Bitbuy exchange profile: Canadian accounts during the Robinhood transition

Bitbuy serves Canadian customers buying and selling crypto through Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd. Its profile now turns on the phased move to Robinhood: platform access and available features depend on whether the individual customer has received and completed the transition. A current Bitbuy account should not be assessed solely from older Pro Trade descriptions.[4]

The May 2026 dealing guide describes crypto-to-fiat and fiat-to-crypto transactions with a preview and confirmation step. It does not support direct crypto-to-crypto swaps in that flow. A changed quotation may require a fresh confirmation, so an indicative portfolio price should not be treated as a firm execution instruction.[9]

The relationship disclosure describes an execution-only account. Customer-directed crypto transactions do not create a discretionary portfolio-management mandate, and a corporate service contact is not automatically a personal investment adviser. The current disclosed product relationship should be kept separate from other securities businesses available elsewhere in the parent group.[5]

Bitbuy’s Express pricing embeds a spread. Its published Pro table states 0.5% maker and taker, effective 1 December 2023; that dated tariff does not establish current Pro access after migration.[7]

Robinhood’s 1 June acquisition announcement separately advertised a flat 0.5% Canadian trading commission. On a hypothetical C$1,000 execution, that is C$5 before any other applicable costs or price movement. Confirm the product and fee actually displayed for the migrated account, rather than treating the historical Bitbuy table and Robinhood announcement as interchangeable contracts.[2]

The trading FAQ distinguishes the chart’s mid-market indication from the final buy or sell quotation. A spread and changing market conditions can explain a difference between the two; reviewing the quantity received and final CAD consideration is more useful than assuming a chart price was executable for the whole order.[8]

Robinhood’s migration FAQ limits the advertised 0.5% to its initial months. It directs funding fees and limits to the app and excludes inactivity or maintenance fees. The Bitbuy tariff does not establish migrated-account charges.[3]

A C$1,000 EFT withdrawal has a C$15 percentage charge. The tariff allows one Interac withdrawal per twenty-four hours. Crypto withdrawals have asset-specific minimums and fixed or dynamic charges.[7]

CAD deposit instructions permit three successful Interac transfers in a rolling twenty-four-hour period. A requested payment must be accepted within one hour, and the customer’s bank may impose a limit below the platform’s C$15,000 maximum. Corporate money must use the corporate account route; a business bank account is not an accepted substitute for funding an individual account.[11]

Ordinary funding is in Canadian dollars. The USD guide reserves US-dollar deposits for the Wealth route, from US$10,000. This is not evidence that every retail account has a general-purpose USD wallet or can send an ordinary US-dollar transfer to the CAD deposit instructions. Confirm the beneficiary currency and account-specific route before remitting.[12]

The withdrawal FAQ estimates one to three business days for EFT and wire processing, while the tariff gives the route-specific ranges above. Banking days, review and security holds affect actual availability. A request accepted in the interface is not proof that the destination bank has received or credited the money.[10]

For transfers covered by its Travel Rule process, Bitbuy asks whether the recipient is the customer or another person and collects required recipient information. The guide specifically discusses transfers above C$1,000 and warns that missing information can restrict an account. Treat this as the platform’s published procedure; it does not remove network, address or recipient-exchange acceptance requirements.[13]

Migration provides new deposit addresses while retaining prior addresses. Launch trading uses CAD market orders, without direct crypto swaps; review open limit orders before switching.[3]

The client agreement names Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd. as the Bitbuy counterparty. It provides for pooled custody with individual beneficial-ownership records and names Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC and BitGo Trust Company, Inc.; Fireblocks is identified in hot-wallet infrastructure. Custody technology and legal ownership are different questions: an account balance is recorded within the intermediary relationship rather than placing the wallet keys under the customer’s control.[4]

The risk statement excludes crypto assets from CIPF and CDIC protection. Custodian insurance has limited scope and cannot be treated as an unconditional per-customer promise covering every loss. The statement also excludes margin borrowing and explains that due diligence on a listed asset is not a regulator’s endorsement of its value.[6]

Bitbuy’s trust centre describes one-for-one holdings and predominantly cold storage. Its displayed reserve material is dated, some metrics remain tied to 2024, and another inspected value was blank. Those pages do not establish a current audited asset total or a current independently reconciled entitlement for an individual customer.[21]

The FAQ says trading can continue during those holds. Support may review some security restrictions, but the first-deposit delay is not described as waivable.[10]

The authentication guide describes time-based codes from applications such as Google Authenticator, Authy or Microsoft Authenticator, with setup available through web and mobile access. Retain access to the registered authenticator when changing devices; an application reinstall should not be assumed to transfer the secret used to generate the codes.[17]

The eligibility guide requires Canadian residence and an SMS-capable phone. Minimum age is eighteen in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan, and nineteen in the other listed provinces and territories. Location, age and account classification all matter; a Canadian brand is not evidence that non-residents can register.[14]

Verification accepts specified government photographic identification. The document guide directs Canadian residents using an international passport, and certain BC Services Card cases, through support-assisted review. A successful document upload does not eliminate subsequent identity, source-of-funds or transaction checks.[15]

The guide exempts Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia except Basic accounts. Its current specified-asset list is BTC, BCH, ETH, USDC, SOL and LTC. Limits use rolling 365-day net purchases and include open buy orders; deposits and withdrawals do not reset them. Older examples differ on USDC, so the current definition is the basis used here.[16]

The closure guide requires contacting support and confirming the request. Closed accounts lose access to account history, while reopening requires another request and legal retention continues. Download records before closing. This closure process is distinct from a security hold or temporary loss of login access.[23]

Bitbuy’s May 2026 contact guide identifies help-centre tickets and replies from [email protected], with no inbound support telephone service. Genuine support should not ask for passwords, two-factor codes or remote control of the device. Use the official help centre to verify a suspicious contact rather than relying on a displayed caller identity.[18]

Formal complaints can move from client service to the CCML compliance team at [email protected]. The June policy targets acknowledgement within five business days and a substantive response within ninety calendar days, or an explanation when more time is required. It describes CIRO, OBSI and Quebec AMF routes alongside applicable arbitration and court options; eligibility and deadlines depend on the route selected.[19]

The public status page reports operational components and incidents. An operational API component does not establish that every customer has access to trading keys, nor does a status update guarantee that a pending withdrawal has completed. The inspected material does not promise manual telephone execution while the platform is unavailable.[20]

CIRO’s dealer directory lists Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd. This matches the current contractual operator rather than requiring a separate Bitbuy-named entry. The review did not establish a current exact registration number suitable for a separate structured permission, and the directory entry should not be read as approval for every product offered elsewhere by the group.[22]

Regulatory membership and compensation coverage answer different questions. The risk statement’s exclusion of crypto from CIPF and CDIC protection remains relevant even where the client is dealing with a CIRO member. Any protection for qualifying cash would need to meet its own conditions rather than being extended to the crypto portfolio.[6]

Robinhood completed its acquisition of WonderFi on 1 June 2026, encompassing Bitbuy and Coinsquare. Its announcement reported approximately 300,000 funded customers across those Canadian platforms. That group measure is narrower and differently scoped than a lifetime registration total; it should not be presented as Bitbuy-only active traders.[2]

Bitbuy’s website separately advertises more than 900,000 registered Canadians and over C$7 billion traded. Those company figures are undated cumulative marketing measures, not current daily turnover or monthly active customers. They establish a claimed history of use without supporting a precise contemporary global volume ranking.[1]

The June relationship disclosure places CCML within the Robinhood group. Coinsquare is a related brand sharing the counterparty relationship and should be considered alongside this profile when checking duplicate exchange coverage. Parent ownership does not replace the legal entity named in the client agreement.[5]

Operator

Coinsquare Capital Markets Ltd.

Exchange model

Centralised

Service scope

Canadian crypto dealing during phased migration to Robinhood.

Client types

Retail clients; Institutional clients

Pricing publication

Public and quoted pricing

Other names

Bitbuy.ca

Pricing scope

Quote-based Bitbuy trading; separate dated Pro and Robinhood tariffs.

Funding scope

CAD Interac, EFT and wires; limited Wealth USD route.

Custody and asset handling

CCML custodial relationship; crypto excluded from CIPF and CDIC coverage.

Client eligibility

Canadian residents meeting provincial age and account limits.

Support

Ticket support; no inbound support telephone service.

Authorisation and registration scope

CCML appears in CIRO’s dealer directory; this does not insure crypto assets.

Exchange metadata checked 20 Oct 2026Source 1Source 3Source 4Source 5Source 6Source 7Source 12Source 14Source 18Source 22Source 28

The corporate-account page describes dedicated onboarding and account management, OTC liquidity, controls and customised reporting for Canadian businesses, trusts and professional corporations. Its 1,500-business claim is an undated company total. The page does not establish a universal OTC minimum or a fixed execution charge, so a business needs its own quoted commercial and custody terms.[28]

Staking has separate contractual rules and transitional availability. The June addendum provides for rewards only after receipt, deductions by service providers and restrictions during unbonding. Slashing reimbursement is discretionary under the stated conditions, not a guaranteed principal protection. Cancelling a staking arrangement does not necessarily make the underlying assets immediately withdrawable.[26]

Additional ETH terms allow a Bitbuy service charge up to 30% of rewards and describe activation delays that can run for days or weeks. This contractual ceiling should not be read as the precise rate for every asset or date.[27]

The transition plans staking after launch; universal restored access is unverified.[3]

The February 2025 reporting guide separates statements after 26 May 2024 from Legacy Documents before that boundary, using the web Documents area. Earlier Coinsmart, Coinberry and Bitvo records may need a request. That historical guide is useful for reconstructing migrations, but it does not establish a ready-made report for every later tax year. Reconcile statements with transfer and staking records.[24]

A June 2021 Passiv article described API credentials capable of buying, selling and withdrawing. It is historical documentation, not evidence that the same integration or key scope works after the Robinhood migration. No current API continuity or discretionary AI trading authority was established. Reassess permissions before reusing an old integration and keep exported records independently of app access.[25]