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Newton vs. Wealthsimple Crypto: What Works Better For Canadians in 2024

Oleg Galeev

Last updated December 27, 2023

In this comparison, we take a close look at Newton and Wealthsimple Crypto, two major cryptocurrency exchanges in Canada, to help you decide which one suits you best. Both have their strengths, with Newton offering lower transaction fees and a wider range of cryptocurrencies, while Wealthsimple Crypto is renowned for its seamless integration with other Wealthsimple accounts.

Description

Newton prides itself on being Canada’s first no-fee cryptocurrency exchange. They claim their exchange is 2-3x lower than most other exchanges.

Wealthsimple is a Canadian trading platform that offers several popular cryptocurrencies. You can connect your bank account, move funds from different investment accounts, and buy crypto in CAD.

Coins

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, Stellar, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, USDC, USDT, Chainlink, Aave, Uniswap, Polygon, Compound, SushiSwap, Curve, Synthetix, Dai, Polkadot

Over 30 coins, e.g. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, EOS, Stellar, LINK, AAVE, Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Polkadot (DOT), Dogecoin (DOGE), Polygon (MATIC), and a few stable coins.

 

Fees

  • 0% CAD funding
  • 0% CAD withdrawal
  • 0% crypto deposit/withdrawals (up to $5 network fee waived)
  • No commissions or trading fees
  • 0.40% to 0.72% spread

Pros

  • No fees at all
  • Wide selection of coins available
  • You can export a T5 statement
  • Sleek interface
  • Newton Pro for advanced traders in Beta stage
  • Offers 30 popular cryptocurrencies
  • Easy to use
  • Can transfer funds between investment accounts
  • Secure and trustworthy
  • You can set limit orders
  • $200M insurance
  • Free CAD bank transfers and withdrawals

Cons

  • Very high spreads
  • No live chat support
  • No credit card deposits. Debit must be pre-approved.
  • High trading fees
  • Cannot move crypto to a private wallet yet

Account Limits

  • $10,000 max daily Interac e-Transfer deposit/withdrawal
  • $70,000 max weekly Interac e-Transfer deposit/withdrawal
  • $5,000 electronic funds transfer deposit
  • $50,000 electronic funds transfer withdrawal
  • $1M wire transfer deposit/withdrawal
  • $5M daily trading limit

Low

App

Methods to buy

  • Interac e-Transfer
  • Wire transfer
  • Connect bank account

CAD Bank transfer

Security

  • Daily exchange backups
  • Third-party custody of assets, mostly offline
  • Direct bank intergration to reduce fraud
  • Coins are insured for $200 million by Gemini Trust Company LLC™
  • Fully regulated in all Canadian provinces
  • Touch/Face ID

Mobile and Desktop Trading

Newton's mobile app has earned a 4.6-star rating on the App Store. Users appreciate its user-friendly interface and efficient transaction processing. The desktop version mirrors these qualities, offering a clean, easy-to-navigate trading environment.

On the other hand, Wealthsimple Crypto's app holds strong ratings: 4.7 stars from 123,000 reviews on the Apple App Store, and a 4.5-star rating from 72,000 reviews on Google Play. The desktop platform is identical to its mobile counterpart, focusing on simplicity and providing a consistent trading experience across both platforms.

Newton

Newton has a user-friendly interface and a modern, clean look. It’s simple and easy to use.

Newton’s overall design is clean and modern. They also usual casual and friendly language. It doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously, which is refreshing. At first glance, Newton seems user-friendly and fairly simple.

Its iOS app has a rating of 4.4 stars with 5.6k reviews, and its Android app has a rating of 2.8 stars with 800 reviews.

Newton desktop interface

Newton desktop interface

Market order with Newton

Market order with Newton

Newton mobile app #1 (welcome screenshot)

Newton app interface

Newton mobile app #2 (cryptocurrencies available)

Newton app interface while trading

Wealthsimple Crypto

Wealthsimple’s Trade app has a 4.7-star rating from 121,000 reviews on the Apple App Store, and a 4.6-star rating from 41,000 reviews on Google Play.

The app makes it easy to switch between all of your investment accounts, and see exactly how much you have in each one. The desktop trading platform is essentially the same and allows you to deposit and withdraw, buy and sell, and view charting for different cryptocurrencies. It has a simple interface making it easy for beginners. 

Wealthsimple desktop app screenshot

Wealthsimple desktop app

Wealthsimple crypto trading main screen

Wealthsimple crypto trading main screen

Wealthsimple mobile app screenshot

Wealthsimple Crypto Mobile app

Buying crypto with Wealthsimple Crypto

Security Compliance

Newton does daily backups to minimize risk and states on its website that customer data is stored in Canada. They also perform daily site backups, have offline third-party storage for digital assets, and they allow their customers to directly connect their bank account to reduce fraud.

Wealthsimple Crypto requires new customers to go through the KYC process in order to trade and offer two-factor authentication. 

In your Wealthsimple account, you can use Touch ID or Face ID instead of entering a username and password each time you log in. Currently, there is no Two-factor authentication available. 

Newton leverages a mix of cold storage and institutional hot wallets for securing digital assets, with the majority kept offline. Additional security measures include biometric authentication, multi-factor authentication, and withdrawal whitelist features. Wealthsimple Crypto insures its coins for $200 million through the Gemini Trust Company LLC™. Login security can be enhanced using Touch ID or Face ID. However, as of the provided information, Wealthsimple Crypto lacks Two-factor authentication, which might be a concern for some users.

Regulatory Compliance

Newton is fully compliant with FINTRAC regulations in Canada. 

Wealthsimple Crypto is insured by the Gemini Trust Company LLC™ which covers $200 million. Wealthsimple is fully regulated in Canada and has been a staple for Canadian investments since 2016. It's a fully-compliant crypto platform in Canada.

Newton complies with Canadian regulations as a registered money service business with both FINTRAC in Canada and FINCEN in the U.S.

Wealthsimple, too, is fully compliant with all Canadian provinces' regulations. It has been a trustworthy brokerage dealing in securities since 2016 and launched its crypto accounts in 2020.

Customer support

Newton has FAQs and a knowledge center on the website. Customers can message the support teams either online via their support pages or through email. Newton does not have a phone and live support.

Wealthsimple has a comprehensive help centre on its website and within the app. It is full of articles about crypto in general as well as how to use their platform. They also have live chat support, email support and phone support, all available 24/7. Wealthsimple has good customer service and you will be able to find an answer to your question quickly. 

Newton provides user support via email and live chat on their website, along with a detailed FAQ section on their site for self-help.

Wealthsimple Crypto has a more robust support system, offering 24/7 live chat, email, and phone support. They also host a comprehensive help centre on their website and within their app.

Conclusion

While both Newton and Wealthsimple Crypto are commendable platforms with their unique strengths, Newton emerges as the winner in this comparison. Its broader range of supported cryptocurrencies, lower transaction fees, and robust security measures outshine the competition. However, Wealthsimple Crypto's integration with the existing Wealthsimple platform, which brings a level of convenience and familiarity, might be more appealing to some users.

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

If you find that neither Newton nor Wealthsimple Crypto 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. 

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