Binance is one of the world's most popular cryptocurrency exchanges, but does it live up to the hype? And is it good for Canadians specifically?
This review will cover a wide range of topics like fees, spreads, funding methods, and more. At RankFi, we've reviewed 20+ Canadian exchanges since 2017. We've tried and tested the most popular apps so I'll tell you why Binance is one of the best and also where it falls short. Let's jump in.
The Bottom Line
Binance is the best altcoin exchange for Canadians with low fees. It has 600+ coins, 0.10% trading fees, and the lowest spreads in the industry. Plus, it has 30+ other features and services. On the downside, Binance is banned in Ontario and is not the best for beginners.
Overall, you should use Binance if you want to trade altcoins or access many features that aren't available on Canadian exchanges. But it doesn't replace a Canadian exchange. You'll still need a local exchange as a fiat on-ramp/off-ramp for Canadian Dollars.
Pros & Cons
Overview
Total Fees & Spreads: Mar 02, 2022
Coins Offered | 600+ |
Total BTC Purchase Fee | 1.60% (7th place) |
Total BTC Selling Fee | N/A (can't cash out with CAD) |
BTC Spread | 0.00% (🏆 1st place) |
Trading Fee | 0.10% or less |
Funding Methods | Credit card or P2P Exchange |
CAD Deposits | 1.80% (credit card) |
CAD Withdrawals | Not supported (only in P2P Exchange) |
BTC Withdrawal Fee | 0.0005 BTC |
Notable Features | 600+ altcoins Lowest spreads in the world 30+ features and services Advanced trading |
Video Review
Don't want to read? Watch the video review published on Apr 23, 2021. Some info in the video could be outdated so refer to the rest of the blog post as well.
About Binance
Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world with 90M+ registered users and billions in daily trading volume. They were founded in 2017 and have no official headquarters because they are a remote company.
The main appeal for Binance is they have 600+ cryptocurrencies and the lowest fees and spreads in the industry. Since it's the largest exchange in the world by trading volume, you can get great rates. And for their 5th anniversary, they even cut Bitcoin trading fees to zero globally.
In addition, you can also use Binance for a huge selection of features like advanced trading, staking, bots, NFTs, research, data, and much more. They also have their own native utility token called Binance Coin (BNB) which is a top 10 cryptocurrency by market cap. Basically, you can do it all with Binance.
More Info
- Founded in 2017
- World's largest crypto exchange by trading volume
- 90+ million registered users around the world
- 10+ million downloads on just the Google Play app
- 3500+ employees according to LinkedIn
Binance in Ontario
Binance has been back and forth in Ontario and it's hard to keep track. In 2021, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) accused Binance of not complying with the Ontario Securities Act. Rather than comply, Binance decided to cease operations in Ontario altogether.
Can Ontario Use Binance Right Now In 2022?
No, Ontario residents are still restricted from using Binance. For regulatory reasons, Binance and many exchanges ceased operations in Ontario. On the bright side, in June 2022, Binance announced they will be coming back to Ontario in 2024 at the latest.
Binance Ontario Timeline
- Jun 2022: Binance expects to return to Ontario by 2024 at the latest (Financial Times)
- Mar 2022: Binance continued to operate. They will cease operations for real this time (Cointelegraph)
- Dec 2021: All users must close their positions by Dec 31, 2021
- June 2021: Binance announces they will cease operations in Ontario (Cointelegraph)
What Is The Best Binance Alternative for Ontario?
KuCoin is the most similar platform to Binance and Ontario users can sign up with just an email address. No KYC required. Trade 700+ altcoins with 0.10% trading fees and low spreads. Plus, get lots of other features like derivatives, trading bots, and more.
Screenshots
Platform & Features
Binance leads the crypto industry in total trading volume and quantity of features. If trading 600+ cryptocurrencies at low fees is not enough, you'll still find 30+ services and features for those wanting to explore the crypto space.
This ranges from trading bots and derivatives to token launchpads, staking, and a lot more. Some features could be geo-restricted in Canada for regulatory reasons but let's see everything Binance offers below.
Features Overview
- iOS, Android and Web app
- 600+ cryptocurrencies
- Advanced Trading
- Binance Lite (beginner trading in the mobile app)
- Recurring Buys
- Binance Earn (interest accounts, staking, etc)
- Liquidity Pools
- Binance Coin (BNB: Their own native utility token)
- 24/7 Customer Support
- Binance Academy & Research
- NFT Marketplace
- Referral Program
- Token Launchpad
- Loans (lending & borrowing)
- Binance DEX (decentralized exchange)
- And more...
1. 600+ Cryptocurrencies
Binance has a variety of 600+ coins to trade. There are many trading pairs and users can trade spot, margin, and futures. And like I mentioned earlier, you get 0.10% trading fees and the lowest spreads in the industry which makes Binance an attractive platform. Leading platforms in Canada like Newton only offer 70 coins. So Binance is a good compliment to a Canadian exchange if you want lots of coins.
2. iOS, Android and Web App
Binance has a sleek U/X with many features that can be accessed on all of your devices. The Google Play app has over 10 million downloads with a 4.5-star rating at the time of this review.
3. Advanced Trading
Advanced Trade Layout 24. Binance Lite (mobile app only)
5. Recurring Buys
6. Binance Earn
Binance has many offers to start earning interest on your crypto. You can pick different options based on your risk-level which range from staking, locked savings (7-90 days), flexible savings (withdraw anytime) and more. The interest rates range anywhere from 0.50% to 60% APY in some cases.
7. Binance Coin (BNB)
Binance has their own native utility token called BNB. It can be traded like any other cryptocurrency and owning it can give you special perks such as reduced trading fees, access to token sales and more.
Also, every 3 months Binance burns some BNB which permanently reduces the supply. At the time of this writing, over 31 million BNB have been burned so far. The quarterly burns will continue until 100 million BNB are destroyed forever which is 50% of the total supply.
8. Token Launchpad
9. Crypto Loans (Lending & Borrowing)
10. NFT Marketplace
11. Other Binance Features
- Referral Program
- Binance DEX (decentralized exchange)
- Binance Academy & Research
- Institutional & VIP Services
- OTC Trading
- Binance Pay
- Trust Wallet (owned by Binance)
- Binance Charity
- APIs
- Binance Academy (education, learn & earn)
Customer Support
If you need to contact customer support, Binance has a 24/7 support team via live chat on their website. They also have an extensive help center with FAQs, tutorials and videos. I have not tested their support so I can't review the response time. However, I've been using Binance since 2017 and have never even needed to use their support team.
- Support Center (https://binance.com/en/support)
- Create a Ticket (https://www.binance.com/en/chat)
Fees & Spread
Binance had a BTC spread of 0.00% (1st place) when tested. The total BTC purchase fee was 1.60% (7th place) for buying with Canadian dollars. This total purchase fee is not bad, but it's high because credit card is the only option for Canadians.
The best way to use Binance in Canada is to fund your account with crypto. Then, Binance is the cheapest crypto exchange in Canada for buying 600+ altcoins because of its low spreads and 0.10% trading fees. I recommend Newton or VirgoCX as your fiat on/off ramp because you can get low fees and free crypto withdrawals.
Binance Fees | Amount |
|---|---|
*Total BTC Purchase Fee | 1.60% (7th place) |
*Total BTC Selling Fee | N/A (can't cash out CAD unless using P2P Exchange) |
Trading Fee | 0.10% is the standard rate 20% discount if you pay fees with BNB 10% discount forever if you sign up with this referral link |
CAD Deposits | 1.80% (credit card) |
CAD Withdrawals | Not supported (other than P2P Exchange) |
BTC Withdrawal Fee | 0.0005 BTC |
We tested 18 Canadian cryptocurrency exchanges at the same time to compare the true fees. This data was collected on Mar 2, 2022 at 4:41pm and is subject to change since spreads and prices change daily.
- Total BTC Purchase Fee = CAD Deposit Fee + Trading Fee + Reference Price Difference
- Total BTC Selling Fee = CAD Withdrawal Fee + Trading Fee + Reference Price Difference
You can compare all platforms from the price test on this page.
Price Test & Spread
Price Test (On Mar 2, 2022) | Prices |
|---|---|
BTC Spread | 0.00% (🏆 Tied for 1st place) |
BTC Buy Price | $55,607 |
BTC Sell Price | $55,607 |
Ref. Price Difference | Buy: -0.30% Sell: -0.30% |
Reference Price (Google) | $55,774 |
Deposit & Withdrawals
Binance is not a good fiat on/off ramp for Canadian dollars. You can only use a credit card or P2P Exchange which is either expensive or confusing. The best way to fund your Binance account is with crypto from a local Canadian exchange like Newton or VirgoCX. It's worth it though because once your account is funded, you get access to everything Binance has to offer.
CAD Deposits
Type | Fee | Time | Limits (24 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
Credit / Debit Card | 1.80% | Instant | Min $20 - Max $6.7k |
P2P Exchange (E-Transfer & More) | 0.00%-0.35% | (Varies on seller) | Min $100 |
CAD Withdrawals
Type | Fee | Time | Limits (24 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
P2P Exchange | 0.00%-0.35% | (Varies on seller) | Min $100 |
Crypto Withdrawal Fees
Type | Fee | Minimum Withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
Bitcoin | 0.0005 BTC | 0.001 BTC |
Ethereum | 0.002 ETH | 0.01 ETH |
USDC | 10 USDC | 50 USDC |
XLM | 0.02 XLM | 40 XLM |
Cheapest Way to Fund Your Binance Account in Canada
Security
Overall, Binance is a safe platform. Here are the security features rounded up in a list and info about their hack in 2019:
List of Security Features |
|---|
User Security |
Company Security |
Binance Was Hacked in 2019
in 2019, Binance lost $40 million or about 7,000 Bitcoin to hackers. On the bright side, it was only 2% of Binance's total Bitcoin holdings. Also, Binance covered these losses for its users via the SAFU insurance fund so no users actually lost any crypto. Despite suffering a hack, no users were affected and Binance is still considered safe.
Can You Trust Binance?
Yes, Binance is a safe cryptocurrency exchange. Their SAFU insurance fund has nearly $1 Billion which might be the largest insurance fund in the industry. Users also have lots of security features like 2FA, address whitelisting, and more.
⚠️ Although Binance is safe, 44% of platforms we tested have had a hack or incident in the past. The safest way to store crypto for the long term is on a hardware wallet like the Ledger Nano or any wallet where you control the private keys.
Binance Compared
Here at RankFi, we're tracking Canada's top cryptocurrency exchanges. You can compare all of them below to find the best one for you:
Name | Overall Rank | Coins | CAD Wallet? | Total BTC Purchase Fee | Spread (BTC) | Trading Fee | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1/18 | 70+ | Yes | 0.69% | 1.34% | 0% | ||
 NDAX(#1 overall) | 2/18 | 30+ | Yes | 0.49% | 0.35% | 0.20% | |
3/18 | 60+ | Yes | 0.66% | 1.11% | 0% | ||
4/18 | 600+ | No | 1.60% | 0.00% | 0.10% | ||
5/18 | 700+ | No | 2.82% | 0.00% | 0.10% | ||
6/18 | 2 | Yes | 1.03% | 2.26% | 0% | ||
7/18 | 200+ | Yes | 1.68% | 3.11% | 0% | ||
8/18 | 150+ | Yes | 1.60% | 0.05% | 0.16% / 0.26% | ||
9/18 | 40 | Yes | 2.94% | 3.17% | 1.50% | ||
10/18 | 35+ | Yes | 1.24% | 1.67% | 0.50% | ||
11/18 | 25+ | Yes | 1.99% | 0.41% | 1.50% | ||
12/18 | 40 | Yes | 1.23 | 2.63% | 0% | ||
13/18 | 300+ | No | 3.42% | 0.41% | 0.41% | ||
14/18 | 140+ | No | 4.54% | 3.07% | 0% | ||
15/18 | 65+ | No | N/A | 0.05% | 0.40% / 0.60% | ||
16/18 | 16 | Yes | 2.51% | 2.82% | 0.20% | ||
17/18 | 29 | Yes | 2.44% | 4.19% | 0% | ||
 Gate.io [banned] | N/A | 1000+ | No | 2.92% | 0.00% | 0.20% |
Here are the best crypto exchanges for Canadians right now. We assessed 18 platforms across 60 variables and 1080+ data points.
Summary
In the crypto industry, not many platforms offer more coins and features than Binance. And they don't compete on fees either since Binance has the highest trading volume in the world. Binance is just missing support for Canadian Dollars but it's not difficult to fund your account with crypto.
Overall, Binance is the best exchange for trading altcoins plus it has 30 other features as well. It has 0.10% trading fees and the lowest spreads in the industry. However, it doesn't replace a Canadian exchange. You'll need to fund your account with crypto so make sure you sign up for a local exchange as well.