CoinSmart Vs Shakepay: Which Is Better For Canadians In 2026?

How Do CoinSmart And Shakepay Compare, Fact By Fact?

Every row below comes from each company’s own pages and the Canadian registries, checked October 2026. Where a row has no fair winner, it says so.

What Are The Key Differences Between CoinSmart And Shakepay?

How Do You Fund And Cash Out CoinSmart And Shakepay In Canada?

All funding ended. Accounts moved to Bitbuy. Shakepay joined Interac e-Transfer as a Participant in July 2026, so e-Transfer now runs on its own connection. Bank-side sending limits and name matching still apply. Weekend timing: Not published.

What Does It Actually Cost To Buy On Shakepay?

Shakepay: Published target band of 0.5% to 2.0% over the benchmark price, which may widen by up to 1.5% in adverse conditions (help article checked 2026-10-03). Neither publishes a maker and taker schedule because there is no order book: the spread is the fee. If cost matters most, NDAX (flat 0.20%) or Kraken Pro are cheaper places to buy in Canada. Ranges reflect each platform’s published band, not a single quote. Bank and network fees are not included.

What Do CoinSmart And Shakepay Offer Beyond Buying And Selling?

Shakepay Only

• Shakepay Card (prepaid Visa): Issued by Peoples Trust Company, no annual fee, no credit check, free to get once fully verified. Cashback 1% at Base and Bright, 1.5% at Blue; foreign fee 3%, 1.5% or 0%. Limits $5,000 per transaction and day, $50,000 per month. Apple Pay and Google Pay supported.
• BLOC (bitcoin-backed line of credit): Borrow up to $50,000 against bitcoin through Shakepay Credit Inc. APR 11.5% Base, 10.5% Bright, 9.5% Blue. No fixed payments while LTV is 50% or lower. Terms and margin levels are shown in-app. Loan proceeds may not buy crypto. Margin notice 80%, liquidation 90% with a 3% fee and a CAD 100 minimum: Not verified on a primary page.
• Interest and USD: CAD interest 1.5% Base, 2% Bright, 3% Blue; savings 1.5%, 2% and 5% (Blue, first $100,000). The crypto page advertises 3.5% on USD. Rates are variable and not guaranteed.
• ShakingSats: Shake your phone once a day for sats. Cap by status: 10 sats a day at Base, up to 100 at Bright, up to 500 at Blue, growing with your streak.
• Referral: You and the friend each get $20 when the friend invests $100 in crypto within 30 days.

What Happens To Your Money If CoinSmart Or Shakepay Fails?

CoinSmart: This was a merger, not a collapse. CoinSmart's accounts went to Bitbuy, which has since moved to Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd. and then Robinhood. Log in through Bitbuy with your old CoinSmart email, and never send crypto to an old CoinSmart deposit address, because the addresses changed. If you prefer not to follow the move to Robinhood, withdraw to your own wallet.

Shakepay: CIPF covers the cash and USD you hold at Shakepay, advertised as up to $1 million, but crypto is explicitly not covered. Customer crypto is held in trust with Coinbase Custody (at least 80% cold) and Fireblocks and BitGo hot wallets, and Shakepay's own risk statement warns that insurance may be inadequate and points users to withdraw to a private wallet. A hack, a custodian failure or a freeze can still hit crypto balances. BLOC adds liquidation risk if bitcoin falls, and Shakepay Credit operates under time-limited exemptive relief that runs three years from April 9, 2026, not full registration.

How Are CoinSmart And Shakepay Treated For Tax In Canada?

CoinSmart: Trades on CoinSmart were dispositions for CRA purposes. Pull your CoinSmart history from your migrated Bitbuy account. Export formats: Not published.

Shakepay: Selling crypto, swapping it (including auto-swap), spending it with the card or repaying with it are dispositions; card cashback in bitcoin is income when received and your cost base starts at that value. Shakepay emails two CSVs (crypto and cash) but issues no tax slips, so you need Koinly or similar.

Selling, swapping or spending crypto is a disposition for the CRA on any platform. This is not tax advice: see my guide to crypto taxes in Canada.

Which Should You Choose, CoinSmart Or Shakepay?

Choose CoinSmart If

• You want a registered platform that serves Canadians today: Coinbase is our number one replacement, with free Interac e-Transfer funding and a Canadian restricted dealer registration.

Choose Shakepay If

• You want the simplest Interac-funded way to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum from a CIRO-registered firm.
• You want a bitcoin cashback card or a bitcoin-backed credit line in the same app.
• You will keep the account active each month to reach Bright or Blue and lower the card and loan costs.
• You do not need many coins, limit orders or Lightning.

What Happened To CoinSmart?

CoinSmart, run by Simply Digital Technologies Inc., stopped operating as a separate exchange after WonderFi moved its client accounts to Bitbuy. WonderFi announced the deal on September 8, 2023, and I could not verify the exact completion date. Its two CSA decisions, the original of October 21, 2021 and an amended one of December 21, 2021, now sit under the CSA's expired decisions.

FINTRAC lists the CoinSmart registration as ceased on September 10, 2024. Today coinsmart.com serves the Bitbuy site with a banner saying Bitbuy is now part of Robinhood. That chain matters: CoinSmart accounts went to Bitbuy, Bitbuy later moved under Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd., and Robinhood closed its WonderFi purchase on June 1, 2026.

So CoinSmart did not collapse. It was folded into a larger group, and the group is now being folded into Robinhood. Bitbuy has a help article for migrated CoinSmart accounts if you ever need to trace one.

For more detail, see my CoinSmart page. I do not link to CoinSmart for sign-ups, because it is not an option for Canadians.

What Should CoinSmart Users Use Instead?

The short answer is Shakepay, the other half of this match-up. It is available to Canadians, and it is people who only want Bitcoin or Ethereum and value simplicity over the lowest possible spread. If you want the closest like-for-like match to CoinSmart, my notes name NDAX.

How Much Does Shakepay Cost, And How Do You Fund It?

Since CoinSmart cannot be compared on current fees, here is what Shakepay charges today, taken from its own published pages.

Is Shakepay Safe For Canadians?

Shakepay Inc. has been a CIRO investment dealer member since January 8, 2025, with a CSA decision of the same date. It holds FINTRAC registrations as well.

Shakepay says USD funds are protected up to USD 1 million by CIPF as an investment dealer; crypto is not covered by CIPF.

The app rates 4.62 on the Canadian Apple App Store from 24,349 ratings, and 4.1 on Google Play from 13.5K reviews.

Whichever platform you use, I still say the same thing: do not keep more on an exchange than you are prepared to lose, and move long-term holdings to your own wallet.

Who Should Choose Shakepay?

Shakepay suits people who only want Bitcoin or Ethereum and value simplicity over the lowest possible spread. It is a weaker fit if you need something its list or fee structure does not cover: only 3 assets, and spread can reach 2.0% or more.

Not sure which platform fits you? Take my 60-second quiz or see my full ranking.

What Should You Do If You Still Have Something With CoinSmart?

CoinSmart: If you held a CoinSmart account, it was migrated to Bitbuy, and Bitbuy's help centre has an article on what to do with a migrated account. Bitbuy itself is now part of Robinhood and is inviting customers to the Robinhood app, so check what you hold there and decide whether you want to stay. Whatever you decide, do not send crypto to an old CoinSmart deposit address.

A simple rule applies after any platform change: keep your own records of every purchase, because the CRA treats crypto as a commodity and you need the history for your tax return.