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Coinsmart vs. Coinfield: What Works Better For Canadians in 2024

Oleg Galeev

Last updated December 27, 2023

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 The comparison below is outdated, but we have retained it in the event that the crypto exchange resumes proper operations in Canada.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 The comparison below is outdated and kept for educational purposes. 

CoinField and Coinsmart are two popular cryptocurrency exchanges catering to the Canadian market. While Coinsmart focuses on simplicity and competitive fees, CoinField offers a more advanced trading experience and supports multiple fiat currencies. Read on as we dive deeper into the unique features and differences between these two exchanges.

CoinSmart is now part of WonderFi and the platform is not accepting new signups. If you're looking for the best crypto experience in Canada, we recommend signing up to Bitbuy, another licensed Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform operated by the same parent company, WonderFi. With Bitbuy, you will get access to an improved experience on web and mobile, staking rewards, Private Wealth services, and an advanced trading interface. Sign up using our referral link and get free $50 when depositing $250 on your account!

Description

CoinSmart is a Toronto-based Canadian crypto exchange that offers same-day deposits in CAD, EUR and USD. CoinSmart offers crypto trading for both beginners and advanced users.

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Unfortunately, CoinField is no longer active in Canada.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, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, EOS, USDC, Cardano, Dogecoin, Polkadot, Shiba Inu, Chainlink, Uniswap, Solana and more

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

  • Interac deposit fee of 1% for deposits between $100 - $1999 
  • Free Interac deposits for deposits of $2000+
  • Free wire and bank draft deposits 
  • Withdrawal fees are 1% 
  • Various crypto withdrawal fees
  • Trading fees are 0.20% for a single trade or 0.30% for a double trade
  • Up to 6% fee for credit/debit card purchases

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

  • Low trading fees
  • Free deposits over $2000
  • Suitable for beginners
  • Advanced trading options
  • Interac e-Transfer available
  • $50 bonus
  • Trade crypto to crypto (no trading pairs needed)
  • Same-day verification
  • CAD, USD, EUR deposits
  • 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

  • There is a 1% fee for Interac deposits less than $2000
  • 1% withdrawal fee
  • 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

  • $100 min to $10,000 max for Interac deposits
  • $100 min to $5,000 max for credit/debit card buys
  • $10,000 bank wire min to $5M max

Only limits at your local financial institution may apply

Methods to buy

  • Credit/debit cards
  • Interac e-Transfer
  • Bank wire
  • SEPA (for EUR)

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

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

Security

CoinSmart is partnered with BitGo to keep customers’ crypto safe in cold storage. BitGo is insured by Lloyds of London for $100 million, so if something were to happen to CoinSmart, your funds might be insured.

CoinSmart offers two-factor authentication to help protect your account.

  • Cold storage
  • Secret vaults
  • Multi-signature wallets
  • Encryption and isolated servers
  • 2FA

Mobile and Desktop Trading

Both Coinsmart and CoinField offer user-friendly mobile apps and desktop platforms for cryptocurrency trading. The Coinsmart mobile app holds a 3.6-star rating on the App Store, while CoinField's mobile app boasts a 4.3-star rating on the App Store and a slightly lower 3.8-star rating on Google Play. Both exchanges also provide feature-rich desktop trading platforms suitable for beginners and experienced traders alike.

Coinsmart

CoinSmart has a fun look with bright colours and cartoons. It is enjoyable to use. The dashboard shows everything you need to trade including options to buy, sell, and trade. You can also view your wallets, activity and simple market information. 

To use CoinSmart’s advanced features such as limit orders, you can use their advanced trading platform, which is accessible within your user dashboard. 

CoinSmart’s iOS app has a 3.4-star rating with 309 reviews. Its Android app has a 2.6-star rating from 94 reviews. Users of the app say the app crashes, is slow, and often freezes. This is why we would recommend using their desktop version.

accessing Coinsmart app

Coinsmart App

Cool usability and design of Coinsmart cryptoexchange

Coinsmart App trading screen

Coinsmart app mobile view

Coinsmart mobile app interface

Coinsmart mobile app interface while trading

Coinsmart mobile 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

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 Coinsmart and CoinField place a strong emphasis on security, adopting various measures to safeguard users' assets and personal data. Coinsmart employs SSL, and 2FA, whereas CoinField relies on cold storage, concealed vaults, multisignature wallets, encryption, and segregated servers. Both exchanges have never been hacked, but CoinField's additional security features give it a slight edge in terms of safety.

Regulatory Compliance

Coinsmart is fully compliant in Canada. Not only the exchange is registered with FINTRAC but they are also granted status by Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).

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.

Coinsmart and CoinField are both compliant with Canadian federal laws and regulations. They adhere to the guidelines set by the FINTRAC and the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). This ensures that both exchanges operate within the legal framework and maintain transparency with Canadian authorities.

Customer support

CoinSmart states that it has a 97% customer satisfaction rate and this claim is backed up by the 70% excellent customer reviews on Trustpilot. CoinSmart offers 24/7 support via email and online ticketing.

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.

Coinsmart provides customer support via email, live chat, and phone, offering a comprehensive approach to customer service. CoinField, on the other hand, allows users to submit support tickets online or via email but does not offer phone support. CoinField's customer support is known to be slower, sometimes taking days to respond.

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. 

Both Coinsmart and CoinField are excellent choices for Canadian cryptocurrency traders, with user-friendly platforms, robust security measures, and compliance with Canadian regulations. However, Coinsmart emerges as the winner due to its competitive fees, more responsive customer support, and focus on simplicity, making it an ideal choice for beginners and experienced traders alike.

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

CoinSmart is now part of WonderFi and the platform is not accepting new signups. If you're looking for the best crypto experience in Canada, we recommend signing up to Bitbuy, another licensed Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform operated by the same parent company, WonderFi. With Bitbuy, you will get access to an improved experience on web and mobile, staking rewards, Private Wealth services, and an advanced trading interface. Sign up using our referral link and get free $50 when depositing $250 on your account!

If you find that neither Coinsmart 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.