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Bitbuy vs Coinfield: What Works Better For Canadians in 2024

Oleg Galeev

Last updated May 25, 2024

As of July 15th, 2023, Coinfield's website stopped operating properly for Canadians. Also, their registration status of MSB has been ceased by FINTRAC. As a result, we would recommend avoiding this crypto exchange at the moment. Feel free to check alternatives e.g. Bitget or BitBuy. The comparison below is outdated, but we have retained it in the event that the crypto exchange resumes proper operations in Canada. More information here. The comparison below is outdated and kept for educational purposes. Apparently, if you pick between Bitbuy and Coinfield, go ahead with Bitbuy.

In this comparison, we’ll look at two popular crypto exchanges in Canada, Bitbuy and Coinfield. Both platforms are reputable, but while Bitbuy offers a highly streamlined and easy-to-use interface ideal for beginners, Coinfield stands out for its unique features such as its franchise program and upcoming launch of its own CoinField Coin.

Description

Bitbuy was founded in 2016 and it offers nine of the most popular cryptocurrencies. It has an Express platform for beginners and a Pro platform for more experienced traders.

CoinField is an EU-based cryptocurrency exchange that is Canada-friendly. It was a secure crypto exchange with a robust verification process.

Unfortunately, CoinField is no longer active in Canada. The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has stated that the exchange does not have adequate assets to satisfy withdrawal requests.

Coins

Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, EOS, Stellar, LINK, AAVE, Solana (SOL)Cardano (ADA)Polkadot (DOT), Dogecoin (DOGE), Uniswap (UNI), Sushiswap (SUSHI), Polygon (MATIC), MANA and USDC

While it offers the usual digital currencies such as bitcoinEthereum and Litecoin, it does not offer popular coins such CardanoSolana, or Dogecoin. The full list of coins available are: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Stellar, EOS, TRON, Sologenic, BAT, Mimblewimble, USDT, USDC, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, DigiByte, Golem, OMG, Augur, 0x, Zilliqa, Civic, and Loom.

Fees

  • 1.5% CAD withdrawal fees for e-Transfer
  • 0.5% fee for wire transfer
  • 0.79% spread
  • 0.1% Maker 0.2% Taker fees
  • Wire transfer 0.50% ($20k min)
  • 0.00025 BTC crypto withdrawal fee

When it comes to fees, CoinField has many. It charges a 2% deposit fee for Interac e-Transfers with a minimum deposit of $100. US dollar wire transfers are free. CoinField charges a 2.5% withdrawal fee using Interac and its maker/taker trading fees are 0.15%/0.25% if your trading volume is less than $50,000 over 30 days. 

Pros

  • Offers seven of the world’s most popular cryptocurrencies
  • Express Trade and Pro Trade makes it suitable for beginners and advanced traders
  • OTC Desk available
  • Digital assets held in cold storage
  • $20 referral bonus
  • Interac e-Transfer available
  • Industry leader in compliance and security
  • Secure and compliant exchange
  • CAD Interac e-Transfers available
  • Advanced trading features available
  • Easy-to-use app
  • Accepts many fiat currencies and deposit methods
  • Staking rewards and referral program

Cons

  • Deposits can take a few hours
  • 1.5% Interac e-Transfer fee (both in and out)
  • Low Android app rating
  • Low rating on Trust Pilot
  • High deposit and withdrawal fees
  • Desktop platform can be confusing for beginners
  • Some of the most popular coins not available 
  • Slow customer service 

Account Limits

  • Deposit $100 - $10,000 via Interac daily
  • $50 minimum e-Transfer withdrawal
  • $20,000 minimum for wire transfers

Only limits at your local financial institution may apply

Methods to buy

  • Debit card
  • Interac e-Transfer
  • Wire transfer

CoinField accepts six fiat currencies including CAD, USD, EUR, GBP, AED, and JPY.

  • Interac e-Transfer
  • Credit/debit where accepted
  • Bank transfer

Security

  • Up to 98% of digital assets are held in cold storage
  • Users can withdraw crypto to private wallets
  • Bitcoin backed 1:1 with Knox insurance policy
  • Cold storage
  • Secret vaults
  • Multi-signature wallets
  • Encryption and isolated servers
  • 2FA

Mobile and Desktop Trading

Bitbuy and Coinfield both provide well-designed mobile apps and desktop platforms for their users. Bitbuy's mobile app is rated at 4.6 stars on iOS with 6.5K reviews, whereas Coinfield fares a little bit worse with a 4.3-star rating on iOS with almost 542 reviews and a 3.4-star rating on Google Play with over 1000 reviews. While Bitbuy’s desktop platform is commended for being clean and user-friendly, Coinfield’s platform provides a “quick trade” feature for fast orders and an advanced trade option for more experienced traders looking to set limits and stop orders. 

Bitbuy

The Bitbuy app has a 4.6-star rating and 6,000 ratings on the Apple App Store. It has a 2-star rating with 1,000 ratings on Google Play. According to reviewers, the Android app has bugs that prevent them from logging in and verifying their account. They also claim customer support is poor. 

The iOS app is easy to use and offers a modern interface like the desktop platform. There is live charting where you can find volume and order book data. Easily deposit funds to your account, and click on your profile tab for your referral details. 

Bitbuy’s Express Trade is suitable for beginners or anyone seeking a quick market trade. The Pro Trade platform is geared toward more experienced traders who wish to place advanced order types.

Express trade view for Bitbuy crypto exchange

Express trade view

Bitbuy's Pro trade

Pro trade view

Bitbuy app interface

Bitbuy app interface

Bitbuy app interface while trading

Coinfield

On the Apple App Store, the CoinField app has a 4.3-star rating with almost 500 reviews. On Google Play it has a 3.4-star rating with over 1000 reviews. Some of the worst reviews are people lamenting the high fees and slow processing times. 

Reviewing CoinField's features

Coinfield trading view

Reviewing CoinField's usability from desktop version

Coinfield view with selecting coins

One of the pages on CoinField's app

Coinfield app main screeen

Reviewing CoinField's mobile app interface

App view while trading

Security Compliance

Bitbuy is one of the safest crypto exchanges for Canadians. The Blockchain Intelligence Group has completed its third annual proof of reserves and due diligence report confirming that Bitbuy exceeds its mandate requiring 95% of customer funds to be held in cold storage. Bitbuy keeps 98% of Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum funds in cold storage, which is one of the highest percentages we’ve seen.

CoinField is one of the safest crypto exchanges in Canada. It has never been hacked. While CoinField may receive bad reviews for their slow customer service, CoinField is certainly a safe and compliant exchange. With CoinField you can have peace of mind knowing you are dealing with an exchange that prides itself on its security and privacy. The exchange utilizes cold storage, secret vaults, multisignature wallets, encryption and isolated servers. Users can enable two-factor authentication on their accounts for extra protection, and users must confirm all withdrawals via email. Signing in on a new device or with a new IP address also triggers a verification email. 

Both Bitbuy and Coinfield take security seriously. Bitbuy utilizes third-party cold storage, keeping 95% to 100% of assets offline. In addition, it operates multi-layered firewall infrastructure and scrutinizes coins before listing them.

Coinfield, too, boasts of strong security measures, utilizing cold storage, secret vaults, multisignature wallets, encryption and isolated servers. It also offers two-factor authentication and sends verification emails for withdrawals and when a new device or IP address is used to log in. Coinfield, so far, has never been hacked

Regulatory Compliance

Bitbuy is an industry leader in Canadian regulatory adherence and compliance. In addition to being a Virtual Asset Service Provider and registered Money Service Business with FINTRAC, Bitbuy’s leadership team is a member of the IIROC Crypto-Asset Working Group, which helps to set high-quality regulatory standards and strengthen Canadian markets. 

Coinfield used to be a FINTRAC-regulated crypto exchange in Canada but recently their registration status was ceased. It's hard to tell at this point how compliant it is but many Canadians still use it.

Both Bitbuy and Coinfield are fully compliant with Canadian regulations. Bitbuy is registered as a Money Service Business in Canada and abides by the rules set by FINTRAC. Similarly, Coinfield, being based in the EU but Canada-friendly, operates within the regulatory framework set by Canadian authorities. This compliance makes both platforms trustworthy for Canadian users.

Customer support

Binance has FAQs and a knowledge centre on their website. They make it easy to submit a support ticket but the reply might take a while.

CoinField allows users to submit support tickets either online or via email. It does not offer phone support. Customer support is available on weekdays and weekends, but CoinField does not have the fastest customer support – in some cases it can take days for an answer. You can, however, also get in touch via Twitter if you need urgent support.

Unfortunately, CoinField has a poor 2.2-star rating on Trustpilot with 62% bad reviews.

A lot of customers say that they have been waiting weeks to receive their crypto withdrawals.

Bitbuy offers a unique advantage in terms of customer support by providing a 24/7 service that includes live chat, email, and phone support – the latter being a rare feature among crypto exchanges. On the other hand, Coinfield, while providing support through tickets and email, does not offer phone support. Its customer support has garnered criticism for being slow, and it has a poor Trustpilot rating of 1.5 stars, with complaints of delayed crypto withdrawals.

Conclusion

As of July 15th, 2023, Coinfield's website stopped operating properly for Canadians. Also, their registration status of MSB has been ceased by FINTRAC. As a result, we would recommend avoiding this crypto exchange at the moment. Feel free to check alternatives e.g. Bitget or BitBuy. The comparison below is outdated, but we have retained it in the event that the crypto exchange resumes proper operations in Canada. More information here. The comparison below is outdated and kept for educational purposes. Apparently, if you pick between Bitbuy and Coinfield, go ahead with Bitbuy.

In conclusion, both Bitbuy and Coinfield offer great platforms for Canadians looking to venture into crypto trading. However, Bitbuy takes the lead with its strong focus on customer support, security, and user-friendly interface. Despite Coinfield's unique features, Bitbuy's comprehensive package makes it the preferred choice for both beginners and experienced traders.

We recommend choosing Bitbuy over Coinfield for your cryptocurrency trading needs. By opting for Bitbuy through our referral link, you support us in conducting comprehensive independent analyses of crypto trading options for Canadians.

If you find that neither Bitbuy nor Coinfield meets your requirements, we encourage you to explore our monthly-updated list of the best exchanges for Canadians to trade crypto. This list provides a range of alternative options that may better suit your specific needs and preferences.

Author

Oleg is a Canadian citizen & crypto expert who has been trading since 2016. He started out with Coinbase, Kraken and Peer-to-Peer exchanges. After some time, centralized exchanges started charging crazy fees to their users.

He decided to review different crypto exchanges that operate in Canada and start a Youtube channel in order to educate Canadians on what kinds of things are going inside each one while giving them unbiased advice. On top of that, Oleg also has experience with NFT, airdrops, and crypto staking and he is constantly checking on new crypto assets.

His writing has been featured in popular Canadian media sources such as Toronto Sun and Ottawa Citizen.