How to buy Bitcoin in Canada, step by step

Buying Bitcoin in Canada takes about the same steps on every registered platform: pick one, prove who you are, send money in, then buy. This guide walks through each step and the costs and risks at each one. It doesn’t tell you whether to buy. That’s your call.

Step 1: check the platform is registered

Crypto platforms that serve Canadians must register with the provincial and territorial securities regulators. Our registered list shows every platform on the regulators’ register, its company name and its type of registration. Investment dealer is the higher of the two types. Restricted dealers operate under exemptions while they work towards it.

If a platform isn’t on that list, we’d treat it as unregistered, however well known it is. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre also tells people to check an investment with their provincial or territorial securities regulator first.

Step 2: verify your identity

Before you can trade, a registered platform has to confirm who you are. FINTRAC, Canada’s anti-money-laundering agency, lists a government-issued photo ID method among the ways businesses can do this. The ID must be valid and current, and show your name, your photo and a unique number.

In practice, expect to give your legal name, home address and date of birth, and to upload a photo of your ID. The exact steps differ by platform and are mostly only visible once you start signing up.

Step 3: fund your account by Interac e-Transfer

Most platforms take Interac e-Transfer deposits with no fee. A few examples from our reviews:

• Shakepay: no fee to send money in or out by Interac, from $5 to $10,000.
• NDAX: no fee to deposit, but $1.50 to withdraw by Interac.
• Bitbuy and Coinsquare: no fee either way, with Interac withdrawals capped at $2,000 a day.

Check the withdrawal fee before you deposit, not after. Five registered platforms don’t publish an Interac withdrawal fee for their crypto accounts. One, Webull, is funded by bank debit rather than Interac.

Step 4: place your buy

Most platforms give you two ways to buy.

The simple buy button. You enter an amount in dollars and confirm a price. On most platforms that price includes a spread, the gap between the platform’s price and the market price. Eight of the 11 registered platforms we studied build a spread they don’t publish into this button. Shakepay, Netcoins and Bitbuy’s Express Trade all work this way.

The trading screen or limit order. Some platforms run a separate screen with an order book, where you pay a stated fee and no spread. Bitbuy Pro Trade and Coinsquare Pro charge 0.50%. Kraken Pro charges 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker at the lowest volume tier. Wealthsimple charges 0.5% with no spread on limit orders. A limit order lets you name the price you’ll pay. It only fills if the market reaches that price.

That’s why two platforms with the same stated fee can charge you different amounts. A stated fee is a number you can compare. A spread isn’t, because it’s built into the price you’re shown. On spread platforms, compare the quote with the market price just before you confirm. NDAX is the simplest case: a flat 0.20% on every trade at the order book price, so $2 on a $1,000 buy.

Our crypto fees comparison works out what a $1,000 buy costs on each registered platform.

Step 5: decide on one-off or recurring buys

Several platforms let you set up a buy that repeats on a schedule. Shakepay says its recurring buys have “zero fees or spread”, which makes them cheaper than its regular buys. On other platforms, check whether recurring buys carry the same fee or spread as a one-off buy.

Step 6: keep it on the platform or move it to your own wallet

When you buy on a platform, it holds the Bitcoin for you. How it does that varies. NDAX says at least 80% of client crypto is held with outside custodians, in accounts in trust for its clients. Shakepay says it uses a cold storage provider regulated in New York and holds an insurance policy on crypto in cold storage.

None of the registered platforms is covered by CIPF for crypto. At investment dealers that are CIPF members, cash in your account may be covered, but crypto isn’t.

You can also send Bitcoin to a wallet you control, if the platform allows it. Not all do:

• Webull doesn’t allow crypto transfers in or out. To leave, you sell and withdraw cash.
• Bitbuy and Coinsquare each list 29 trade-only coins that can’t be sent to or from your account.
• Withdrawals to an outside wallet may cost a network fee. Shakepay’s carry no fee at normal speed, which takes around 12 hours, and cost extra if you want them in about 10 minutes.

If you move Bitcoin to your own wallet, you’re responsible for its keys. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre advises buying any hardware wallet directly from the manufacturer.

What about Bitcoin ATMs?

Bitcoin ATMs let you buy with cash. Their fees aren’t published in one place, so read the price and fee on the screen before you pay, and compare them with a registered platform’s quote. FINTRAC treats crypto ATM operators as money services businesses. They must register with FINTRAC, verify customers’ identity and report certain transactions. You can check an operator on FINTRAC’s MSB registry. FINTRAC notes that a listing only means the business met the legal requirements to register, not that FINTRAC endorses it.

FINTRAC has also found that fraud is the main suspected crime linked to these machines, with scammers directing victims to put cash into them. If anyone tells you to pay them through a Bitcoin ATM, treat it as a scam.

Scams to watch for

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre lists these warning signs for investment fraud:

• unsolicited investment offers, even from friends and family
• returns higher than normal
• fake cryptocurrency websites
• pressure to act fast
• requests to pay in cryptocurrency

It also says no government agency will ever ask for payment in cryptocurrency. Romance scams often end in a fake trading platform: the scammer builds trust online, then talks the victim into depositing money they can’t withdraw. Using a platform from our registered list, reached by typing its address yourself, avoids the fake-site version of this.

If you’ve been scammed, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre asks you to report it.

Tax

The Canada Revenue Agency says that when you sell, trade or spend Bitcoin, the result may be business income or a capital gain, depending on your situation. If it’s a capital gain, half is included in your income. Trading one crypto for another counts as a disposition too. The CRA says holdings generally aren’t taxed, but you need records of what you buy and hold. The CRA’s guidance for crypto-asset users has the details.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to buy Bitcoin in Canada?

Yes. You can buy Bitcoin in Canada through platforms registered with the provincial and territorial securities regulators. Our registered list shows which ones are.

What’s the cheapest way to buy Bitcoin in Canada?

It depends on the platform and the screen you use. NDAX publishes the lowest stated trading fee among registered platforms, a flat 0.20%. Shakepay’s recurring buys have no fee or spread. Our fees comparison sets out the costs side by side.

Is my Bitcoin protected if a platform fails?

Not by CIPF or CDIC. Some platforms hold crypto with outside custodians or carry private insurance, which our reviews describe, but those are private arrangements with limits, not a government scheme.

Do I need ID to buy Bitcoin in Canada?

Yes, on a registered platform. Expect to give your name, address and date of birth and upload government-issued photo ID before you can trade.

Sources

Checked 10 November 2026. Platform facts come from our reviews and our fees study, which list each platform’s own pages.

• Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, investment fraud and relationship and romance fraud
• FINTRAC, Money Services Business Registry
• FINTRAC, the role of virtual currency ATMs in laundering the proceeds of crime, May 2024
• FINTRAC, methods to verify the identity of persons and entities
• Canada Revenue Agency, information for crypto-asset users and tax professionals and reporting income from crypto-asset transactions, and its tax tip investing in cryptocurrency
• New Brunswick Financial and Consumer Services Commission, registered crypto asset trading platforms