Bitbuy Review For Canadians: What Happened In 2026?

What Happened To Bitbuy?

Bitbuy was Canada's first regulated crypto exchange, and over 2023 it swallowed its rivals. WonderFi, its parent company, folded Bitvo into it in November 2023, then moved the Coinberry and CoinSmart client accounts across. In May 2024 the accounts themselves moved again, to Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd., because Bitbuy's CSA relief was time-limited and the business had to sit under CIRO oversight.

Then Robinhood bought WonderFi. The deal closed on June 1, 2026, and Robinhood launched crypto trading in Canada on July 1, 2026. The Bitbuy site now tells users it is part of Robinhood, and customers are being invited in phases to switch apps. The Bitbuy name is on its way out.

Bitbuy did not simply shut down. It was a sale and a platform consolidation. But it does mean the account I tested no longer exists in the form I describe below.

What Was Bitbuy Like When I Tested It?

As a Canadian cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2016, Bitbuy was tailored specifically for Canadians, with a beginner-friendly platform and advanced tools for experienced investors. I'm Oleg G., owner of OCryptoCanada.ca. With over seven years of experience in crypto trading, more than 60 exchanges tested and a popular crypto Reddit community for Canadians, I wanted to see how Bitbuy stacked up. What follows is my hands-on testing, kept for anyone who wants the history.

The platform had an Express screen for quick market-price buys and a Pro screen with live charts, an order book and limit orders. If you only wanted a fast purchase, Express was enough. If you wanted advanced order types and technical analysis, Pro was the one.

How Long Did Bitbuy Verification Take?

Signing up was a long process because of the compliance steps. You had to be 18 or older and provide government ID, proof of address (a bank statement or utility bill), a selfie with a handwritten note, a risk profile and a financial profile. Bitbuy sent a code to my phone, then asked for my name, date of birth, occupation and address. If the automatic check failed, you uploaded your documents for manual review.

Bitbuy said verification could take up to two days. For me it took one hour. The documents were a FINTRAC requirement, and if you care about privacy you did not get much of it. The risk profile asked about your risk tolerance and strategy, and the financial profile asked about net worth and income. Qualified accredited investors got higher limits. If you answered that you had zero risk tolerance and little income, Bitbuy might not have let you open an account.

What Did Bitbuy Really Cost?

Bitbuy's fees were once among the lowest in the industry, a flat 0.2%. When I tested, it had moved to a tiered system based on 90-day volume, with 1.50% maker and taker fees under $250k, no deposit fees and a 1.5% CAD withdrawal fee. For comparison I noted that NDAX charged 0.2% and Crypto.com 0.4% at the time.

With the $100 I deposited I bought Bitcoin. Although the platform listed 1.50% for low-volume users, I received $99.80 worth of Bitcoin, so I paid roughly 0.20%, about 20 cents. It is possible the new fee structure had not been fully applied to my trade yet.

I then withdrew all of it to a hardware wallet. The network fee was about $10, which left me with $89.20 in the wallet. That is the real lesson of a $100 test: network fees on small withdrawals eat a chunk, on any exchange.

Deposits were fast. My $100 Interac e-Transfer arrived in seven minutes, the fastest I had seen, and the Bitcoin reached my hardware wallet within five minutes. Wire transfers were also free to deposit. Card deposits through a third-party provider carried a 6.25% fee, which I would never use.

Was Bitbuy Safe?

While I was using it, I believed it was. Bitbuy said it kept 97% of digital assets offline, above the 95% industry standard, and offered a value-matched insurance policy on Bitcoin in its offline vault. Its July 2021 proof of reserves showed an average of 98.12% in cold storage. It supported two-factor authentication and email plus phone-code checks on new devices. Those were Bitbuy's own statements, and the platform behind them has since changed hands, so treat them as history.

Bitbuy did freeze accounts or hold deposits and withdrawals when something looked unusual, such as a larger deposit than normal. Customers on Trustpilot complained about this "red tape" after the move under regulatory oversight. Support fixed most cases if you contacted them.

What Did The App And Support Look Like?

The iOS app had a strong 4.6 stars from about 6,000 ratings when I checked, and the Android app sat near 2 stars from about 1,000 ratings, mostly over being logged out after a day. Express had big colourful buttons and displayed the fee clearly before you confirmed. Pro offered live charting with indicators, open orders, limit and market orders, and mostly CAD pairs plus Bitcoin against a few majors. There was no staking at the time, no crypto card and an OTC desk for trades of $25,000 and up.

Support lived in a help centre and an email address. I asked a general question about listed coins and got an immediate reply. It read as automated, but it answered the question.

What Should Bitbuy Users Use Instead?

If you still hold a Bitbuy account, you will be moved to Robinhood, which says it charges a flat 0.5% on CAD trades for the first few months after launch, with blockchain fees on withdrawals. Its fee schedule sets the fee at 0.5% through October 31, 2026 and 0.95% from November 1, 2026. If you would rather pick a platform deliberately than wait for the invitation, these are my ranked alternatives.

NDAX is also the one that offers crypto staking and an OTC desk, the two things Bitbuy lacked, so it is the closest match for a Bitbuy user who wants a low fee.

Is Bitbuy Legit?

It was. During the years I used it, Bitbuy was a trusted and regulated exchange with no known hacks, and the downsides were high fees and a long verification. Today the better question is where your account lives, and the answer is CCML under Robinhood, a CIRO-regulated dealer. Just do not open a fresh Bitbuy account in the middle of a migration.