Bitbuy Review

Overview

In most of our cryptocurrency exchange reviews so far, we have primarily discussed crypto exchanges snd trading platforms that were based in the US and catered to American investors. However, there are a variety of platforms that also target foreign investors and traders who wish to access crypto assets.

Bitbuy is one such platform, and it is one of the most popular cryptocurrency trading platforms for Canadian citizens and residents. In this Bitbuy review, we analyze the platform and identify the type of investors that the platform is most suitable for.

What is Bitbuy?

As we mentioned earlier, Bitbuy is an advanced trading platform developed primarily for Canadian crypto enthusiasts. For anyone who is based in Canada and looking to trade crypto assets, Bitbuy offers the perfect solution.

it was initially developed by Ademar Gonzalez and Adam Goldman in 2013, and it offers trading solutions for both beginner and advanced investors.

It offers access to a variety of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ripple, and Bitcoin Cash. Its complete range of offerings will be discussed below in detail during this review.

Bitbuy Review – Pros

The Bitbuy trading platform has several pros associated with it, which include:

Suitable for Beginner and Advanced Traders

Since Bitbuy is the largest Canadian cryptocurrency exchange, it has developed two unique service offerings that make it suitable for both beginners as well as advanced crypto investors, thereby making its target market a lot larger.

For newer investors, the Bitbuy service offering includes a one-click trading mechanism, that they can use to instantly place orders. The process in this regard is as simple as selecting the asset that users wish to trade, entering the quantity that they wish to trade, and clicking on the buy or sell button.

The basic Express Trading mode does a very good job at this, by presenting a platform that has been designed very simply and is very easy to navigate. There are no unnecessary options, and users can intuitively trade through them. This prevents newer investors from getting intimidated because of the large variety of tools and options that they have at their disposal.

At the same time, the Bitbuy platform also has a more advanced interface that it uses primarily with its more experienced users. These users usually require several tools and options so that they can analyze their trades better and make better-informed trading decisions.

Through the advanced Bitbuy trading platform, users can access the complete trading interface and use all the tools at their disposal.

This duality in the platforms that the Bitbuy exchange offers makes it suitable for investors who are at different levels on the learning curve, adding to the appeal of the platform.

Insured Crypto Holdings

All the crypto holdings on the Bitbuy platform are insured through a comprehensive insurance policy that was bought through BitGo. This ensures that even in the case that the platform becomes a victim of an attack or a breach, users will not lose their funds.

The fact that crypto holdings on the Bitbuy exchange are completely insured is a major reason why investors might prefer to invest their funds through the platform.

Pre-Transaction Calculator

For advanced traders, one of the biggest issues that they have to be aware of and account for during trading is slippage.

This happens because between the time that the trader places an order and when it gets executed, the market might move slightly, which means that the order and the execution will happen at different prices.

Usually, this difference is so small that it does not really make a difference, but for regular traders who have a very high trading volume, these small differences can have a major impact on their profitability.

Additionally, a lot of trading platforms have very opaque fee structures, and it is very difficult for traders to know what fees they will have to pay on any trade. This also makes it difficult for traders to plan out what their profitability will look like on any trade.

However, Bitbuy comes out ahead as compared to its competitors in both these regards. It offers a pre-transaction price calculator, that enables users to ee exactly what prices their trades will be executed at and how much fees they will have to pay for any transaction.

The pre-transaction price calculator is a very useful tool for high-frequency traders, such as those utilizing scalping trading strategies.

Highly Regulated

The cryptocurrency world is still emerging and growing, and in most countries, exchanges are not regulated.

This presents a problem to investors who might want to only invest in regulated platforms as they would offer a higher degree of security from fraud and other problems.

Bitbuy is one of the very few regulated crypto exchanges in the world, and it is the only regulated Canadian crypto exchange.

It has been regulated by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), which adds a degree of legitimacy to the bank and reassures investors that the funds they invest through the Bitbuy platform are secure.

Additionally, Bitbuy has also been registered with FINTRAC as a Money Services Business, which is another regulatory agency specifically for brokerages and exchanges.

Security Measures

Because the platform is regulated and offers a wide variety of cryptocurrencies that users can trade, it enjoys a very high trading volume as compared to some of the other Canadian cryptocurrency exchanges.

While this is definitely a good thing, it also comes with the threat of cyberattacks and hacks, which is why Bitbuy has to ensure that its security measures are always top-notch to prevent these threats.

While the security measures that the platform employs will be discussed in detail later in the review, it is worth mentioning that the techniques employed by the platform are industry-grade and ensure that the funds and data on the platform are kept as safe as possible.

Customer Service

Another factor where Bitbuy stands out from most other crypto exchanges is its customer service offerings, which are known to be among the best in the industry. For instance, the platform offers 24X7 customer support to users for both simple and complex issues.

The customer service approach that is employed by the platform is a three-pronged approach:

• The platform offers a 24X7 live chat through which users can get their basic queries resolved.
• Bitbuy also offers phone support for users who might need more personalized help or instructions to solve their problems.
• Lastly, email support is available for highly complex problems that might take a while to solve, but even for these problems, Bitbuy offers extremely quick turnaround times.

In addition to all these features, the Bitbuy platform also has a very extensive FAQ page that can be used by traders facing common issues.

Bitbuy Review – Cons

Every coin has two sides, and the Bitbuy trading platform is no exception. There are several cons associated with the platform, which include:

Limited Range of Cryptocurrencies

Even though Bitbuy is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Canada, it only has very limited crypto offerings when compared to larger and more established global exchanges like Binance and Coinbase.

While the exact range of cryptocurrencies available for you to trade on the Bitbuy platform will be discussed later in this review, it is important to note that several of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world are notably absent from the platform.

Bitbuy has stated that it will continue adding newer cryptocurrencies to the platform as and when it can, however, at present, users can only trade limited crypto assets through the platform.

Only Accepts CAD

Another disadvantage associated with the platform is that it only accepts Canadian Dollars (CAD) for deposits and withdrawals.

While this is a highly suitable feature for most traders and investors located in Canada, it can be a problem for those located in Canada who work online and receive their payments in a variety of other currencies.

Additionally, this can also be an issue for those who wish to deposit their funds into Bitbuy using a different currency, as they will have to pay a currency conversion fee, which can often be a time-consuming and expensive process.

Expensive Withdrawals

While the different fees associated with the platform have been discussed in greater detail below in the Fees section of this Bitbuy review, it is important to note that Bitbuy has among the highest withdrawal fees of any cryptocurrency trading platform.

For example, if you wish to deposit or withdraw CAD using your Bitbuy account, then the fees that you are charged will be anywhere between 0.5% and 1.5% depending on whether you are using a bank transfer or a credit/debit card for the transaction.

Even if you choose to deposit and withdraw funds using cryptocurrencies, you will still be faced with higher fees than most other brokers in the industry. For example, in addition to the gas fees that you will pay for the transaction, you will also have to pay an additional $1-$20 in mining fees for the transaction to Bitbuy.

Bitbuy – Cryptocurrencies Available

As we have discussed in the past, Bitbuy is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Canada, and this is almost directly a product of the fact that it offers several cryptocurrencies that users can easily trade.

The complete list of cryptocurrencies that are available on Bitbuy for users to trade includes:

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Litecoin (LTC)
• Stellar (XLM)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
• EOS
• Chainlink (LINK)
• AAVE
• Uniswap (UNI)
• Polkadot (DOT)
• SushiSwap (SUSHI)
• Dogecoin (DOGE)
• Polygon (MATIC)
• Solana (SOL)
• Cardano (ADA)
• Decentraland (MANA)
• USD Coin (USDC)
• ApeCoin (APE)
• Terra (LUNA)

Bitbuy Fees

Any trading platform charges two types of fees: trading fees and non-trading fees.

Bitbuy Trading Fees

Trading fees refer to the fees that users pay in order to place orders on the platform and have them executed. Most cryptocurrency exchanges charge trading fees in one of two ways: they either charge spreads or commissions.

Spreads

Spreads refer to the difference between the bid price and the ask price. This model is primarily adopted by market-maker trading platforms that assume the position of the counterparty in the trade. Therefore, you are effectively trading against the platform.

When this happens, there is usually a difference between the price at which you can buy the asset and the price at which the asset can be sold at any given moment.

The buying price, also called the bid price, is almost always higher, and the difference between these two prices is called a spread.

What this effectively means is that if you were to buy and sell an asset at the same time, you would actually incur a loss.

Commissions

The other form of trading fee that might be charged by an exchange is a flat commission on every trade that you make.

This is usually a very small percentage of the trading volume and is done in a decreasing manner, i.e. the higher your trading volume, the lower the fees that you will have to pay in this regard.

Bitbuy Fees

The trading fees that you will pay on Bitbuy will depend on whether or not you are using the Pro platform.

If you are using the Pro Trade platform, then you will be charged on the basis of your order type. A market order, which is executed at the current price, is charged 0.20% of the order value as fees.

On the other hand, if you place a limit order, which will only be placed when the price is above or below a certain figure as specified by you, then the fees associated with it are only 0.10% of your order value.

If you are using the Express Trade functionality, then you will be charged a flat fee of 0.20% for every order that you place.

Bitbuy Non-Trading Fee

n addition to the trading fee, cryptocurrency platforms often also charge a variety of other incidental fees and charges. These have been discussed in detail below.

Deposit Fees

Most cryptocurrency exchanges charge fees in order to allow users to deposit money into their accounts.

On Bitbuy, the deposit charged that you incur will depend on the method of deposit you choose to use.

For example, if you use the Interac e transfer, then you will have to deposit a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $20,000, and the charges associated with it are 1.5%.

On the other hand, bank transfers require a minimum of $20,000 and a maximum of $500,000, and the fees associated with it are 0.50%.

The charges for depositing cryptocurrencies are dependent on the specific coin you choose to deposit, as well as the network you use.

Withdrawal Fees

Similar to deposit fees, most cryptocurrency exchanges also charge fees if you wish to withdraw money out of the platform.

When you wish to withdraw money from your Bitbuy account, there are withdrawal charges associated with it, depending on the method of withdrawal you choose.

For example, if you use the Interac e transfer, then you will have to withdraw a minimum of $50 and a maximum of $20,000, and the charges associated with it are 1.5%.

On the other hand, bank transfers require a minimum of $20,000 and a maximum of $500,000, and the fees associated with it are 1%.

The charges for withdrawing cryptocurrencies are dependent on the specific coin as well as the network you use.

Bitbuy Features

There are several different features that the Bitbuy platform offers users as a part of its crypto ecosystem, which we will discuss below.

Express Trade

This feature has been primarily designed for newer investors and allows them to place orders directly without having to look at any of the customizations or advanced tools available for the same.

In order to place an order through the Express Trade platform, all that users have to do is to open the Express Trade page, select the cryptocurrency they wish to buy, specify the quantity, and click on either buy or sell.

The transaction is then executed immediately.

Crypto Wallet

Bitbuy also offers a crypto wallet that users can use in order to complete transactions as well as simply withdraw or deposit crypto funds.

While the wallet is not as advanced as the wallets offered by some of the more established platforms, it helps to ensure that users can easily transfer their crypto assets to another platform.

Pro Trade

The Pro Trade platform was designed for advanced investors, and this is also why it has lower fees associated with some of the transactions.

The Pro Trade platform allows users to trade cryptocurrencies for Canadian Dollars as well as for other cryptocurrencies.

Users also have the option of placing either market or limit orders based on their preferences.

OTC

For larger orders or for users who might need more assistance in completing their sensitive trades. Only orders above $50,000 can be placed through the OTC platform, therefore, it is more suitable for large financial transactions.

The OTC trading platform offered by Bitbuy has several advantages associated with it, such as:

Competitive Rates

The OTC trading platform provides users with competitive rates that are being set through the forces of demand and supply by users across the globe in real-time.

Live Quotes

The platform also offers live price quotes for larger financial transactions and helps in eliminating slippage from these transactions.

FINTRAC Regulated

The Bitbuy OTC trading platform is regulated by FINTRAC as a licensed MSB (Money Service Business), which makes it a reliable medium for conducting OTC transactions.

Bitbuy Review – Security

Bitbuy is one of the most secure Canadian exchanges in the market, and this is for several reasons. Some of the major safety features used by the platform include.

2-Factor Authentication

The 2FA(either through Authy or Google authenticator) uses two forms – a smartphone and a password – for authentication, and is used to avoid unauthorized access to accounts.

Information Security

The code associated with building the exchange is maintained privately, ensuring that it cannot be hacked. Also, the platform keeps 95% of all assets in cold storage, making them safe from cyber-attacks and breaches.

Regulatory Compliance

The platform is a regulated MSB or Money Service Business under FINTRAC.

Custody

The platform also does not depend on any third-party services for the custody of the assets that are traded through it, which means that all the wallets on the platform are separated from the network.

Bitbuy Review 2022 – Final Verdict

Bitbuy is a Canadian cryptocurrency exchange that has several advantages associated with it – a strong customer support base, low trading fees, as well as a wide range of features and abilities. All of this makes it a very suitable platform for Canadian users who wish to get involved in the world of cryptocurrency trading.

However, there are some drawbacks associated with the platform too. For starters, the cryptocurrency selection is quite limited, only allowing users to trade a few major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum. The deposit and withdrawal fees associated with the platform are also quite high, and the crypto exchange only accepts Canadian dollars, making it unsuitable for investors who are not Canadian citizens.