Our Review
After an extensive review, we found that Shakepay is the best crypto exchange for beginners in Canada. They offer an easy app, 2 coins (BTC and ETH), a 1.03% total purchase fee (4th place), free e-transfer deposits and free crypto withdrawals. They also have a Bitcoin visa card offering up to 2% Bitcoin cash back.
Shakepay is the best option for beginners but If you want to trade lots of altcoins for the lowest fees in Canada skip to the alternatives section.
Where It Shines:
Where It Falls Short:
Overview
Updated: Mar 27, 2022 | | Total Fees & Spreads: Mar 02, 2022
Coins Offered | 2 (BTC, ETH) |
Total BTC Purchase Fee | 1.03% (4th place) |
Total BTC Selling Fee | 1.21% (5th place) |
BTC Spread | 2.26% (12th place) |
Trading Fee | Free |
Funding Methods | e-transfer, wire transfer |
CAD Deposits | Free |
CAD Withdrawals | Free |
BTC Withdrawals | 0 BTC (Free) |
Notable Features | Bitcoin Cash Back Credit Card, ShakingSats, free crypto withdrawals, easiest platform for beginners |
Video Review
Don't want to read? Watch the video review published on Mar 13, 2022. Some info in the video could be outdated so use the rest of the blog post as well.
About Shakepay
Updated: Mar 27, 2022
Shakepay is a Montréal-based cryptocurrency exchange and their website says, "the easiest way for Canadians to buy and sell Bitcoin." The platform has over 1 million Canadians and is super simple to buy bitcoin or ethereum regardless of your experience. They also offer various rewards and ways to earn free Bitcoin.
Some Stats:
- Headquartered in Montréal
- Founded in 2015
- Over 1 million Canadians use Shakepay as of Mar 2022
- Over $6 billion traded
User Interface
Updated: May 6, 2022
Fees & Spread
Updated: Mar 27, 2022
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.
Newton Fees | Amount |
|---|---|
*Total BTC Purchase Fee | 1.03% (4th place) |
*Total BTC Selling Fee | 1.21% (5th place) |
Trading Fee | Free |
Recurring Buys | Free |
CAD Deposits | Free |
CAD Withdrawals | Free |
BTC Withdrawals | Free |
Other Fees | N/A |
Price Test & Spread
Price Test (On Mar 2, 2022) | Prices |
|---|---|
BTC Spread | 2.26% (12th place) |
BTC Buy Price | $56,351 |
BTC Sell Price | $55,108 |
Ref. Price Difference | Buy: +1.03% Sell: -1.21% |
Reference Price (Google) | $55,774 |
What We Found
Shakepay had a total BTC purchase fee of 1.03% (4th place) with Canadian dollars. The total BTC selling fee was 1.21% (5th place) and the spread was 2.26% (12th place) the day we tested it.
Overall, Shakepay has fair prices but there are cheaper platforms for Canadians to buy Bitcoin and crypto like Newton (0.69% total BTC purchase fee), NDAX (0.49%) and VirgoCX (0.66%).
Deposit & Withdrawals
Updated: Mar 27, 2022
CAD Deposit Methods
Type | Fee | Time | Limits (24 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
Interac e-Transfer | Free | Nearly Instant | Min $5 - Max $10,000 |
Wire Transfer | Free | 1-2 Business Days | Min $5,000 - No Max |
Shakepay A Friend | Free | Instant | Min $0 - Max $999 |
CAD Withdrawal Methods
Type | Fee | Time | Limits (24 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
Interac e-Transfer | Free | Nearly Instant | Min $5 - Max $5,000 |
Wire Transfer | Free | 1-2 Business Days | Min $5,000 - No Max |
Shakepay A Friend | Free | Instant | Min $0 - Max $999 |
Crypto Withdrawal Fees
Type | Fee | Minimum Withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
Bitcoin | 0 BTC (Free) | 0.0001 BTC |
Ethereum | 0 ETH (Free) | 0.1 ETH |
What We Found
Shakepay is a fantastic on-ramp and off-ramp for Canadians. You can deposit and withdraw Canadians dollars free and quickly with e-transfer or wire transfer. Bitcoin and Ethereum withdrawals are also free because Shakepay covers the miner fees and gas fees.
Platform & Features
Updated: Mar 27, 2022
List of Features:
- iOS, Android and Web app
- 2 cryptocurrencies (BTC and ETH)
- Simple Buy and Sell or Limit Orders
- Recurring Orders
- Shakepay Card
- Shaking Sats (Free Bitcoin)
- ShakeSquad (Free Bitcoin)
- Shakepay A Friend
- Referral Program
1. iOS, Android and Web App
2. Trading Interface
- Simple charts
- Market orders
- Limit orders
- Recurring buys
3. Recurring Orders
4. Shakepay Card
See our full Shakepay Visa card review or compare all Canadian crypto credit cards.
5. Shaking Sats
6. #ShakeSquad
Shakepay just launched the ShakeSquad feature on June 20, 2022. Invite up to 4 of your friends to earn 42 sats on each other's Shakepay Card purchases.
7. Shakepay A Friend
8. Referral Program
Shakepay Card
Updated: Mar 27, 2022
Header | Amount |
|---|---|
Card Type | Prepaid Visa |
Rewards | 1% BTC cash back on every purchase (+ extra 1% on your first $5,000) |
Physical Card? | No (Virtual card right now. Physical card coming in the future) |
Interest Rate | N/A (It's a prepaid visa) |
Annual Fee | $0 |
Deposit/Withdrawal Fees | $0 |
Foreign Exchange Charge | 3% |
Inactivity Fee | $0 |
Daily Limit | $3,000 |
Monthly Limit | $50,000 |
Credit Check? | No |
Reward Payouts | About every 24 hours |
Promotion | "Welcome Rewards Boost": Get 2% cash back (instead of of 1%) on the first $5,000 you spend |
Sign Up |
How Does The Shakepay Card Work?
It's a prepaid Visa meaning you must deposit Canadian dollars in your Shakepay account to load your card. You can't go into debt or pay interest because you are spending your own money.
See our full Shakepay Visa card review or compare all Canadian crypto credit cards.
Security
Updated: Mar 27, 2022
Company Security Features
- Funds held in cold storage (doesn't say how much)
- No fractional reserve
- Insurance policy for assets in cold storage. Covers most damages, theft, and loss of private keys (doesn't say how much the insurance covers)
- FINTRAC registered: #M17065696
- Third party proof of reserves report
- See the rest on their security page
User Security Features
- Mandatory 2FA for login (SMS or Authenticator app)
- Email conformation for crypto withdrawals (optional)
- Touch ID / Face ID / Pattern login
- Button to "Suspend Shakepay account" (disable all transactions)
- View system status in real-time
- See the rest on their security page
Can You Trust Them?
Shakepay is considered a safe crypto exchange. They store your crypto in cold storage, never had a hack and offer 2FA and email confirmations for withdrawals in your account. They are also FINTRAC registered in Canada.
Even though Shakepay is safe, 44% of platforms we reviewed had a hack or incident. We highly recommend storing and protecting the majority of your crypto on a hardware wallet or a wallet where you own the private keys. Try to hold as little as possible on centralized exchanges.
Customer Support
Updated: Mar 27, 2022
In our experience, Shakepay has fantastic customer support and usually responds within 24 hours.
You can start a conversation with their team or visit their help center for articles and FAQs.
Shakepay Compared
RankFi is tracking 18 Canadian cryptocurrency exchanges. Compare the best crypto exchanges in Canada below:
Name | Overall Rank | Coins | CAD Wallet? | Total BTC Purchase Fee | Spread (BTC) | Trading Fee | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1/18 | 70+ | Yes | 0.69% | 1.34% | 0% | ||
 NDAX(#1 overall) | 2/18 | 30+ | Yes | 0.49% | 0.35% | 0.20% | |
3/18 | 60+ | Yes | 0.66% | 1.11% | 0% | ||
4/18 | 600+ | No | 1.60% | 0.00% | 0.10% | ||
5/18 | 700+ | No | 2.82% | 0.00% | 0.10% | ||
6/18 | 2 | Yes | 1.03% | 2.26% | 0% | ||
7/18 | 200+ | Yes | 1.68% | 3.11% | 0% | ||
8/18 | 60+ | Yes | 1.60% | 0.05% | 0.16% / 0.26% | ||
9/18 | 40 | Yes | 2.94% | 3.17% | 1.50% | ||
10/18 | 20+ | Yes | 1.24% | 1.67% | 0.50% | ||
11/18 | 15 | Yes | 1.99% | 0.41% | 0.10% / 0.20% | ||
12/18 | 40 | Yes | 1.23 | 2.63% | 0% | ||
13/18 | 300+ | No | 3.42% | 0.41% | 0.41% | ||
14/18 | 140+ | No | 4.54% | 3.07% | 0% | ||
15/18 | 65+ | No | N/A | 0.05% | 0.40% / 0.60% | ||
16/18 | 16 | Yes | 2.51% | 2.82% | 0.20% | ||
17/18 | 29 | Yes | 2.44% | 4.19% | 0% | ||
 Gate.io [banned] | N/A | 1000+ | No | 2.92% | 0.00% | 0.20% |
Here are the best crypto exchanges for Canadians right now. We assessed 18 platforms across 60 variables and 1080+ data points.
