Is Wealthsimple Crypto safe? Our 2026 review
Updated November 2026. Checked against the regulators' registers and each platform's own pages.
Who pays us: Wealthsimple doesn't pay us. We have no affiliate or referral deals in place yet, so the link below earns us nothing. How we make money
The verdict
✓ Registered in Canada
Wealthsimple Crypto is run by an investment dealer and CIRO member, the heaviest level of oversight for a Canadian crypto platform. It charges a flat 0.5% fee plus a spread it doesn't publish, and some of its coins can't be sent out to your own wallet.
- Registered as
- Investment dealer, CIRO member
- Company
- Wealthsimple Investments Inc.
- Trading fee
- 0.5% plus spread
- Orders under $100
- $1 surcharge
- Crypto protected by CIPF
- No
Good
- Investment dealer and CIRO member
- Most client crypto held in cold storage by regulated custodians
- Limit orders carry no spread
- Crypto sits in the same app as your other Wealthsimple accounts
Bad
- Market orders include a spread Wealthsimple doesn't publish
- $1 surcharge on every order under $100
- Some listed coins can't be deposited or withdrawn
Wealthsimple is best known for investing and banking, and it also lets you buy and sell crypto in the same app. On the regulatory side, its crypto business sits with one of the most tightly supervised types of firm in the country.
Wealthsimple’s registration
Wealthsimple’s crypto page says Wealthsimple Crypto is offered by Wealthsimple Investments Inc., “a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO).” Its crypto risk disclosure adds that the company is registered as an investment dealer and an investment fund manager. It’s also registered as a money services business.
The regulators’ register lists Wealthsimple Investments Inc. as an investment dealer, with its latest decision dated 22 December 2025. Its crypto business used to run through a separate company, Wealthsimple Digital Assets Inc. The register shows that registration expired on 1 January 2024, the day Wealthsimple Investments Inc. took over.
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.
How Wealthsimple holds your crypto
Wealthsimple’s risk disclosure names three custodians: Tetra Trust Company in Calgary, Coinbase Custody Trust Company in New York and BitGo Trust Company in South Dakota. It says crypto held by custodians is kept in cold storage, offline, and that each custodian carries insurance for losses of crypto.
Wealthsimple may keep up to 20% of client crypto, by value, in its own hot wallets. Its crypto page says those coins are covered through a partnership with Coincover in case of a hack.
Crypto isn’t covered by CIPF. The risk disclosure says crypto held by Wealthsimple “do not qualify for CIPF coverage”, and the crypto page says the same of CDIC and other protection schemes.
Fees
Wealthsimple’s pricing help article, updated 2 November 2026, sets out what you pay:
- A flat 0.5% fee on each trade.
- A spread on market orders, which Wealthsimple doesn’t publish. You see the final price before you confirm.
- No spread on limit orders or stop orders.
- A $1 surcharge on any order under $100.
Clients with Active Trader status pay no spread, and their fee falls below 0.5% as their 30-day trading volume rises. Trading in US dollars from a Canadian dollar account adds a currency exchange fee.
To add money, Wealthsimple’s Interac e-Transfer help article, updated 10 November 2026, says it “doesn’t charge fees for processing an e-Transfer”, though your own bank may. You can send up to $10,000 per e-Transfer, or your bank’s sending limit if that’s lower, and the money is available to trade right away. E-Transfers have to come from a bank account in your own name.
Sending crypto to an outside wallet costs the network fee, which Wealthsimple says it doesn’t set. It shows you the estimate before you send.
What you can buy
Wealthsimple lists Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and more than 170 other coins. Not all of them can move in or out, though. Its list of available crypto marks about 40 coins, including BNB and Sui, as not available to withdraw, so you can only buy and sell those inside Wealthsimple.
Staking is available on some coins, including Ethereum, Solana, Cardano and Polkadot. Wealthsimple keeps a percentage of the rewards as its fee.
Frequently asked questions
Is Wealthsimple Crypto legit?
Yes. Wealthsimple Crypto is offered by Wealthsimple Investments Inc., which is registered with Canada’s securities regulators as an investment dealer and is a CIRO member.
Is my crypto insured on Wealthsimple?
Wealthsimple says its custodians carry insurance for losses of crypto, and coins in its own hot wallets are covered through Coincover in case of a hack. Those are private arrangements, not a government scheme. Your crypto isn’t covered by CIPF or CDIC, and its price can still fall.
How much does Wealthsimple charge for crypto?
A flat 0.5% per trade plus a spread on market orders, and $1 more on orders under $100. Limit orders skip the spread. Our comparison of registered exchanges shows how other platforms price their trades.
Sources
Checked 8 November 2026.
- Wealthsimple, crypto
- Wealthsimple, crypto product risk disclosure
- Wealthsimple Help, what crypto buy and sell prices include
- Wealthsimple Help, fund your account with Interac e-Transfer
- Wealthsimple Help, available crypto
- Wealthsimple Help, withdraw crypto to an external wallet
- Wealthsimple Help, stake your crypto assets
- New Brunswick Financial and Consumer Services Commission, registered crypto asset trading platforms
Update history
- Added Interac e-Transfer funding: no Wealthsimple fee, up to $10,000 per transfer, with a screenshot of its help article.
- First published.
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