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

Bitget is a cryptocurrency exchange for skilled users that offers hundreds of altcoins for Canadians to trade. We wanted to see if Bitget is worth using in Canada, so read on for our Bitget review.

Quick Summary About Bitget For Canadians

Bitget has several features including futures trading, lending, copy trading and bot trading. Bitget is mostly suited to advanced traders who want charting, order book data, advanced order types and low fees for frequent trading.

There are hundreds of cryptocurrencies available on Bitget so it’s a good place to buy altcoins. Trading fees on Bitget are low at just 0.1%, but can be lower if you pay fees with their token BGB. Recently, following Binance and ByBit’s announcements of their departure from Canada and cessation of operations, many Canadians are migrating to Bitget, widely regarded as the top alternative. Bitget is considered to be the best alternative to those and I agree with this.

You cannot deposit Canadian dollars (CAD) directly, but you can deposit crypto for free, use a third-party bank transfer service or pay with a credit or debit card. Basically, you can but crypto via Canadian crypto exchange and then transfer it to Bitget.

Bitget Features For Canadians

Bitget has lots of features such as margin trading, lending, staking, futures trading and bot trading but most of these are not available to Canadians due to regulations.

However, Canadians can buy and sell crypto with Bitget and pay very little fees. Bitget is suitable if there is an altcoin you wish to buy that is not available on Canadian crypto exchanges.

Much like Binance or KuCoin, Bitget is good for trading due to its low fees. If you deposit USDT to Bitget, you can buy altcoins with this at a very low cost.  

Does Bitget have an OTC desk?

Bitget does not currently have an OTC Desk but it does offer personalized services to institutional clients.

Does Bitget Offer Staking and other features?

Bitget has a number of earn features including staking. You can deposit BUSD or USDT for 8% APY. There are varying yields for other cryptocurrencies such as 3% APY for MATIC and 5% APY for DOT.

Bitget also allows you to stake and earn their token BGB. This could be a good way to earn BGB to pay for discounted transaction fees, which you get by holding their token.

Registration & Verification with Bitget as a Canadian

What You Need to Open an Account:

• Email address
• ID document
• Selfie
• Be 18+

To sign up and start trading on Bitget you will need to go through a verification process to start trading. 

You will have to upload an identity document and a selfie. 

In your account profile, go to “ID verification”. 

Click “individual verification” and you can complete the process by entering your name date of birth, and ID document number. 

Finally, you will need to upload pictures of your ID as well as a selfie.

Fees

• Low maker/taker trading fees (0.1%)
• BGB holders’ discount on trading fees

Bitget has low trading fees making it one of the best places to buy altcoins. You can deposit crypto for free but in order to purchase crypto with CAD you will need to use a debit card or go through a third-party bank transfer service such as Banxa. These methods can incur high fees so we don’t recommend Bitget as your main exchange unless you purchase with crypto.

Currencies & Deposit Methods

Bitget doesn’t accept CAD or USD fiat deposits directly. The cheapest way to buy altcoins on Bitget is to deposit USDT or another stablecoin from one of the Canadian crypto platforms. You can also use their P2P platform that allows you to deposit directly with Interac e-transfer and commission free.

If you choose to use Banxa, you will create an order and pay via Interac e-Transfer or card payment. The crypto will be deposited to your Bitget wallet.

You can also use a credit or debit card, but this might be difficult if you have a Canadian bank. Some Canadian banks don’t allow crypto transactions and the card fees can be more than 5%, which is high. I would recommend sticking to P2P. 

Bitget Spreads

A spread in trading is the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay (bid price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to sell (ask price). The spread goes to the exchange as a profit. 

Bitget has some of the lowest fees and spreads and is comparable to Binance and KuCoin.

If you use a third-party service such as Banxa to purchase crypto via Interac e-Transfer, you will find they charge a high spread, so you end up with less crypto than you intended.

How Much Does it Really Cost To Trade with Bitget?

We used Banxa to buy BTC ($100 worth). There is no fee for this service but there are trading fees and spreads that can affect how much crypto you end up receiving. 

We received 0.00331814 BTC or $94.09 worth. The amount you will receive is displayed on the Banxa order form before you submit. We therefore paid $5.91 or 5.91% in fees. 

Since Bitget charges a 0.1% trading fee, the remaining amount is the spread charged by Banxa.

Remember that Bitget does not allow CAD withdrawals, so you will only be able to withdraw crypto. If you buy a token on Bitget and wish to sell it, you can sell it for a stablecoin such as USDC and then withdraw that to a Canadian exchange where you can sell it for CAD and withdraw to your Canadian bank account. 

Bitget Liquidity

Bitget is a large crypto exchange with more than $482 million in daily trade volume and therefore has sufficient liquidity. CoinMarketCap gives Bitget a rating of 683 out of 1000 for its BTC/USDT pair meaning it has good liquidity. In comparison, Binance, the world’s largest exchange, has a score of 1000.

How Long Do Deposits Take?

We used Banxa to send an Interac e-Transfer order to Bitget. The order took 30 minutes to complete.

How Long Does it Take to Withdraw Coins?

Withdrawals depend on the blockchain network. To withdraw bitcoin to a private crypto wallet it can take up to 10 minutes. Bitget does not allow CAD withdrawals. 

Security and safety

Is Bitget safe for Canadians to use? We think so, but you should use caution. 

To secure your account, Bitget has two-factor authentication and will send you emails every time it detects a login or you withdraw.

You can also set up and anti-phishing code to be included in emails you receive, so you can always tell if an email from Bitget is real.

Bitget aims to protect customer funds with its emergency insurance coverage of $300 million. You can make a claim if you lose your assets through no fault of your own. 

Mobile and Desktop App Review

The Bitget platform can be confusing for beginners since there is advanced charting and order book data.

If you wish to make market or limit orders, you’ll want to trade from your spot trading account. Crypto pairs can be found on the left side and you can search using the search bar.

To use a third-party service to purchase crypto with fiat, you can select “Quick buy” under “buy crypto” at the top menu. 

You will enter the amount of bitcoin (or other crypto) you want to purchase and then create an order through Banxa. You will pay Banxa via Interac e-Transfer and they will purchase bitcoin for you and it will be deposited to your Bitget wallet.

Keep in mind that Banxa charges a high spread. 

Mobile App

Bitget’s mobile app has a 4.4-star rating on the Apple App Store and a 4.6-star rating on Google Play. 

The app offers the same trading features as the desktop platform and therefore can be confusing for beginners. However, if you need advanced trading data on the go, then the mobile app is worth downloading.

Customer support

Bitget has a 2.2-star rating on Trustpilot. 

Reviewers say customer support is unhelpful. People also seem to think their copy trading feature is a scam, but it’s more likely that these users don’t fully understand how it works. I find most of the review misleading though I do not rely too much on Trustpilot reviews. 

Some people enjoy Bitget, however and have no problem with the exchange.

Bitget is not a crypto exchange for beginners and if you do not know how copy trading or futures trading works, then it is not a good idea to use them, as this customer points out. 

Does Bitget Restrict or Freeze Accounts?

Any crypto exchange has the ability to freeze your account if they suspect suspicious behaviour such as trading larger amounts, or more frequently, than usual. This is to protect you from fraud since someone may have gained access to your account. The exchange may suspect you of money laundering or other criminal activities as well and may freeze or close your account without warning. 

Can Bitget Track where you Receive and Send Crypto?

Bitget can track where you have received and sent crypto since crypto trades are recorded on the blockchain and are viewable at any time to anyone. 

The identity documents you upload to Bitget are linked with your account and any transfers in and out can be seen on the blockchain. It’s therefore easy to link your identity with wallets and transactions. 

It’s therefore not possible to remain anonymous when you use a crypto exchange. If you’re looking for anonymity, try a decentralized exchange instead.

Bitget Alternatives

If you’re looking for an alternative to Bitget we recommend Coinsmart or NDAX since these are Canadian exchanges. They both offer free Interac e-Transfer deposits and withdrawals so you can buy crypto easily with Canadian dollars. 

If you want many altcoins than Binance could be a good alternative but keep in mind that Binance is currently not legal in Ontario.

Coinsmart is Canada’s regulated exchange and has excellent security and a beginner-friendly platform. 

NDAX has low trading fees, staking, and a wide range of cryptocurrencies.

	Bitget	Coinsmart	NDAX
Trading fees	0.1% or lower	0% to 1.5%	0.2%
Cryptocurrencies	500+	23+	35+
Additional features	Copy trading, futures trading, bot trading, staking, institutional services	OTC Desk	Staking, OTC Desk
Customer Support	Poor	Good	Poor
Security	Average	Excellent	Good

Common Crypto Exchange Scams.

There are plenty of crypto exchange scams and the most common ones include sending phishing emails. 

In these emails, scammers will send you an email with the same branding as the exchange in order to fool you. However, Bitget allows you to set a phishing code in your account. Any time Bitget emails you, it will include this code within the email, so you know that it is legitimate. 

An exchange will never reach out to you first or ask you for a payment or account information. If you ever receive a message asking you for money, delete it.

There are also plenty of Bitget staff impersonators on social media who may reach out to you. Remember, real Bitget customer support will never reach out to you first.

Conclusion

Is Bitget legit for Canadians? Yes. While you may not be able to buy crypto on Bitget directly with Canadian dollars without using a P2P marketplace, third-party or a debit card, Bitget is still a good crypto exchange that Canadians can use due to its low fees.

Bitget is comparable to Binance and KuCoin with similar features, fees, and layout. Using either of these exchanges is perfect for finding altcoins not listed elsewhere and trading with the lowest fees in the indutry. We always recommend to move your crypto off exchanges to a private crypto wallet for safekeeping.