How to buy Bitcoin in Canada
A simple guide to buying and safely storing your Bitcoin for Canadians.
If you live in the arguably greatest country on the planet, home of maple syrup, the Jays and funny man Jim Carrey, here’s a quick guide on the best and safest way(at least as of this moment) to purchase Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies(cryptos).
Took me a while to figure out the best and easiest way to do it after spending countless hours researching Youtube videos, Reddit channels and reading blog posts. Hopefully my little guide will save you time, money and stress.
First, a bit of background. I found out about cryptocurrencies back in 2013, from a group of friends who were mining Bitcoin at the time. These guys had a whole setup in their apartments, using their gaming rigs to mine as much Bitcoin and Litecoin as they could. Honestly, I wasn’t very interested in it at the time, even though my friends were super excited about the whole thing. I got some details from them on what it is and how it works, but I didn’t want to buy or wanted to own any of it, thinking it’s a just a passing geeky fad. Silly me!
Fast forward to 2021 and the Canadian crypto market is a lot more mature (relatively speaking) and gaining popularity. It is now worth as much as $2 trillion (as of this update) in market cap and everyone and their grandma is looking to get in on the action(Ok, grandma said pass, she just doesn’t get it).
The FOMO(fear of missing out) is strong with this one and for a good reason. Bitcoin went from $100 in 2013 to $20,000 in early 2018, back to about $5k and as of right now sitting at $45k USD. Let’s just say we live in interesting times.
That being said, buying and storing Bitcoin, Ether and cryptocurrencies in general, is not as easy as you’d imagine(the reason why I wrote this post and why you’re here) and there are some things you need to understand first:
1. Cryptocurrencies share some similarities to fiat cash, but not many.
The same way you keep your cash in your wallet, you’ll need a crypto wallet(hot or cold wallet, more details below) to keep your Bitcoin or Ether.
You can buy things with them, as quite a few places accept Bitcoin or Ether or other cryptos as forms of payment.
2. There are only a few places in Canada, where you can safely buy/exchange Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It’s the Wild Wild West when it comes to cryptos and the risks associated with it are higher than say fiat cash, stocks and other investment assets which are well protected and regulated.
3. You should only purchase and invest money you can afford to lose.
Same as if you would lose your wallet with cash in it or if you’re playing at the Casino, you should be prepared mentally that you could lose it all. This could happen if your crypto gets lost, stolen or if there’s a price crash.
Cryptocurrencies are a highly speculative investment with extreme volatility. Just follow Coinmarketcap.com for a few days and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.
Alright, enough of the introduction. So, how can you get in on the action?
- Buying Bitcoin in Canada.
To be able to buy Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH) you’ll need to create an account with Coinberry.com, which is a safe and secure Canadian crypto platform, kind of like the Kayak or Skyscanner of the crypto world, pulling prices from all other major exchanges and offering you the best deal.
This is all based on my actual experience for the past 2 years and this what I currently use.
There are some other ways to do it and other exchanges available, especially in last couple of years, like Shakepay, Coinsquare, etc. but I don’t have much experience with them. I prefer Coinberry, cause it’s easy, have good prices and decent customer support.
You’ll have to go through a short ID verification process, so follow the instructions on their website on how to proceed.
Once you’ve created your account, you can easily deposit Canadian funds from your bank account directly, which in turn you can use to buy Bitcoin and Ether on the exchange.
After you’ve purchased the cryptocurrency of your choice using Coinberry’s website or mobile apps, I would recommend moving it out of their platform, if you’re planning on holding on to it for a longer period of time.
There are several reasons for this, first one being, the exchange could get hacked, fraud, whatever and you’ll lose all your money, as it happened before with other exchanges(QCX for example).
Coinberry is considered pretty safe and solid with a good reputation and customer service team, but you never know, better safe than sorry, right?
Also, in case of a Bitcoin price crash, which honestly, could happen at any time, you want to make sure you have your funds in hand or easily accessible.
A run on the bank could happen and you don’t wanna be dealing with that situation.
2. Storing your Bitcoin or crypto in a secure way.
Now, to be able to move your crypto out of the exchange, you’ll need a crypto wallet with an address. Think of it as a local/portable account number that can be stored in various ways. There are multiple types of crypto wallets and you should read up on the pros and cons of each one here, as it is important to know.
If you’re too lazy(which you shouldn’t be, cause we’re talking about your moolah here) and just want to know which one to use, keep reading.
I use a combination of the Metamask on my mobile phone and Metamask as my browser wallet and a cold hardware wallet called Ledger Nano S.
The Ledger Nano S, is a cold hardware wallet, looks like a USB stick and is one of the most secure ways to store your crypto. I highly recommend it.
You can buy it from their website, here. Don’t buy it from any other place, other than their website. Don’t buy it from Amazon or Ebay or Kijiji or whatever and DON’T EVER buy a used one. Used hardware crypto wallets could’ve been hacked and installed with malicious software, which can steal/transfer your funds the moment you add them on, so be smart and careful.
In terms of your crypto funds storage safety,
I would rate mobile wallets a 2–3/10 for security because your phone can be lost or stolen easily, exchanges a 3–4/10, the desktop wallet a 5–6/10 and the cold hardware wallet a solid 9/10. There is another way, called a paper wallet, but I’m not gonna go into details on that one, you can research that on your own. You make your own decision.
That’s about it as a start. Hope this guide was useful to you and welcome to the fun and exciting new world of crypto.
If you’d like to understand the technology behind cryptocurrencies a bit better and you should, if you’re planning to invest, please read my other post
Blockchain & cryptocurrencies 101.
Cheers!
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