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

Oleg Galeev

Last updated December 27, 2023

Coinsmart and Kucoin are two popular cryptocurrency exchanges with different offerings for Canadian users. We’ll explore their features, security, and compliance with Canadian regulations, highlighting key differences such as Coinsmart’s beginner-friendly interface and Kucoin’s extensive altcoin selection.

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.

Kucoin is a sort of Canadian-friendly cryptocurrency exchange that offers peer-to-peer crypto trades, lending, and futures trading. Kucoin is suitable for more advanced traders looking for advanced charting and order types. Kucoin has 8 million

Coins

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, EOS, USDC, Cardano, Dogecoin, Polkadot, Shiba Inu, Chainlink, Uniswap, Solana and more

500+ coins

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

Low maker/taker trading fees ( 0.005%/0.025% to 0.1%/0.1% for class A coins)
Free deposits
Variable withdrawal fees
KCS holders get 20% discount on trading fees

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

Low fees
Wide range of altcoins available
Advanced order types
Crypto lending
Futures trading
Fast crypto purchases
Peer to peer exchange
Anonymous trading

Cons

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

Platform is confusing for beginners
No fiat to crypto pairs
Must buy USDT to trade
Previously hacked
Not compliant in Ontario (but you can still use it though)

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

Low

App

Methods to buy

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

Credit/debit card
Third party 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.

$275 million stolen in 2020 hack
2FA available

Mobile and Desktop Trading

Coinsmart offers an improved iOS app with a 3.6-star rating and 719 ratings, while its Android counterpart has a 4.2-star rating with 658 reviews. Coinsmart's desktop app on their website has more tools and flexibility, making it more suitable for trading. Kucoin's mobile app has a 4.6-star rating from over 19,000 reviews on the Apple App Store and a 3.9-star rating from over 12,000 reviews on Google Play. While both exchanges have good desktop apps for cryptocurrency trading, Coinsmart's mobile apps are generally better received than Kucoin's.

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.

Coinsmart App

Coinsmart App trading screen

Coinsmart mobile app interface

Coinsmart mobile app interface while trading

Kucoin

Kucoin is slightly different than your average crypto exchange. You won’t be able to deposit Canadian dollars directly. You’ll have to go through a third-party such as Banxa to deposit fiat. Kucoin does, however, accept credit and debit card payments, but you’ll need to check if your Canadian bank allows crypto transactions.

There are no fiat to crypto pairs, so you cannot buy bitcoin or other crypto directly with your dollars. You’ll need to first purchase Tether USDT on Kucoin and then trade that for the crypto you want.

The Kucoin exchange can be quite confusing for beginners.

There are advanced charting and order types available, plus you can trade on margin and trade futures contracts if you wish.

To buy USDT quickly, go up to the top menu and select the “Fast Buy” option. Here, you can purchase USDT using your credit or debit card or via the P2P exchange, or via a third party transfer. Once you have your USDT, then you can trade it on the Kucoin exchange under “spot trading”. Select the trading pair e.g. USDT/BTC and then choose your order type e.g. market order.

The Kucoin app has a 3.7-star rating from over 2,000 reviews on the Apple App Store and a 2.7-star rating from over 12,000 reviews on Google Play. Many people complain that the app crashes or that there are certain features lacking such as the ability to filter order history by trading pair.

Kucoin’s app is a bit more simple than its desktop exchange but it’s still confusing for beginners. There are lots of features, tabs, and menus. Buying USDT is easy since you do not need to verify your account. Simply sign up with an email and you can buy crypto in seconds using your credit or debit card under the Fast trade option. From there though, you will need to navigate to the spot trading page and select the trading pair you want.

Kucoin desktop interface

Kucoin desktop app (Fast Trade)

Kucoin app interface

Kucoin app interface while trading

Security Compliance

Kucoin provides world-class security meaning your coins are in relatively safe hands. It has two-factor authentication, so you can prevent unauthorized access to your account.

Keep in mind, $275 million worth of crypto was stolen from Kucoin by North Korean hackers in 2020. Later, $200 million of the stolen funds was recovered. Still, it doesn’t bode well for Kucoin. If you have funds on the exchange, it’s best to move them to a private crypto wallet.

Coinsmart is a fully compliant and regulated Canadian exchange, which adheres to strict guidelines and laws such as AML and KYC regulations. On the other hand, Kucoin experienced a security breach in 2020, resulting in the theft of $275 million in cryptocurrency. However, they managed to recover $200 million of the stolen funds. While Kucoin has implemented security measures such as two-factor authentication and trading passwords, Coinsmart's compliance with Canadian regulations makes it a safer option.

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).

In June, 2021, the Ontario Securities Commission stated that Kucoin was illegally offering its residents securities and derivatives trading, but Kucoin did not respond to this. As a result, Kucoin is still available in Ontario as well as the rest of Canada. You can use Kucoin at full capacity whether it’s a simple buy order at market price or a more advanced order type. Bear in mind, Kucoin does not allow Interac e-Transfer to deposit Canadian dollars to your account. Instead, you will have to use a debit or credit card or a SWIFT transfer with USD.

Coinsmart is fully compliant with Canadian regulations and is registered with FINTRAC as a MSB. Kucoin, however, is not technically allowed in Ontario and was fined $2,000,000 by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) for non-compliance with their regulations. This makes Coinsmart a more reliable choice for Canadian users in terms of regulatory compliance.

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.

Kucoin offers helpful FAQs and online ticketing service for their customers as well as 24/7 support and a live chat option.

Coinsmart provides attentive customer support through email, chat, and an extensive FAQ section available on their website.

Kucoin, on the other hand, has received mixed reviews for their customer support, with some users complaining about slow response times or unhelpful responses. Coinsmart's dedication to customer service gives it an edge over Kucoin in this area.

Conclusion

While both Coinsmart and Kucoin offer valuable services to Canadian users, Coinsmart emerges as the winner due to its better mobile apps, stronger security measures, regulatory compliance, and superior customer support. For those new to cryptocurrency or looking for a more reliable, user-friendly, and compliant platform, Coinsmart is the ideal choice.

We recommend choosing Coinsmart over Kucoin 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.

If you find that neither Coinsmart nor Kucoin 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 Galeev

Cryptocurrency Specialist

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.