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Coinberry

Coinberry

25

Coins 

2%

Trading Fee 

Toronto

HQ

Last Updated May 4, 2023  |  Affiliate Disclosure

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Overview

  • Coinberry is shutting down and no longer accepting new sign ups. They are directing new customers to Bitbuy, another cryptocurrency platform owned by same parent company, WonderFi.
  • Coinberry was a beginner-friendly crypto exchange for Canadians headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It has 25 coins, a simple and secure interface and users can quickly add funds from their Canadian bank account.
  • Coinberry and Bitbuy both have zero commissions and free CAD deposits. However, they make money on the spread which we found is a lot higher than other crypto exchanges.

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:

Coinberry Shutting Down

Coinberry Review

Bottom line: If you're a Canadian resident looking for a low-cost crypto exchange, Coinberry and Bitbuy are not the best choices. For a better user experience and low fees, use NDAX as your fiat on/off ramp. For the best altcoin exchanges, Canadians should use either Binance or KuCoin depending if you live in Ontario.

Many online reviews complain about Coinberry's slow withdrawals and poor customer support. They also self-promote as an inexpensive option, but cost more than other exchanges in Canada. Based on my testing, Coinberry charges a total fee of 2.44% (ranking 11th) to buy Bitcoin, with a Bitcoin spread of 4.19% (ranking 18th).

Keep reading if you want to learn more about Coinberry in the rest of this review.

Published Mar 10, 2022

Pros and Cons

  • Beginner Friendly Platform: Easy to buy and sell major cryptocurrencies
  • Good Security: Coinberry is owned by a publicly traded company called WonderFi, is OSC regulated, and says they store crypto in cold storage through their custodian, Bitgo
  • High Fees Hidden In The Spread: The total BTC purchase fee was 2.44% (11th overall) and the BTC spread was last place at 4.19% (18th overall)
  • Limited Features: In their recent March 2023 update, they delisted 5 coins and removed some features like Coinberry Pay and recurring buys. 
  • No Advanced Features: Experienced traders should research NDAX or KuCoin for professional trading features
  • Poor Online Reviews: Many complaints mention bad customer support, slow withdrawals, and a bad experience
  • $5/month Inactivity Fee: If you don't use your account for 365 days you get charged $5 per month

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.

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.

  • Open An Account: Enter your email and then you will be asked to verify your identity with a Canadian driver's license or similar form of ID. Most users will receive instant verification and be ready to trade.
  • Deposit Funds: Coinberry allows you to deposit both Canadian dollars and crypto from an external wallet. The easiest option will be Interac e-Transfer.
  • Start Trading: Trade 25 cryptocurrencies commission-free (there is a fee in the spread - more on this later). You can also withdraw your crypto to an external wallet to keep it safe.

What Does Coinberry Offer?

Coinberry Website

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

Coinberry Web App - Dashboard

Trading Platform

Coinberry Web App - Buy and Sell

Mobile App

Coinberry App - Dashboard
Coinberry App - Limit Orders
Coinberry App - Withdrawals

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

  • Two Factor Authentication (via SMS or an authenticator app)
  • Touch ID / Face ID / Pin for app login
  • View account login history for suspicious activity (IP addresses, device info, date, etc)
  • View website status in real-time

Company Security Features

  • Published a Proof of Reserves report
  • Owned by WonderFi (publicly traded company)
  • Holds crypto in cold storage via Bitgo
  • Bitgo has $250 million in insurance coverage
  • OSC regulated and FINTRAC Registered: MSB #M18502412
  • KYC required (must verify identity to sign up)
  • They use "Schedule 1 Canadian banking partners for CAD assets"
  • Maintain partnerships with the town of Innisfil and the City of Richmond Hill which might add some legitimacy

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.

  • Many users on Trust Pilot are complaining about slow withdrawals and no communication from customer support. One user said, "I'm still waiting for my withdrawal and I have to spam them to get my transaction or it will be sent back into your Coinberry account."
  • A Google Play customer wrote, "I have been requesting a BTC withdrawal for more than 2 weeks and have been continuously jumping through hoops more than 30 emails long. Then they explicitly encourage me to cancel my withdrawal if I can't wait for this drawn out process."
  • "Transfers are inexplicably slow, there's no explanation for how long etransfers take, my best guess is that it's done manually by a human which is absolutely no way to run a company, figure out a way to automate it, waiting on you people is excruciating."

Summary

If you're a Canadian resident looking for a low-cost crypto exchange, Coinberry is not your best option. With such high fees, it's no surprise that recent online reviews have been negative. Instead, consider using exchanges like Newton or NDAX for lower fees and a better user experience.

Coinberry

Coinberry is no longer accepting sign ups

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.

Author

Alex

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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