitbuyCA
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/bitbuy?lang=en
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/bitbuyca
• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/bitbuy/videos