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Crypto.com vs. Coinbase: What Works Better For Canadians in 2024

Oleg Galeev

Last updated December 27, 2023

Crypto.com and Coinbase are prominent players in the digital asset arena, each bringing unique offerings to the table. While Crypto.com extends its services to include staking, loans, and a vast range of supported cryptocurrencies, Coinbase stands out with its robust educational resources and ease of use, particularly for beginners.

Description

Crypto.com is a crypto exchange that is gaining popularity in Canada. It offers its own coin (CRO), staking, lending, NFTs, and pre-paid Visa crypto cards offering cashback. Crypto.com offers everything in one place and is suitable for Canadians looking for an easy way to buy crypto.

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

150+

50+ including BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC

Fees

Free deposits
Variable Withdrawal fees
Send crypto to other crypto.com users for free
0.04 to 0.4% maker/taker fees

Extremely High
3.99% buy fee
0.50% fee per trade

Pros

Wide range of coins available
Suitable for beginners and pro traders
Interac e-Transfer available
Deposits take up to one day to process
Visa cards
Staking
NFT marketplace
20+ fiat currencies supported
Free deposits

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

No crypto education articles
Poor customer service

High fees
Fewer coins than Binance
Complaints of bad customer support
No Interac e-Transfer

Account Limits

Low

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

App

Methods to buy

Interac e-Transfer

Debit card

Security

100% coins held in cold storage
Ledger Vault partnership
Multi-factor authentication
Mandatory whitelisting of withdrawal addresses

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

Mobile and Desktop Trading

The Crypto.com app, rating 4.5 stars on the App Store and 4.5 stars on Google Play, offers a user-friendly interface to buy, sell, and manage a wide array of cryptocurrencies. The desktop interface, while not as comprehensive as the mobile app, still offers a simple and intuitive platform for trading. On the other hand, Coinbase has maintained a commendable presence in the app world with a 4.7-star rating on the App Store and a 4.1-star rating on Google Play. It provides a straightforward trading process, matching the ease of use found in its desktop version. The desktop interface provides more features such as educational resources and a rewarding referral program.

Crypto.com

In the crypto.com app, users can buy and sell crypto easily. You can also directly stake or lend your crypto, apply for a crypto.com card, track favourite coins, withdraw to external wallets and more. The app is an all-in-one trading platform that’s user-friendly and suitable for beginners.

The app has a 4.3-star rating from 56,000 reviews on the Apple App Store and a 3.9-star rating from 200,000 reviews on Google Play.

If you’re looking for more advanced tools, you can use crypto.com’s desktop exchange. The exchange offers more charting and order types but the interface can be confusing for beginners. The crypto.com app has everything you need, so you’d only use the Exchange for slightly lower fees or advanced order types.

Advanced Desktop Trade

List of coins

Crypto.com app interface

Crypto.com app interface while trading

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.

Coinbase desktop interface

Coinbase portfolio

Coinbase app interface

Coinbase app interface while trading

Security Compliance

Crypto.com is highly secure crypto exchange. They keep funds in cold storage, offer two-factor authentication to keep accounts secure, encrypt user data, and more.

Crypto.com keeps 100% of users’ funds in cold storage, specifically in a Ledger vault. This percentage is the highest we’ve seen of any crypto exchange, showing crypto.com truly values security. Crypto.com also has $750M in cold storage insurance in case of theft.

Crypto.com also makes its users whitelist all withdrawal addresses via email and users multi-factor authentication - such as FaceID - to

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.

Crypto.com provides a secure trading environment, holding 100% of users' assets in cold storage. The platform is ISO-certified, ensuring rigorous security measures. Coinbase is also known for its strong safety measures, storing 98% of digital assets in offline cold storage. The platform employs two-factor authentication and encrypts wallets and private keys for additional security.

Regulatory Compliance

Crypto.com is fully regulated and can be accessed in Canada, USA (except New York), Europe, and other countries around the world.

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

Crypto.com aligns itself with Canadian regulations, having signed a pre-registration undertaking with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), demonstrating a commitment to providing secure and lawful services to Canadians. Coinbase, although US-based, complies with Canadian regulations as a registered Money Services Business with FinCEN. Therefore, both exchanges adhere to Canadian regulatory standards

Customer support

The customer support for crypto.com is quite slow. Users like the app, security, and the wide range of coins, but the customer service needs work. Crypto.com does not offer educational resources or a knowledge centre, which is a let down.

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.

Crypto.com offers a responsive and comprehensive support system with 24/7 live chat and email services. Coinbase provides support via live chat, email, and recently introduced 24/7 phone support. However, it's worth noting that Coinbase has previously received some criticism regarding the effectiveness of their support response.

Conclusion

While both Crypto.com and Coinbase have robust platforms and considerable user bases, Crypto.com has a slight edge due to its comprehensive offerings, stringent security measures, and commitment to Canadian regulatory compliance. Coinbase, despite its user-friendly platform and rich educational resources, has faced criticism for its customer support and account limitations for Canadian users.

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

If you find that neither Crypto.com 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 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.