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Coinsquare Logo

Coinsquare

40

Coins 

0%-0.50%

Trading Fee 

Canada

HQ

Last Updated Oct 24, 2022  |  Affiliate Disclosure

  • Review

  • Details

  • Alternatives

*Update: Quick Trade has rebranded to Coinsquare

The Bottom Line

Coinsquare has beginner and advanced trading, 40 coins and a total BTC purchase fee of 1.23% (5th place). However, they had a big case of market manipulation in 2020, so their reputation is questionable. 

Overall, we recommend other platforms in Canada just to be safe. There are cheaper places with more features available anyway. Skip to the alternatives section for our top recommendations.

Where It Shines:

  • Beginner-Friendly - Very simple and easy to use mobile app
  • Quick Verification - Easy to open an account in under 5 minutes 
  • Great user-interface
  • Advanced trading

Where It Falls Short:

  • No Web App - No website trading
  • High Crypto Withdrawal Fees - Coinsquare claims fees are dynamic but it cost $27.65 to withdraw BTC when the network rate was $2.46
  • Bad Reputation - In 2020, Coinsquare, made a settlement with the OSC for market manipulation and misleading investors. Plus a data breach in 2020
  • Withdrawing Funds - $2000 limit for e-transfer withdrawals, other methods have a 1.50% fee. Also many coins are trade-only and can't be transferred
Coinsquare Logo

Overview

Total Fees & Spreads: Mar 02, 2022

Coins Offered

40

Total BTC Purchase Fee

1.23% (5th place)

Total BTC Selling Fee

1.38% (6th place)

BTC Spread

2.63% (13th place)

Trading Fee

Free

Funding Methods

e-transfer, wire transfer, USD wire

CAD Deposit Fee

Free

CAD Withdrawal Fee

Free to 1.50%

BTC Withdrawals

Dynamic

Notable Features

Mobile app only, minimal and easy to use

About Coinsquare

QuickTrade Rebrand to Coinsquare

Coinsquare was founded in 2014. They launched Quick Trade in 2021 but then rebranded it to Coinsquare in May of 2022. They are a Toronto-based cryptocurrency exchange that is built for beginners. It's important to know this platform has a shady past and you should be careful using it (see security section).

In May of 2022, Quick Trade rebranded back to Coinsquare.

Some Stats:

  • Founded in 2014
  • 500,000 Canadian customers
  • Over 9 million trades
  • Ovr $8 billion in volume traded
  • $100 million in funding raised
  • 100+ employees
  • Data breach in 2020
  • Settlement with the OSC in 2020

Fees & Spread

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

Coinsquare Fees

Amount

*Total BTC Purchase Fee

1.23% (5th place)

*Total BTC Selling Fee

1.38% (6th place)

Trading Fee

Coinsquare Trade: 0% (fee is in the spread)

Coinsquare Pro: Up to 0.50%

CAD Deposits

Free

CAD Withdrawals

Free up to 1.50%

BTC Withdrawals

Dynamic

Other Fees

N/A

Price Test & Spread

Price Test (On Mar 2, 2022)

Prices

BTC Spread

2.63% (13th place)

BTC Buy Price

$56,460

BTC Sell Price

$55,013

Ref. Price Difference

Buy: +1.23%

Sell: -1.38%

Reference Price (Google)

$55,774

Pro Trading Fees

Coinsquare Pro Trading Fees

What We Found

Coinsquare tested 5th place with a 1.23% total fee to buy Bitcoin with Canadian dollars. The total BTC selling fee was 1.38% at 6th place. Their spread was 2.63% which ranked 13th place.

Overall, there are cheaper platforms to buy crypto in Canada with Canadian dollars like Newton (0.69% total purchase fee) and NDAX (0.49% total purchase fee).

Deposit & Withdrawals

CAD Deposit Methods

Type

Fee

Time

Limits (24 hours)

Interac e-Transfer Request

Free

Nearly Instant

$20 - $10,000

Wire Transfer

Free

Up to 2 Days

Min $10k - No limit

🇺🇸 USD Wire Transfer

Free

Up to 2 Days

Min $50k USD

CAD Withdrawal Methods

Type

Fee

Time

Limits (24 hours)

Interac e-Transfer

Free

Within 24 hours

$20 - $2,000 and 1 withdrawal per day

Direct Bank Deposit

1.50%

Up to 3 Days

$20 - $100k

Wire Transfer

1.50%

Up to 2 Days

Min $25k - No limit

Crypto Withdrawal Fees

Type

Fee

Minimum Withdrawal

Bitcoin

Dynamic

0.0005 BTC

Ethereum

Dynamic

0.005 ETH

USDC

Dynamic

100 USDC

XLM

Free

10 XLM

What We Found

Coinsquare claims to have dynamic crypto withdrawal fees (whatever the network rate is) however, it was significantly high for a Bitcoin withdrawal. When we tested it, Quick Trade was charging a fee of 0.0005 BTC and the real network rate was 0.000044 BTC. This is $2.46 fee versus $27.65.

Platform & Features

List of Features:

  • iOS, Android and Web app
  • 40+ cryptocurrencies
  • CAD and USD
  • Instant Buy and Sell
  • Pro Trading
  • Coinsquare Wealth

1. iOS, Android and Web App

Coinsquare Dashboard

Coinsquare is an easy-to use app that offers features for both beginner and experienced crypto investors. lt's available on all devices and has thousands of positive reviews on iOS and Google Play. 

2. Instant Buy and Sell

Quick Trade Charts
Quick Trade Order Page
Quick Trade Coins Page

With zero trading fees, you can buy or sell 40 coins in one click with market orders. The simple user interface makes it great for beginners who want an easy way to trade USD or CAD. However, keep in mind the spreads might be higher than if using Coinsquare's Pro Trade option which is only available on the web app.

3. Coinsquare Pro (web only)

Coinsquare Pro

Coinsquare Pro is for experienced traders who are looking for a sophisticated platform with tiered trading fees and live order books. With advanced charts from TradingView and technical analysis tools, you'll have all the information you need to make informed trades. The drawbacks of Coinsquare Pro are only 7 of the 40 trading pairs are available and it is not available in the mobile app.

4. Coinsquare Wealth

Coinsquare Wealth offers a personalized service for investments above $25,000. You'll be connected with an Account Director who will work closely with you throughout your investment journey. You can benefit from less market impact when placing larger orders and more.

Security

Company History

  • Settlement with the OSC in 2020 for market manipulation and misleading investors. The CEO and many members in the management team were forced to step down
  • Data breach in 2020 where some users information was hacked (no funds were lost)

Company Security Features

  • 95% of assets held in cold storage
  • Coinsquare is FINTRAC registered: MSB #M21853355
  • KYC required (must prove your identity to sign up)

User Security Features

  • 2FA for login
  • Touch ID / Face ID login
  • Some coins can be withdrawn to your own wallet (some coins are trade only)

Can You Trust Quick Trade?

Coinsquare is probably safe since they are FINTRAC registered and hold 95% of assets in cold storage. They also have new management since their settlement with the OSC. However, I would be extra cautious due to their past reputation.

Customer Support

Coinsquare offers a support window in the mobile app and website or you can email them directly. They also have a knowledge base with FAQs, articles and tutorials. 

Coinsquare Customer Support

Best Alternatives

Here are the best crypto exchanges for Canadians right now. We assessed 18 platforms across 60 variables and 1080+ data points.  

Newton.co
  • Best Overall
  • Low fees, 75+ coins, great user interface
  • No advanced features, limited features overall
VirgoCX
  • Low all-around fees
  • Free crypto withdrawals for many coins
  • Beginner + Advanced Features
  • User interface can be better
NDAX.io
  • Lowest overall fees for Canadians (0.49% total BTC purchase fee)
  • Beginner + Advanced features + Staking
  • Only 30+ coins
  • Slightly higher withdrawal fees
Binance
  • Lowest spreads and fees if you fund your account with crypto
  • 600+ cryptocurrencies
  • Most features in the industry
  • Restricted in Ontario
  • Not beginner friendly
  • Low spreads and fees if you fund your account with crypto
  • 700+ cryptocurrencies
  • Trade anonymously (all you need is an email)
  • Not beginner friendly
Best Crypto Exchanges Canada

Find the best crypto exchanges in Canada with our free comparison tool

Summary

Coinsquare has a great user interface, as well as beginner and advanced features. However, their reputation is in question since they settled with the OSC for market manipulation in 2020. Additionally, they have 40 coins, which is fewer than other top Canadian platforms and many coins don’t support withdrawals. 

Who Should Use Coinsquare?

  • If you want an easy to use platform with beginner and advanced features 
  • If you want fair trading fees

Who Should Not Use Coinsquare?

  • If you're looking for the safest platform
  • If you want the ability to withdraw your altcoins
  • If you want the the lowest fees in Canada and more altcoins, use Newton or NDAX

FAQ

How Does Coinsquare Make Money?

Coinsquare offers commission-free trades plus free deposit and withdrawals so you might wonder how do they make money?

Coinsquare makes money on the spread which is the difference in the buy and sell prices at any given time. For example, in our test you could buy 1 Bitcoin for $56,460 or sell 1 Bitcoin for $55,013. This is a spread of $1,447 or 2.63%.

This is common in the industry but spreads vary widely on each platform. Quick Trade ranked 13th overall and Binance was first overall with a 0.00% spread for Bitcoin. 

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.