Our Review
Bittrex Global offers 300+ coins, 0.75% trading fees, and unfortunately, it doesn't support Canadian dollars. The BTC spread was 0.41% when tested (tied for 7th place) and the total BTC purchase fee was 3.42% (16th place). Overall, there are cheaper and better platforms for Canadians to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
If you want to buy top cryptocurrencies as cheap as possible, we recommend Newton. If you want advanced features and lots of altcoins, Binance and KuCoin (for Ontario) are the best Bittrex alternatives. See alternatives section for more info.
Where It Shines:
Where It Falls Short:
Overview
Total Fees & Spreads: Mar 02, 2022
Coins Offered | 300+ |
Total BTC Purchase Fee | 3.42% (16th place) |
Total BTC Selling Fee | N/A (can't cash out CAD) |
BTC Spread | 0.41% (Tied for 7th place) |
Trading Fee | Starts at 0.75% |
Funding Methods | USD or EUR only (wire transfer, credit card, SEPA transfer) |
CAD Deposits | Not Supported |
CAD Withdrawals | Not Supported |
BTC Withdrawal Fee | 0.0003 BTC |
Notable Features | 300+ coins, advanced trading, founded by 3 cybersecurity engineers, |
Don't want to read? Watch the video review published on Mar 11, 2022. Some info in the video could be outdated so refer to the rest of the blog post as well.
About Bittrex
Bittrex was founded in 2014 by three cybersecurity engineers and has offices in the USA and Liechtenstein. The crypto exchange has two platforms called Bittrex and Bittrex Global which are available to customers in the USA and internationally.
They market themselves as a security-first platform with "lightning fast trades, dependable digital wallets and industry-leading security."
Some Stats:
- Founded in 2014
- Has offices in the USA and Liechtenstein
- 300+ employees according to LinkedIn
Bittrex vs. Bittrex Global
Bittrex is for US customers only and offers its own selection of cryptocurrencies. Bittrex Global is for international customers that live outside of the USA.
Opening An Account
Opening a Bittrex account is very simple, takes 5-10 minutes and every account requires to have their identity verified due to KYC regulations. Here's what the process looks like:
- Step 1: Enter your email address
- Step 2: Enter your profile info (full name, country, address, date of birth)
- Step 3: ID Verification (upload front and back of government issued ID, selfie photo)
- Step 4: Wait as they verify your ID and in a few minutes you should see a message that verification is complete. You can then add funds and begin trading.
Fees & Spread
Updated: Apr 1, 2022
Bittrex Global Fees | Amount |
|---|---|
*Total BTC Purchase Fee | 3.42% (16th place) |
*Total BTC Selling Fee | N/A (can't cash out CAD) |
Trading Fee | 0.75% |
CAD Deposits | Not Supported |
CAD Withdrawals | Not Supported |
BTC Withdrawal Fee | 0.0003 BTC |
Other Fees | 3% Credit Card deposits |
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.
Dynamic Trading Fees
Price Test & Spread
Price Test (On Mar 2, 2022) | Prices |
|---|---|
BTC Spread | 0.41% (Tied for 7th place) |
BTC Buy Price | $55,591 |
BTC Sell Price | $55,363 |
Ref. Price Difference | Buy: -0.33% Sell: -0.74% |
Reference Price (Google) | $55,774 |
What We Found
Bittrex Global had a total BTC purchase fee of 3.42% (16th place). The BTC spread was 0.41% (tied for 7th place) and the trading fees start at 0.75%. Overall, it's an expensive platform and Canadians can find much cheaper ways to buy Bitcoin and altcoins.
In comparison NDAX had a total BTC purchase fee of 0.49% (1st place). It also offers advanced trading but only 30+ coins.
Deposit & Withdrawals
Updated: Apr 1, 2022
Bittrex Global only supports U.S Dollars and Euros, not Canadian dollars. You can fund your account with credit card, however you will be subject to expensive 3% fees. If you will be using Bittrex Global, we recommend funding your account with crypto from a crypto exchange that supports Canadian bank accounts. The best options are Newton and VirgoCX.
Deposit Methods
Type | Fee | Time | Limits (24 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
🇺🇸 (USD) Wire Transfer | Free | 0-1 Business Days | $50 min - No Max |
🇪🇺 (EUR) Wire Transfer | ? | 0-1 Business Days | €20 min - No Max |
🇪🇺 (EUR) SEPA Credit Transfer | ? | 0-3 Business Days | €20 min - No Max |
Credit / Debit Card (USD or EURO only) | 3.00% (plus potential FX fees from your bank) | Instant | $10k |
Withdrawal Methods
Type | Fee | Time | Limits (24 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
🇺🇸 (USD) Wire Transfer | $25 | 0-1 Business Days | $10 min - No Max |
🇪🇺 (EUR) Wire Transfer | ? | 0-1 Business Days | €10 min - No Max |
🇪🇺 (EUR) SEPA Credit Transfer | ? | 0-3 Business Days | €10 min - No Max |
Crypto Withdrawal Fees
Type | Fee | Minimum Withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
Bitcoin | 0.0003 BTC | 0.0009 BTC |
Ethereum | 0.0077 ETH | 0.0231 ETH |
USDC | 73 USDC | 219 USDC |
XLM | 0.05 XLM | 0.15 XLM |
Platform & Features
Updated: Apr 1, 2022
List of Features:
- iOS, Android and Web app
- 300+ Cryptocurrencies
- Advanced Trading
- Instant Buy and Sell
- Leveraged Tokens
- Tokenized Stocks
- Staking (Cardano only)
- Referral Program
1. iOS, Android and Web App
2. Advanced Trading
- Various Order Types: Market / Limit / Stop Limit / Trailing / OCO / Ladder Limit
- Customizable Dashboard (edit chart preferences, layout, keyboard shortcuts, and more)
- Dark theme / light theme
3. Instant Buy and Sell
4. Leveraged Tokens
5. Tokenized Stocks
6. Staking
- Earn up to 5.50% in ADA rewards
- Just a minimum of 1 ADA required
- Paid out monthly
- Flexible - withdraw funds anytime
7. Referral Program
8. Other Features
- API Keys
- Website Status
Security
Company Security Features
- Never been hacked (founded in 2014)
- Founded by three cybersecurity engineers
- Holds crypto in cold storage
- Cold storage is insured up to $300 million
- KYC required (must prove identity to sign up)
- Not clear if they are FINTRAC registered and licensed in Canada
User Security Features
- 2-Factor Authentication
- Withdrawal Whitelisting
- View login history fo suspicious activity (IP addresses, devices, times, etc)
- Optional Email Notifications
- Add/Remove Trusted Devices
- Create An IP Whitelist
- View website status in real-time
Can You Trust Them?
Yes, Bittrex is considered a safe cryptocurrency exchange. They have 2FA, store crypto in cold storage, a $300M in insurance policy, and have never had any hacks. They've also been around since 2014 which is pretty long for the crypto industry.
⚠️ Although Bittrex is safe, 44% of platforms we tested have had a hack or incident in the past. We strongly recommend storing and protecting your crypto on a hardware wallet or any wallet where you own the private keys.
Customer Support
Bittrex offers tutorials and an extensive help desk to answer frequently asked questions for customers. They also have a 24/7 live chat support if you want to talk to someone in person - however this has many negative reviews online.
In my experience of using Bittrex since 2017, I've never even had to test their support because the platform has always worked for me. However, many reviews and comments online claim the support is extremely slow and often non-responsive.
Here are the best crypto exchanges for Canadians right now. We assessed 18 platforms across 60 variables and 1080+ data points.
