Highlights
What Happened To Coinberry?
Coinberry was acquired by WonderFi Technologies, the same company who also bought Bitbuy, another Canadian cryptocurrency exchange. WonderFi has made the decision to shut down Coinberry and migrate all new and existing users to the Bitbuy platform. If you visit Coinberry and try to open an account, you will see a message like this:
What Is Coinberry?
Coinberry is a beginner-focused cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017. They are based out of Toronto and offer 25 digital assets. Their goal, according to their website, is to "make it easy and secure to trade cryptocurrencies in Canada."
Coinberry's key features are 25 cryptocurrencies, free deposits, and beginner-friendly trading. They are also considered safe because they are OSC regulated, registered with FINTRAC, and owned by a publicly traded company. They were acquired by WonderFi in 2022, who also owns Bitbuy, another Canadian cryptocurrency exchange.
Pros & Cons
How Does It Work?
Canadians who are 18 or older can open a Coinberry account and start trading popular crypto assets. You will first need to go through the KYC process and prove your identity. Once your account is open, you can deposit and withdraw funds from your Canadian bank account.
What Does Coinberry Offer?
25 Supported Coins
Buy Bitcoin and other major cryptos like, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, etc. While there are no trading fees, the actual fees are in the spread (more on this below). Coinberry recently delisted 5 coins so there are only 25 cryptocurrencies available now.
Canadian Dollar Deposits and Withdrawals
Coinberry offers e-transfers (under 30 minutes) and wire transfers (0-3 business days). Deposits are free while withdrawals have a fixed fee of 1.50%.
Beginner Friendly Platform
Coinberry offers a web app and mobile app on iOS and Google Play which is easy for anyone to use. It also has many security measures (covered below).
Other Features:
Coinberry previously offered Autopilot, which enabled users to set up recurring purchases, and Coinberry Pay, an easy way to receive cryptocurrency payments. Unfortunately, both of these features have been removed in the March 2023 update. Coinberry still has a referral program that rewards users for inviting friends, but the referral links only redirect traffic to the Bitbuy website.
App Walkthrough
Home Dashboard
Trading Platform
Mobile App
Security Measures
Coinberry has put in place various security measures for user safety.
Overall, Coinberry is considered a safe cryptocurrency exchange in Canada. They offer two-factor authentication and hold crypto in multisig cold storage with their custodian Bitgo, who is insured up to $250 million. They are also OSC-regulated and FINTRAC registered.
With that being said, Coinberry is still a centralized crypto exchange and does not replace the need for a hardware wallet. The main drawback when it comes to security is the inability to withdraw most cryptocurrencies. You can only withdraw 5 coins (BTC, ETH, LTC, XRP, USDC).
User Security Features
Company Security Features
Coinberry Fees & Spreads
Coinberry has recently changed their fee structure which you can find here. If your trading volume is under $250K, they have a 2.00% maker/taker fee which is the highest in Canada. They also hit you with a 1.50% withdrawal fee on Canadian Dollars.
According to our test, Coinberry had a total BTC purchase fee of 2.44% (11th overall). The total BTC selling fee was 1.71% (10th overall) and the BTC spread was last place at 4.19% (18th overall). To compare, NDAX had a total BTC purchase fee 0.49% (1st place), Coinbase was 4.54% (17th place), and Crypto.com was 1.68% (9th place).
Deposit & Withdrawals
Coinberry has two deposit methods, E-Transfer and Wire Transfer and the same for withdrawals. For crypto withdrawals, the fees are fixed.
Deposit Methods:
Type | Fee | Time | Limits (24 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
Interac e-Transfer | Free | Nearly Instant | $50 Min - $10k Max |
Wire Transfer | Free | 3-5 Business Days | $10k Min - Unlimited |
Withdrawal Methods:
Type | Fee | Time | Limits (24 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
Interac e-Transfer | 1.50% | Nearly Instant | $50 Min - $5k Max |
Wire Transfer | 1.50% | 2-3 Business Days | $10k Min - Unlimited |
Crypto Withdrawal Fees:
Type | Fee | Minimum Withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
Bitcoin | 0.0005 BTC | 0.0015 BTC |
Ethereum | 0.007 ETH | 0.057 ETH |
XLM | 0.02 XLM | 26.02 XLM |
Coinberry Reviews According to Reddit
I headed to the App Store, Google Play, Reddit and other websites to see the Coinberry reviews. Overall, you would see that Coinberry does not have a good rating online. All of the recent reviews are complaints about hidden fees, slow withdrawals, and poor customer service.
Coinberry Review: Is It Worth It?
* This video was published Mar 10, 2022 and contains outdated information
Unfortunately, Coinberry is winding down its operations and migrating users to Bitbuy. While Coinberry and Bitbuy are both safe platforms, they are very expensive. I tested 20+ platforms and the best crypto exchange for Canadians is NDAX for its low fees and good security. Read my NDAX review to learn more or sign up to get $10 free when you deposit $100.
Many online reviews complain about Coinberry's slow withdrawals and poor customer support. They also self-promote as an inexpensive option, but that's not the case. Based on my tests, Coinberry charges a total fee of 2.44% to buy Bitcoin (11th overall) and a Bitcoin spread of 4.19% (ranking 18th).
Best Coinberry Alternatives
While Coinberry and Bitbuy are safe platforms, Canada has dozens of choices. After reviewing over 20 crypto exchanges, these are my top picks which have a combination of low fees, security, altcoins, and more.
NDAX had the lowest fee to buy Bitcoin with Canadian dollars (18 platforms tested). It's my top choice in Canada.
Kraken is fully regulated in Canada and offers 200+ cryptos, professional trading, and high liquidity.
One of the largest non-KYC exchanges. You can withdraw 30 BTC/day with just an email address.
Coinberry FAQs
Has Coinberry Ever Been Hacked?
While it was never officially confirmed by Coinberry, there was an alleged hack in 2020. Cipherblade, a blockchain forensics firm, said 8.33 BTC was stolen from Coinberry's hot wallet. Here is a link to more info on reddit.
Is Coinberry A Wallet?
Coinberry provides a custodial wallet where traders can store and transfer cryptocurrencies. However, they are in full control of the private keys, which can pose a risk if Coinberry experiences a hack or wants to lock your account for whatever reason.
Is Coinberry Regulated?
Coinberry Canada is, as required by regulation, registered with FINTRAC in Canada and the OSC in Ontario.
