Summary
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
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:
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 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:
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 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
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.
- Support Center (https://binance.com/en/support)
- Create a Ticket (https://www.binance.com/en/chat)
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) | |
CAD Deposits | N/A |
CAD Withdrawals | N/A (other than P2P Exchange) |
Credit Card | 1.80% (credit card) |
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.
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 |
Company Security |
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.
