Binance Canada Review: Is It A Scam Or A Legit Crypto Exchange For Canadians?

Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. We signed up for an account to see if it’s worth using for Canadians in 2024. Here’s our Binance review.

In a recent update, Binance has announced its decision to exit the Canadian market by October 2023. As an excellent alternative, we highly recommend considering Bitget. With a user-friendly interface resembling Binance, this reputable crypto exchange offers a seamless trading experience. Moreover, as a special promotion, they are generously providing a promo code that grants you 50 USDT upon a deposit of $500 USD or more if you sign up with our referral link.

Binance Summary

Along with Coinbase and Crypto.com, Binance is probably the world’s most popular cryptocurrency exchange. You can buy pretty much any cryptocurrency on Binance, from giants such as Bitcoin and Cardano to more obscure coins like Burger Swap or Skycoin. Of course, you can also trade Binance’s native coin, Binance Coin (BNB). Binance is so huge that it has a two billion average daily volume and 1.4 million transactions per second. 

Binance operates in 180 countries and accepts fiat deposits in 50+ currencies. For Canadians, you can deposit Canadian dollars via third-party services Simplex and Banxa. These services facilitate Interac e-Transfers and other types of bank transfers. You can also purchase cryptocurrency via debit and credit cards as long as your bank allows it, and purchase crypto using the peer-to-peer marketplace. Unfortunately, Binance has many downsides as well.

Binance Canada Features

Binance Canada has an entire universe of features that make it the behemoth of the cryptocurrency world. 

Binance Pay was designed to allow users to send and spend crypto without paying fees. You can shop at businesses like Travala that support Binance Pay without paying fees to do so. The Binance Marketplace allows you to browse businesses that accept Binance Pay. 

Binance’s Peer-to-Peer exchange allows you to buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly from other users. Buying this way can work out cheaper and most of the Canadian users accept Interac e-Transfer.

You can trade futures contracts and options on Binance, get a crypto loan using your crypto as collateral, and even donate to the Binance charity that aims to fight poverty.

Binance has three crypto trading options – Convert for quick crypto to crypto trades, Classic for more advanced charting and features, and Advanced for access to all the tools that experienced traders might use. 

They also have an NFT marketplace where you can browse, purchase, and create your own NFT.

Unfortunately, Binance’s Visa card is not available in Canada and they are also removing the ability to trade stocks with crypto. Nevertheless, Binance has so many features it’s impossible to list them all here. Also, Ontario banned Binance for their residents.

Binance Registration and Verification For Canadians

Registering with Binance Canada is straightforward. It’s no different to signing up with any other exchange. Enter your personal information such as email and phone number, then provide proof with a government-issued ID and a selfie. This is usually enough for most people but if you wish to trade more than $200k per day then you will also need to upload proof of address.

Binance Fees For Canadians

Binance has low trading fees at 0.1%. If you hold Binance Coin (BNB), you can take advantage of trading discounts. As for deposit and withdrawal fees, because you cannot connect a Canadian bank account directly, there are none applicable. In order to deposit Canadian dollars, you must use a third-party provider such as Banxa, or purchase cryptocurrency on a Canadian exchange and then transfer that crypto to Binance. A reason you might do this is if you are looking to purchase one of the 350+ altcoins that Binance has but most other exchanges don’t. If you have other currencies in other bank accounts that you would like to deposit. Note that in order to use Binance in the USA you must use Binance.US which is a trimmed-down version of Binance and does not offer the same features.  

You can, however, purchase crypto on Binance Canada either using the P2P exchange which does not have deposit fees because you pay the user directly or via credit and debit cards so long as your bank allows the transaction. Card payments will incur a 3.5% fee. 

Binance Security and Safety

Is Binance safe for Canadians to use? Yes, it is. However, Binance allows you to set up two-factor authentication (2FA) and whitelist withdrawal addresses, so you can be sure no unauthorized person can access or withdraw from your account. You can also protect your account with a security key and an anti-phishing code if you wish.

Binance is one of the biggest and most reputable exchanges in the world so you should be able to rest easy knowing your crypto is in safe hands. However, Binance has been hacked before. Back in 2019, hackers stole 7,000 Bitcoin along with customers’ 2FA codes and API tokens. The hackers used phishing and viruses to gain access to the exchange. However, because Binance holds most of its digital assets in cold storage, the hackers only got away with what was in the hot wallet – about 2% of Binance’s Bitcoin holdings at the time. No users’ funds were stolen because Binance used its emergency insurance fund to cover the loss. 

The downside to being one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world is it makes you a target for hackers. Unfortunately, Binance has been the victim, but as long as you take precautions, and transfer your crypto off the exchange to an external cryptocurrency wallet, you should be safe. If you want to keep assets on the Binance exchange for day trading purposes, that’s a risk you will have to take. 

Binance Mobile and Desktop App

Binance can be used on the web, desktop or mobile. Unfortunately, their platforms are quite overwhelming for beginners. The Binance exchange is not easy to navigate and it can become confusing quite quickly. 

Binance’s iOS app has a 4.6-star rating with 24,000 reviews and its Android app has a 4.5-star rating with 337,000 reviews. As you can see, Binance is highly rated and has a huge number of users worldwide. 

The mobile app is far more simple than Binance’s desktop or web platforms all over Canada. You can easily deposit, trade, and withdraw without the confusing options and features.

If you’re a beginner or want to trade on Binance quickly, then we recommend using their app. 

Binance Design and Usability

This is the Binance dashboard on the web.

The deposit button is pretty clear but when you click on it, there is no option to deposit CAD. Scroll down and you will see your portfolio, open orders and the cost of your trading fees. Remember, trading fees will vary from user to user depending on their level and how much BNB they hold. On the left, you have options to view your security, settings, and rewards. 

To purchase crypto, go to the top menu and click the buy button. Here you will have the option to pay with credit or debit cards, enter the P2P marketplace, or access the third-party payment processors.

We think the easiest way to purchase crypto using CAD is to use your credit or debit card. Our previous article explores which Canadian banks accept crypto payments with credit and debit cards. 

If you’ve purchased crypto on another exchange and sent it to Binance and now you wish to trade it for another crypto, you can do so using Binance’s convert tool. 

If you’re a seasoned investor and wish to access all of Binance’s trading tools such as advanced charting, then the advanced tool might be for you. 

The classic interface is just as daunting, but you can use the menu at the top to view your orders, wallet, and more.

Binance Customer Support

Binance offers 24/7 online customer support. You can submit a ticket on their website, however, they try to get you to look at their support articles first. Binance does not list an email address or phone number you can contact instead. They want you to try to solve the problem yourself and you have to interact with a support bot most of the time. We would evaluate Binance support as 2 out of 10.

Conclusion

Binance is a crypto exchange giant. We like that it has so many features and applications as well as 350+ altcoins. It truly has everything and if you’re an experienced trader or a day trader, there’s no reason you wouldn’t use Binance. However, you cannot deposit Canadian dollars directly, which is quite annoying because that leaves you using a credit or debit card, and Canadian banks usually do not like you to use your cards for crypto purchases. You’re more likely to be able to use your debit card than credit though. Still, these incur extra fees. The other option is to use the P2P marketplace but that requires some knowledge of a P2P marketplace in the first place. 

Binance is not for beginners. At all. The interface is confusing and daunting. There are too many menu options and too many terms like “spot” or “margin” that a beginner won’t understand. The exchange is not easy to navigate and sometimes with so many options, it can make people freeze, and unable to take any action. It’s also hard to connect with a customer support agent. Instead, you’re most likely to interact with a bot. 

To sum up, if you are a beginner or live in Ontario we would not recommend Binance, but you can try Bitbuy which is rated as the #1 crypto exchange for Canadians. You can check in our Bitbuy review why.

In a recent update, Binance has announced its decision to exit the Canadian market by October 2023. As an excellent alternative, we highly recommend considering Bitget. With a user-friendly interface resembling Binance, this reputable crypto exchange offers a seamless trading experience. Moreover, as a special promotion, they are generously providing a promo code that grants you 50 USDT upon a deposit of $500 USD or more if you sign up with our referral link.

However, if you know what you’re doing and perhaps you want to try your hand at futures or options trading, use a P2P marketplace, or take advantage of Binance’s other features, then we would recommend it. Binance can’t be beaten in the number of coins they offer, so it really is the only choice if you’re looking to trade some of the more obscure coins. The number of coins and low fees are the most common reasons why many Canadians choose Binance. You can sign up here.