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Binance

Binance Canada

600+

Coins 

0.10%

Trading Fee 

Remote

HQ

Last Updated Jul 6, 2023  |  Affiliate Disclosure

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Summary

  • Binance is a popular altcoin exchange because it offers 600+ altcoins, high liquditity, and low fees.
  • However, in 2021 they pulled their services out of Ontario and in May 2023, they announced they will be pulling out of Canada entirely.
  • If you want a similar altcoin exchange with great rates, you should see my review on MEXC or visit my best altcoin exchanges. The best overall exchange for Canadians is NDAX.

Binance Canada Review

Before Binance decided to leave Canada, it was one of the top platforms to trade hundreds of cryptocurrencies at great rates. They had 600+ coins, 0.10% fees, and the highest trading volume in the world. However, now Canadians need to find something else.

If you want a similar altcoin exchange, MEXC is one of the closest Binance alternatives. It has a similar user interface, 1,500+ coins, 200x leverage, and great rates. It's also quite large with 10M+ users and billions in trading volume. Plus, anyone can sign up with just an email because they do not require KYC.

Video published Apr 23, 2021 (refer to the blog for the most updated info)

In the rest of this post, I'll cover everything you need to know about Binance Canada. To build a fair review, I signed up for 20+ popular crypto apps in Canada and tested each platform across 60 variables for a total of 1,050+ data points. If you wish to compare each platform yourself, you can visit my free comparison tool here.

Pros & Cons Binance

  • 600+ popular cryptocurrencies
  • Zero fees on BTC trading pairs and competitive fees (it's the cheapest altcoin exchange out of 20+ platforms reviewed)
  • Advanced trading tools and features (charting tools, leverage trading, etc)
  • Loaded with features (trading bots, lending, NFTs, and much more)
  • Highly secure (multi-billion dollar insurance fund, good track record, proof of reserves)
  • Pulling out of Canada 
  • Banned in Ontario by the OSC (Ontario Securities Commission)
  • No Canadian Dollars. Doesn't support CAD bank accounts or CAD wallets or trading pairs. That's where Newton or VirgoCX comes in
  • Overwhelming for beginners

What Happened To Binance In Canada?

In May 2023, Binance announced they are withdrawing their services from Canada. They already pulled out of Ontario in 2021 but will now be leaving Canada altogether. Binance said in a tweet that, “new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits provided to crypto exchanges makes the Canada market no longer tenable for Binance at this time.”

This is a result of stricter rules for Canadian crypto trading platforms that was put in place by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). Alongside Binance, OKX, Paxos, Gate.io, and other crypto exchanges have pulled out as well.

Binance in Ontario: What You Need to Know

Does Binance Work in Ontario (2023): Unfortunately, Ontario residents are restricted from using Binance. Due to regulatory issues, Binance and many other exchanges ceased operations in Ontario. On the bright side, Binance announced they will return to Ontario in 2024.

Why Was Binance Banned in Ontario? In 2021, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) banned Binance, Gate.io, and other crypto exchanges for not complying with the Ontario Securities Act. Rather than comply, which would have taken lots of resources, Binance decided to seize its operations in Ontario all together.

How Can Ontarians Get Around the Ban? Ontario residents cannot open a Binance account, regardless of whether he or she has a VPN. That's because to open a Binance account, you must pass KYC (know your customer), which means that you need to show proof that you live in a supported region. So even if you have a VPN, it won't work trying to sign up for Binance. The best way around it is to use crypto exchanges supported in Ontario.

What Is Binance?

If you're unfamiliar with the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and has grown to 120+ million users. Binance is significantly larger than its competition. For example, their trading volume is higher than the next 5 crypto exchanges combined.

Binance has 600+ cryptocurrencies listed, zero-fee Bitcoin trading, and the highest trading volume in the world, among many other services. Overall, people enjoy the platform because of its competitive fees and wide selection of crypto assets.

How Does Binance Work?

Binance does not support Canadian bank accounts so you can't use payment methods like e-Transfer or bank transfers to fund your account. It does, however, have a built-in wallet that allows Canadians to deposit and withdraw crypto. Here is how it works step by step:

  • Choose the cryptocurrency you want to deposit
  • Copy your wallet address
  • Transfer crypto to Binance using a CAD-supported exchange (Top choice is Newton)
  • Wait for the funds to show up
  • Start trading 600+ cryptos

You can fund your Binance account with a credit card or with the the P2P exchange, however those are expensive or confusing choices. The fastest, low-cost method is to use any crypto exchange that supports Canadian bank accounts. The best choices are Newton and VirgoCX.

Key Features

Binance Advanced Trade Classic View

Binance is loaded with features. They have more services than any centralized crypto exchange. While some features are unavailable in Canada, like the Binance Visa Card, it is still far ahead compared to Canadian-based platforms which barely offer 100 coins or staking. Here's an overview of its key offers:

  • Variety of Cryptocurrencies: Binance has 600+ coins listed. This is far more cryptocurrencies than most centralized trading platforms, especially ones based in Canada (all of which have less than 100).
  • Low Fees (hidden fees included): Binance has zero-fee trading on all Bitcoin pairs and 0.10% trading fees on all other coins. More importantly, because of their high trading volume, you can trade with low spreads which is what helps make Binance cheaper than its competitors.
  • Advanced Trading Tools: Binance users get a professional trading platform with charting tools, advanced order types, live order book, plus other customizations and features you can set up. It also has margin trading and futures trading depending on where you are located.
  • Variety of Features: Binance is the ultimate crypto exchange when it comes to features. Crypto enthusiasts can find crypto lending, Binance Earn (interest account & staking), 24/7 customer support, a token launchpad, and its own crypto wallet called Trust Wallet. It even has its own blockchain called Binance Smart Chain.

Trading Accounts

Binance offers spot trading, margin, and futures accounts. With 600+ coins listed, there are many trading pairs, most of which are in USDT and BNB. 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 place for altcoins.

Trading Dashboard

Binance's trading platform has a professional user interface which is also fully customizable. It's accessible on a mobile and desktop version so you can begin trading anywhere. Unfortunately, Binance doesn't have CAD trading pairs but you can fund your account by depositing USDT or crypto to easily trade cryptos.

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.

Binance Mobile App

Binance Earn

Binance offers various ways to earn staking rewards and interest on your digital assets. 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.

Binance Coin (BNB)

The Binance Coin (BNB) is Binance's native utility token. Owning it gives you special benefits, like reduced trading fees, access to token sales, and more. BNB coins are burned every 3 months which permanently reduces the supply. So far, over 31 million BNB have been burned. This will continue until 100 million BNB have been destroyed forever, which is 50% of the total supply.

Other Notable Features

  • Binance Launchpad
  • Crypto Loans
  • Buy and Sell NFTs
  • OTC Trading
  • P2P Exchange
  • Learn and Earn programs
  • Binance Card (although not available for Canadians yet)
  • Referral Program

Customer Support

If you need to contact customer support, Binance has a 24/7 customer support system 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.

Fees & Spread

To get a fair review, I tested Binance alongside 20 other crypto exchanges in Canada across a variety of fees. Overall, Binance had the most competitive fees in Canada for trading altcoins. However, it's only worthwhile if you fund your account with crypto. I found Newton or VirgoCX to be the best choice for sending crypto to Binance cheaply and safely.

The total Bitcoin purchase fee was 1.60% (7th place). That number was high because the only Canadian dollar payment method was with a credit card. The BTC spread, however, was 0.00% (1st place) and the spread on altcoins is lower than most Canadian platforms. So once your Binance account has USDT on it, it becomes the cheapest place to buy cryptocurrencies that I found.

Fee Type

Amount

*Total BTC Purchase Fee

1.60% (7th place)

*Total BTC Selling Fee

N/A (can't cash out CAD unless using P2P Exchange)

*BTC Spread

0.00% (Tied for 1st place)

Trading Fee (maker taker)

0.10% (standard rate)

+20% discount if you pay fees with BNB

+10% discount with this referral link

CAD Deposits

N/A

CAD Withdrawals

N/A (other than P2P Exchange)

Credit Card

1.80% (credit card)

BTC Withdrawal Fee

0.0005 BTC

More Information

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

Deposit & Withdrawals

Binance is not a good fiat on/off ramp for Canadians. While Binance offers 9 fiat currencies, CAD trading pairs and CAD bank accounts are not on the list. Your three choices are to use a credit card, peer to peer trading, or a crypto transfer. The crypto transfer is the best choice. Once you have USDT on your Binance account though, you get very competitive rates.

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 considered one of the most secure platforms in the industry. It takes many security measures for user protection which you can see below. After FTX collapsed, Binance also started a Proof of Reserves trend for the industry.

List of Security Features

User Security

  • Two factor authentication (via Google authenticator app, SMS, email, or security key)
  • Withdrawal whitelist feature
  • Anti-phishing code to identify legitimate emails
  • Add and remove trusted devices
  • View your account history for suspicious activity (logins, IP Addresses, dates, etc)
  • Disable account button for emergencies

Company Security

  • Assets are held in offline cold storage (we don't know how much)
  • SAFU (Secure Asset Fund for Users) - An insurance fund that will repay users if there is ever a hack. 10% of all trading fees are allocated to this insurance account. Currently, this fund is valued at approximately $1 billion
  • Proof of reserves (although this is not 100% full-proof)
  • Compliant and legal in many countries like the USA, Australia, Canada, and more
  • Automatically monitoring for suspicious activity 24/7
  • They launched Binance DEX, a decentralized platform that can be used with full control of your private keys
  • Suffered a hack in 2019 for $40M (Binance SAFU did cover the losses for users)

Binance Suffered a Hack 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. 

Is Binance Safe?

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.

MEXC Is The Best Binance Alternative

MEXC is the most similar Binance alternative that's available for Canadians. Users can sign up with just an email address because no KYC is required. You will be able to trade 1500+ altcoins with zero spot trading fees, up to 200x leverage, and more. Sign up to get up to $1,000 free.

Final Thoughts

Not many platforms offer more coins and features than Binance. It also has competitive fees and is considered secure. It just needs to relaunch in Canada and add support for CAD bank accounts.

Before leaving Canada, Binance was the best altcoin exchange for Canadians with 600+ coins. It comes with 0.10% trading fees and the lowest spreads in the industry, plus 30 other features. Now, the best alternative is MEXC.

Reasons to Use Binance

  • Lowest trading fees and spreads in the industry
  • 600+ coins and 30+ features
  • Pro trading terminal with spot, margin, and futures
  • Great reputation and security

Reasons to Not Use Binance

  • No CAD fiat wallets or trading pairs
  • Banned in Canada but might return in 2024
  • Not beginner-friendly

Author

Alex is the owner of RankFi.com, where he covers all things finance, Web3, and cryptocurrency. He has been investing in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies since 2017.


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