Is Coinsquare safe? Our 2026 review

Coinsquare is one of the older Canadian crypto platforms. Its about page says it was founded in 2014. It runs under the same registered company as Bitbuy, and that company sits in the most tightly supervised group of crypto platforms in the country.

Coinsquare’s registration

Coinsquare’s regulation page calls it “Canada’s first CIRO-regulated cryptocurrency marketplace” and says its dealer business is run by Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd. It’s also registered with FINTRAC, Canada’s anti-money-laundering agency.

The regulators’ register lists “Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd., also carrying on business as Bitbuy” as an investment dealer, covering both dealer and marketplace, with its latest decision dated 11 October 2024.

The notice at the foot of Coinsquare’s pages says property in client accounts “including cash balances but not crypto assets, is protected by CIPF within specified limits.”

Investment dealer status is the higher of the two types of registration for crypto platforms in Canada. You can compare it with the other platforms on our registered list.

Coinsquare, Bitbuy and Robinhood

Coinsquare’s legal documents page says Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd. “is the regulated CIRO dealer subsidiary of Coinsquare Ltd”. The site footer says Coinsquare is “A WonderFi Company”, and a banner on the homepage says “Coinsquare is now part of Robinhood.” Its relationship disclosure, last updated 14 September 2026, says “Coinsquare is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets Inc”, the Nasdaq-listed US company, and lists Robinhood Crypto, Robinhood Financial and Bitstamp as affiliates.

Coinsquare’s own pages don’t mention Bitbuy at all. Bitbuy’s pages say Bitbuy is a trade name of Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd., and the register lists both under that one company. So the same company, registration and custodians sit behind both brands. Each brand has its own website, fee page and iPhone app. Coinsquare’s pages don’t say whether a Coinsquare login works on Bitbuy, or whether your account moves between them. Treat them as separate sign-ups unless support tells you otherwise.

Robinhood’s own Canadian crypto app runs under the same registration, with a stated 0.95% fee per trade since 1 November 2026. See is Robinhood available in Canada.

How Coinsquare holds your crypto

Coinsquare’s client account agreement says client crypto is held in trust with Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC and BitGo Trust Company, Inc., in an omnibus “cold storage” custodial account. A small share may sit in a hot wallet licensed from Fireblocks Ltd. Its risk statement, last updated 26 August 2026, lists which coins each custodian holds.

The regulation page says client assets are kept apart from Coinsquare’s operating funds and are “never utilized for lending purposes.” The relationship disclosure says Coinsquare doesn’t extend margin and doesn’t lend cash or crypto to clients.

On insurance, the homepage says the two custodians carry “a combined $680M USD in insurance.” The regulation page adds that Coinsquare holds its own Vault Risk insurance on top of that. The risk statement warns that insurance “may not be sufficient to cover all of the potential losses.”

CIPF covers cash, not crypto. Coinsquare says cash in your account is covered up to $1 million per account. The risk statement says your crypto isn’t covered by CDIC either.

Fees

Coinsquare’s fee page, last updated 22 July 2026, sets out two ways of paying for trades:

• Coinsquare Trade: no separate trading fee. Coinsquare says it “generates trade quotes using a spread which allows us to eliminate trading fees.” The fees page doesn’t size the spread, but the company’s fee schedule, effective 1 October 2026, does: Coinsquare Trade quotes include a spread “ranging between 0.5% and 1.85%”, which can rise by up to an additional 2% when markets are rough or a coin is thinly traded. Quotes refresh every 10 seconds until you accept one.

• Coinsquare Pro: 0.50% for makers and 0.50% for takers.

The relationship disclosure says features “previously made available through Coinsquare Pro” may change or end, so check that Pro is still open to you before you plan around the lower stated fee.

If you stake crypto, Coinsquare keeps a share of the rewards as commission. That’s 25% for Ethereum and up to 30% for some other coins.

Deposits and withdrawals

The same fee page lists these options for Canadian dollars:

• Interac e-Transfer deposit: no fee, from $10 to $15,000, in 0 to 30 minutes.
• Wire deposit: no fee, from $10,000, in 0 to 2 business days.
• Interac e-Transfer withdrawal: no fee, from $20 to $2,000, within 24 hours. You can make one every 24 hours.
• Direct bank deposit withdrawal: 1.5%, from $20 to $100,000, in 0 to 3 business days.
• Wire withdrawal: 1.5%, from $10,000, in 0 to 2 business days.

Sending crypto in costs nothing. Sending it out depends on the coin. Some, such as XRP and Litecoin, carry no fee, while Bitcoin, Ethereum and others carry a fee “set according to current network conditions and activity.” If you send crypto to the wrong address or network, a recovery service may be able to get it back, for the greater of $100 or 5% of what’s recovered.

These fees and limits match Bitbuy’s fee page line for line, which fits with both brands running under one company.

What you can buy

The homepage says Coinsquare offers “60+ cryptocurrencies and over 3,000 trading pairs.” Not all of them can move in or out. Its fee page lists 29 trade-only coins, including Sui and Toncoin, that “cannot be deposited to or withdrawn from your Coinsquare account.”

The relationship disclosure says you may face yearly investment limits or loss limits, depending on your income, net worth and province. It doesn’t give the amounts. All accounts are cash accounts for order execution only, so Coinsquare doesn’t give advice.

The app

Coinsquare’s iPhone app, Coinsquare: Buy Bitcoin Canada, is listed under Coinsquare Ltd. On 10 November 2026 it was rated 4.58 out of 5 from 5,371 ratings on Apple’s Canadian App Store. The about page also links to an Android app.

Frequently asked questions

Is Coinsquare legit?

Yes. Coinsquare is run by Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd., which is registered with Canada’s securities regulators as an investment dealer and is a member of CIRO. It’s also registered with FINTRAC.

Is Coinsquare safe?

It has the heaviest oversight a Canadian crypto platform can have, and client crypto is held in trust with outside custodians, mostly in cold storage. That lowers the risk of losing coins if the company fails. It doesn’t protect you from price drops.

Is my crypto covered by CIPF on Coinsquare?

No. CIPF covers cash in your account up to $1 million, but not crypto. Coinsquare says its custodians carry a combined US$680 million in insurance, which is a private arrangement with limits, not a government scheme.

How much does Coinsquare charge?

Coinsquare Trade has no separate fee, but its prices include a spread of 0.5% to 1.85%, or up to 2% more in thin markets. Pro charges 0.50% per trade. Interac deposits and withdrawals carry no fee, while bank and wire withdrawals cost 1.5%. Our comparison of registered exchanges shows how other platforms price their trades.

Sources

Checked 10 November 2026.

• Coinsquare, homepage: “Coinsquare is now part of Robinhood”, “60+ cryptocurrencies and over 3,000 trading pairs”, custodians with “a combined $680M USD in insurance”
• Coinsquare Capital Markets, fee schedule, effective 1 October 2026
• Coinsquare, fees: trade spread, Pro 0.50%, CAD deposit and withdrawal fees and limits, crypto withdrawal fees, staking commission, 29 trade-only coins, last updated 22 July 2026
• Coinsquare, regulation: CIRO investment dealer, run by Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd., cold storage, no lending, Vault Risk insurance, CIPF up to $1 million on cash
• Coinsquare, legal and regulatory documents: CCML is the dealer subsidiary of Coinsquare Ltd, “A WonderFi Company”
• Coinsquare, relationship disclosure: wholly-owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets Inc, no margin or lending, investment limits, last updated 14 September 2026
• Coinsquare, client account agreement: custodians, cold storage omnibus account, Fireblocks hot wallet
• Coinsquare, risk statement: custodian coin lists, insurance warning, no CDIC cover, last updated 26 August 2026
• Coinsquare, about: founded in 2014, Android and iOS apps
• Apple App Store (Canada), Coinsquare: Buy Bitcoin Canada: 4.58 from 5,371 ratings on 10 November 2026
• Bitbuy, legal and regulatory documents: Bitbuy is a trade name of Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd.
• New Brunswick Financial and Consumer Services Commission, registered crypto asset trading platforms