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ByBit vs Coinbase: What Works Better For Canadians in 2024

Oleg Galeev

Last updated May 25, 2024

In this comparative analysis, we delve into two prominent names in the cryptocurrency exchange arena of Canada: ByBit and Coinbase. Catering to diverse user bases, these platforms offer unique strengths with ByBit being a major player in the derivatives market and Coinbase being celebrated for its user-friendly interface, particularly for beginners. We explore these platforms in detail, examining their features, security measures, customer support, and overall suitability for Canadian crypto enthusiasts.

Bybit has announced its exit from the Canadian market on 30 September 2023, citing regulatory uncertainties. As a result, we can't recommend Bybit over Coinbase.

Description

ByBit is a global cryptocurrency exchange with headquarters in Dubai with over 100 cryptocurrencies to trade. Unfortunately, ByBit has announced its decision to exit the Canadian market by October 2023. As an excellent alternative, we highly recommend considering Bitget.

Founded in 2012, Coinbase Canada is a cryptocurrency exchange with a simple interface making it a popular choice for Canadians looking to start their crypto journey. However, more Canadians are starting using local exchanges e.g. Bitbuy. Coinbase has 56 million users and became the first cryptocurrency exchange to have an Initial Public Offering.

Coins

1000+ crypto coins

50+ including BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC

Fees

  • Low trading fees 
  • Approx 5% third party fees for e-Transfer
  • Approx 3% card payment fees
  • No P2P fees

Extremely High
3.99% buy fee
0.50% fee per trade

Pros

  • 100+ cryptocurrencies
  • Staking and lending
  • Yield farming
  • OTC Desk
  • NFT Marketplace
  • Copy trading
  • Low trading fees
  • Verification not necessary
  • Simple and easy interface
  • Good for beginners
  • Secure exchange with cold storage
  • The most popular coins offered
  • Users can set up automatic recurring buys
  • Learn to earn crypto program

Cons

  • Won't be available in Canada in October 2023
  • Advanced trading platform can be confusing for beginners
  • Only card payments or third-party transfers
  • No CAD deposits
  • High fees
  • Fewer coins than Binance
  • Complaints of bad customer support
  • No Interac e-Transfer

Account Limits

A peer-to-peer trading limit of $1000 per day and a withdrawal limit of 2 BTC per day

High limit. Purchase limit depends on account age and other factors

Methods to buy

  • CAD deposits are not available
  • You can deposit  by card payment, a third-party such as Banxa (3% commission)
  • Peer-to-peer marketplace

Debit card

Security

  • ByBit uses cold storage for assets
  • 2FA

2FA, coins held in cold storage with multi-signature wallets, KYC verification process

Mobile and Desktop Trading

Both ByBit and Coinbase have excellent desktop platforms and mobile applications. ByBit's app has high ratings on both Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store, signaling good user satisfaction. Coinbase also has high ratings for its app on both platforms, with over a million reviews indicating its popularity and wide user base. However, Coinbase offers a more user-friendly and intuitive interface, especially for beginners. It also offers a Coinbase Pro version with advanced charting and trading features for experienced traders.

ByBiy

ByBit has a mobile app for both iPhone and Android users. On iOS, the ByBit app has a 3.9-star rating from 689 reviews. On Google Play it has a 4.3-star rating from 76,000 reviews.

Desktop view for ByBit app

Desktop view for ByBit app

ByBit's Desktop app main screen

One-click buy on ByBit

One-click buy on ByBit App

ByBit's mobile app screenshot from my account

ByBiy app main screen

Coinbase

Coinbase app offers a clean white background with simple text. It's user-friendly and easy to navigate.

Coinbases’s app is almost identical to its desktop platform making it easy to trade crypto wherever you are. Safely store your debit card information and you can buy and sell top cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether in just a few clicks. On the Apple App Store, Coinbase has a 4.7-star rating with 1.3 million ratings. On Google Play it has a 4.3-star rating with 453,000 ratings.

Reviewing Coinbase desktop version

Coinbase desktop interface

Coinbase main screen with features

Coinbase portfolio

Coinbase mobile app

Coinbase app interface

Made an order with Coinbase app

Coinbase app interface while trading

Security Compliance

ByBit is lacking in information about its security. ByBit uses cold storage for assets but it’s not clear what percentage of funds are held in cold storage. 

For users that want to secure their account, they can set up two-factor authentication using Google Authenticator. Users will need to open this app and enter the code whenever they wish to withdraw from their ByBit account. 

This year the Ontario Securities commission (OSC) accused ByBit of selling unlicensed securities to residents of Ontario. ByBit paid a $2.5M fine and has since restricted new account sign-ups from residents of Ontario. 

Coinbase uses its own digital wallet for storing your cryptocurrency.

Coinbase keeps 98% of its cryptocurrency in cold storage. This makes it hard for thieves to steal crypto assets if the exchange is hacked. Cold storage is the most secure way to store cryptocurrency, so the fact that Coinbase does this is a huge plus.

Both exchanges take security very seriously. ByBit uses a hierarchical deterministic cold wallet system that stores nearly all of the crypto assets offline, minimizing the risk of hacking. They also use multiple technical measures like two-factor authentication, encryption, and real-time monitoring of their systems.

Contrastingly, Coinbase safeguards 98% of its users' assets by keeping them in cold storage, a method involving offline secure locations. As a publicly traded company in the U.S., it is fully regulated and must maintain a high level of transparency with its shareholders.

Regulatory Compliance

In a recent update, ByBit has announced its decision to exit the Canadian market by October 2023 due to Canadain regualtions.

Coinbase is a US-based cryptocurrency exchange, however, no restrictions for Canadians. Canadian residents can use Coinbase to their full capacity.

Both ByBit and Coinbase are notable players in the cryptocurrency exchange market, but their compliance status in Canada significantly differs. ByBit, primarily designed for experienced traders, has recently come under the scrutiny of Canadian regulators. In a notable case this year, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), the statutory body responsible for regulating the capital markets in Ontario, accused ByBit of selling unlicensed securities to Ontario residents. As a result, ByBit was slapped with a hefty $2.5 million fine and was subsequently forced to restrict new account sign-ups from Ontario residents. This incident underscores the potential regulatory risks that Canadian ByBit users might face, particularly if other provincial regulators follow the OSC's lead. In contrast, Coinbase operates under stricter regulatory oversight, given its status as a US-based publicly listed company. It is registered as a Money Services Business with FinCEN, a U.S. government agency, and its operations are in accordance with US laws and regulations.

Customer support

ByBit has a helpful support centre on its website with numerous guides about crypto and how to use the exchange. You can also create a ticket on the website if you need to contact support. The chat support helped me within an hour and I had an issue with the withdrawal of TONCOIN.

Coinbase customer support is very slow. It took them 4 days to address our request to a real person. Even though they offer 24/7 support and a live chat option, the quality of the support is bad due to a very high volume.

Both ByBit and Coinbase are committed to providing round-the-clock customer support. ByBit caters to a global audience with its multilingual 24/7 live chat and email support, demonstrating a notable focus on customer service. On the other hand, Coinbase provides customer assistance through multiple channels - email, live chat, and phone, available 24/7. Despite this, Coinbase has faced criticism due to an apparent lag in response times and perceived inadequacies in their support responses, according to several customer feedback.

Conclusion

While both exchanges have their merits, for Canadians, ByBit may be a better option. While Coinbase's user-friendly platform and high liquidity make it a strong contender, its relatively high fees, buying limits for Canadians, and noted customer service issues make it less appealing compared to ByBit. ByBit also offers a wider range of crypto derivatives and features like mutual insurance which are unique to its platform.

Initially, we recommended choosing ByBit over Coinbase for your cryptocurrency trading needs. However, Bybit has announced its exit from the Canadian market on 30 September 2023, citing regulatory uncertainties. As a result, we can't recommend Bybit over Coinbase.

If you find that neither ByBit nor Coinbase 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.