Wealthsimple Crypto Vs Bitvo: Which Is Better For Canadians In 2026?

How Do Wealthsimple Crypto 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 Wealthsimple Crypto And Bitvo?

How Do You Fund And Cash Out Wealthsimple Crypto And Bitvo In Canada?

Crypto trades in CAD or USD; USD trades pay a 1.5% FX fee plus a corporate exchange fee unless you have a USD account. The 5 business day deposit hold before crypto withdrawal is the main timing trap. All funding now ended. Accounts moved to Bitbuy.

What Does It Actually Cost To Buy On Wealthsimple Crypto?

Wealthsimple Crypto: Flat 0.5% fee per order. The high end adds the 1.00% spread used in Wealthsimple's own CAD 5,000 example (spread varies with market conditions) from the fee schedule dated 2026-09-24. Active Trader status (50 eligible trades in a calendar month) removes the spread. A CAD 1 surcharge applies to orders under CAD 100 (not counted here). Ranges reflect each platform’s published band, not a single quote. Bank and network fees are not included.

What Do Wealthsimple Crypto And Bitvo Offer Beyond Buying And Selling?

Wealthsimple Crypto Only

• Staking: ETH, SOL, ADA and DOT, advertised as up to 5% a year. Wealthsimple keeps 30% of rewards (15% for Generation) and validators take their own commission (ETH about 5%).
• Crypto swaps: Swap one eligible coin for another in one trade with one fee instead of two.
• Recurring buys and price-target orders: Schedule automatic purchases or set a price at which an order executes. Recurring orders do not count toward Active Trader status.
• DEX trading: On-chain token access with CAD 0 network fees, per Wealthsimple, through the Crypto Web3 Wallet.
• Active Trader status: Earned with 50 or more eligible trades in a calendar month, valid for that month and the next. Cuts the crypto fee to 0.5% to 0% with a 0% spread, plus priority phone and email support.

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 Wealthsimple Crypto Or Bitvo Fails?

Wealthsimple Crypto: Wealthsimple Investments Inc. is a CIRO dealer member, so cash in the account is covered by CIPF, but crypto is explicitly not covered by CIPF, CDIC or any investor protection scheme. Wealthsimple says crypto is held in trust and would remain yours in an insolvency, and that custodial partners each carry over CAD 75M of insurance, but that cover is held by the partners and the custodians are not named on the product page. No proof of reserves is published. Hot wallet losses are the part covered by the Coincover recovery arrangement.

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 Wealthsimple Crypto And Bitvo Treated For Tax In Canada?

Wealthsimple Crypto: Selling, swapping one coin for another and staking rewards are taxable; withdrawing crypto to your own wallet is not a disposition. Wealthsimple provides a Realized Gains and Losses report as PDF or CSV and a Crypto Transaction Summary CSV, and says there is no official tax slip for crypto.

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, Wealthsimple Crypto Or Bitvo?

Choose Wealthsimple Crypto If

• You already hold stocks or cash at Wealthsimple and want crypto in the same app.
• You value a CIRO-regulated dealer and a simple flat fee over the lowest possible cost.
• You trade 50 or more times a month and can qualify for Active Trader pricing.

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.

Bitvo did not leave Canada, it merged into another platform, and that platform has since merged again. Wealthsimple Crypto is the registered option on this page, ranked fourth on my list at 8.4.

What Happened To Bitvo?

Bitvo stopped operating on its own in November 2023 when Bitbuy bought all of its client accounts and the Bitvo.com domain. The acquisition closed on November 14 and 15, 2023. WonderFi put the number of moved accounts at 17,000 plus.

Bitvo Inc. now sits under expired decisions on the CSA site, and its FINTRAC registration shows as ceased on October 8, 2024. Bitvo.com no longer resolves in DNS as of October 2, 2026. The catch is that Bitbuy accounts later moved to Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd., and since Robinhood closed its WonderFi purchase on June 1, 2026 the Bitbuy site says it is part of Robinhood.

What Happened To Bitvo Accounts After The Bitbuy Deal?

Client accounts were migrated to Bitbuy, and Bitbuy's help centre published a guide for people whose accounts were moved. If you still have a login, it is a Bitbuy login now, and the Bitbuy site tells users it is part of Robinhood and invites customers to move to the Robinhood app.

I do not send new readers to Bitbuy, because it is being folded into Robinhood. If you were a Bitvo customer and never moved your coins out, read the migration notices on the official Bitbuy and Robinhood sites only.

What Should Bitvo Users Use Instead?

The available side of this page is Wealthsimple Crypto, a CIRO Dealer Member with free Interac e-Transfer funding and 170+ coins beyond Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana.

The registry's own pick to replace Bitvo is NDAX, an Alberta-based registered Canadian platform with CAD funding and the nearest like-for-like for an Alberta-origin exchange. It charges a flat 0.20% and is a CIRO Dealer Member. My head-to-head is at Wealthsimple Crypto Vs NDAX.

How Much Does Wealthsimple Crypto Charge, And How Do You Fund It?

Wealthsimple Crypto charges a flat 0.5% fee on every order, and on market orders a spread goes on top. Its own fee schedule gives the example of a 0.50% fee plus a 1.00% spread, which comes to 1.50% all in. Limit orders carry no spread. Any order under CAD 100 picks up a CAD 1 surcharge. Active Trader status changes the model: the fee is 0.5% under CAD 10,000 of 30-day volume, 0.35% from there, and keeps stepping down to 0% above CAD 15 million, with the spread at 0% throughout. The schedule was last updated on September 24, 2026.

Interac e-Transfer deposits cost nothing on Wealthsimple's side (your bank may charge), up to CAD 10,000 per e-Transfer or your bank's sending limit. Instant deposit limits depend on your tier: up to CAD 50,000 on Core and up to CAD 250,000 on Premium and Generation. Fees for linked debit card and wire funding are not confirmed, so none are quoted here.

How Is Wealthsimple Crypto Regulated, And Which Coins Can You Buy?

Wealthsimple Investments Inc. is on the CSA list of crypto platforms authorized to do business with Canadians (amended decision December 22, 2025) and is a CIRO Dealer Member. It is registered with FINTRAC as a money services business. Wealthsimple says crypto is held in trust and that its custodial partners each carry over $75M in cold storage coverage. Cash is covered by CIPF. Crypto is not.

Wealthsimple's crypto page advertises Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and 170+ other coins. There is no public list to count, so read the number as marketing text rather than an audited figure.

Who Is Wealthsimple Crypto Best For?

Wealthsimple Crypto suits former Bitvo users who want a regulated, simple app with CAD funding and a broad coin list. If you care more about fees than convenience, NDAX is the registry's pick.

Visit Wealthsimple Crypto Read My Wealthsimple Crypto Review