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

How Do Shakepay And Bitvo 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 Shakepay And Bitvo?

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

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. All funding now ended. Accounts moved to Bitbuy.

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 Shakepay And Bitvo 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.

Bitvo Only

• Bitvo Cash Card: A prepaid card product listed among Bitvo's strengths.
• Same Day Guarantee: A funding-speed promise Bitvo marketed.

What Happens To Your Money If Shakepay Or Bitvo Fails?

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.

Bitvo: This was a merger, not a collapse: Bitvo's client accounts moved to Bitbuy, which has since moved to Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd. and now Robinhood, per the registry. Check that you are logged into your account with the current owner and withdraw to a wallet if you prefer. Do not send crypto to an old Bitvo address or trust a site using the Bitvo name.

How Are Shakepay And Bitvo Treated For Tax In Canada?

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.

Bitvo: Trades on Bitvo were dispositions for CRA purposes. Ask for or export your Bitvo history from your migrated Bitbuy account. Export formats: Not published.

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, Shakepay Or Bitvo?

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.

Choose Bitvo 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.

What Happened To Bitvo?

Merged Into Bitbuy

Bitvo stopped operating on its own in November 2023, when Bitbuy bought all of its client accounts and the Bitvo.com domain. The deal closed on November 14 and 15, 2023, and the press release is dated November 15. WonderFi put the number at more than 17,000 client accounts. Bitvo was an Alberta-based platform, and this was a merger, not a departure from Canada.

The story did not stop there. Bitbuy accounts were moved to Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd. in May 2024, and since Robinhood closed its WonderFi purchase on June 1, 2026, the Bitbuy site tells users it is now part of Robinhood and that customers are being invited to move to the Robinhood app. Bitvo.com no longer resolves.

What Should Bitvo Users Do Now?

If you had a Bitvo account, it was migrated to Bitbuy, so your balance now sits on the Coinsquare and Robinhood side of that chain, not on anything called Bitvo. Because bitvo.com no longer resolves, treat any website using the Bitvo name that asks for a login or a deposit as an impostor.

What Should Bitvo Users Use Instead?

Shakepay: An Available Option

Shakepay is the available side of this pairing, and it is best for the simplest way to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum with Interac.

Shakepay takes free Interac e-Transfer deposits from CAD 5 to CAD 10,000 and free wires of CAD 10,000 or more (1 to 2 working days). Withdrawals by Interac e-Transfer (CAD 5 to 10,000) and by wire are free as well.

Shakepay Inc. has been a CIRO investment dealer member since January 8, 2025, is registered with the AMF and provincial regulators, and is a FINTRAC-registered MSB. USD funds are protected up to $1M by CIPF. Crypto is not covered by CIPF.

Shakepay's iOS app is rated 4.62 across 24,349 Canadian ratings, and Google Play shows 4.1 from 13.5K reviews. With three assets and a spread instead of fee menus, there is very little to learn.

Shakepay: Pros And Cons

Visit Shakepay Read My Shakepay Review

NDAX: An Available Option

Registered Canadian platform with CAD funding and a CIRO investment dealer membership. That is the nearest fit for Bitvo users.

NDAX takes free Interac e-Transfer deposits, usually processed within 0 to 30 minutes, and free wires in 0 to 1 business days. Cash-outs cost CAD 1.50 by Interac (up to CAD 10,000 per transaction) and CAD 4.99 by direct bank deposit.

Ndax Canada Inc. is a CIRO investment dealer member (terms imposed December 19, 2024), has a CSA decision of the same date and is a FINTRAC-registered MSB. NDAX describes cold and hot wallet storage with multi-signature authorization and MPC protection. No insurance dollar figure or proof of reserves appeared on the pages checked.

NDAX's apps rate 4.75 across 15,225 Canadian App Store ratings and 4.7 on Google Play from 5.85K reviews.

NDAX: Pros And Cons

Visit NDAX Read My NDAX Review

Is Shakepay A Good Replacement For Bitvo?

On the verified facts, Shakepay is a workable replacement for most Canadians who used Bitvo, within the limits laid out above. It does not copy everything Bitvo offered, so check your own use case before you move money. The comparison table at the top of this page lays out status, fees and coins side by side.