Coinberry Review
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Coinberry is an insured trading platform and one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges in Canada that provides 0% deposit and withdrawal fees for CAD transfers. In this review, we will compare and assess the exchange using important metrics such as trading features, supported currencies, deposit methods, fees, security and customer support.
- A well-designed and beginner-friendly crypto exchange that is suitable for various types of investors in Canada
- Supports 19 of the major cryptocurrencies
- 0% CAD funding methods and withdrawals
- One of the few Bitcoin exchanges in Canada with a $200 Million Insurance Policy
- Fast, intuitive and responsive mobile app rich in features to buy and sell crypto on the move
Coinberry is a Canadian digital currency exchange that provides a safe and secure platform to buy and sell 19 cryptocurrencies. The exchange is best-suited for new crypto investors that want to deposit and withdraw CAD with 0% fees. Coinberry offers a variety of features to simplify the crypto experience including a visual user-interface, recurring orders and an intuitive mobile app for iOS and Android devices.
What Is Coinberry?
Coinberry is a popular digital asset platform that is based in Toronto, Canada that offers an easy-to-use exchange and mobile app to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. Founded in 2017, Coinberry is a registered Money Service Business (MSB) that is regulated by FINTRAC, an entity of the Federal Government of Canada. The exchange has become a leading provider that offers 19 major assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, Stellar, Bitcoin Cash and Cardano.
Designed for simplicity and is best suited for beginners and experienced investors with various features and services. These include the spot exchange, Coinberry Pay and AutoPilot to automate crypto investing using recurring buy orders.
Pros & Cons
Coinberry is a Canadian exchange that allows individuals to buy and sell Bitcoin and 15 other cryptocurrency assets in a safe and secure manner. Featuring a beginner-friendly platform, zero CAD deposit and withdrawal fees using Interac e-Transfers, Coinberry is a suitable platform for locals. However, its disadvantages include a limited selection of assets, spreads above market up to 2.5% and poor feedback based on customer reviews.
- Safe and secure exchange regulated by FinTRAC
- Simple and easy to use crypto platform
- 0% CAD deposit and withdrawal fees
- Wire transfers and Interac e-Transfers available
- Mobile app to buy and sell crypto on the go
- Limited selection of cryptocurrencies
- Spread charges up to 2.5% are above market
- Rates are not locked during the transaction process
- Poor customer service according to reviews
Is Coinberry Safe?
Coinberry features military-grade encryption and security measures to ensure customer personal information and funds are kept safe. Coinberry has never been hacked or compromised and is a safe exchange to safely and securely buy Bitcoin in Canada. According to the website, 97% of assets on the platform are held in offline cold storage facilities and 2 Factor Authentication is available to protect accounts against exchange hacks.
Can Coinberry Be Trusted?
Coinberry is a reputable and trustworthy FINTRAC licensed platform with a zero-tolerance policy against fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing. The exchange adheres to strict international KYC/AML processes to provide a safe platform. Coinberry offers institutional-grade protection with a 200 Million insurance policy by Gemini, which is a licensed licensed crypto custodian by the State of New York.
The insurance policy covers the exchange against financial losses due to dishonest and unethical behavior from Coinberry employees. Bad actors within a company have been the cause of several crypto exchange hacks in recent years.
Coinberry Overview
| Exchange Name | Coinberry |
|---|---|
| Markets | Spot exchange |
| Fiat Currency | CAD |
| Cryptocurrency | BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC & 15 others |
| Trading Fees | Up to 2.5% spread |
| CAD Deposit Fees | None |
| CAD Withdrawal Fees | None |
| Mobile App | Yes |
Coinberry Compared
Coinberry is a reputable and trustworthy digital currency exchange in Canada that enables Canadian's to deposit and withdraw CAD with zero fees. The exchange is good for its simplicity and ease of use that will suit beginners wanting to buy crypto for the first time. Alternate exchanges like Coinberry that are available in Canada with similar features are listed below for a comparison.
| Exchange | Crypto Assets | Trading Fees | Rating | Promotion | Website | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 BitBuy | 25 | 1.5% | Rating  | $20 bonus for deposits greater than $250 | Visit BitBuy | BitBuy Review |
 NDAX | 13 | 0.2% | Rating | None available at this time | Visit NDAX | NDAX Review |
 Coinberry | 19 | Up to 2.5% spread | Rating | None available at this time | Visit Coinberry | Coinberry Review |
 MyBTC | Bitcoin | Included in deposit fee | Rating | None available at this time | Visit MyBTC | MyBTC Review |
Coinberry Features
Beginner-Friendly Exchange
Getting started with cryptocurrencies can be a daunting task for newcomers that are not familiar with crypto exchanges and wallets. Coinberry takes the stress out of investing in Bitcoin and 18 other digital currencies with its modern, elegant and intuitive user interface. Crypto investors can easily and quickly monitor asset prices and their portfolios using the website or feature-rich mobile app.
0% CAD Deposit & Withdrawal Fees
Coinberry supports 2 payment options to deposit CAD with zero fees to use for buying and selling cryptocurrencies. The CAD deposit options include wire transfers and Interac e-Transfers. These deposit options are commonly supported by various banks including BMO, CIBC, RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank and TD Canada Trust. There is currently no option to buy crypto using a debit or credit card.
Supported Cryptocurrencies
Coinberry is available to customers that reside in Canada only. The exchange is limited to deposits in Canadian dollar (CAD) coming from Canadian banks and/or financial institutions. Therefore, Coinberry does not support payments in US Dollars, Euros or British Pounds. Customers that want to buy crypto with these currencies will need to find a USA crypto exchange or a trading platform based in the UK that accepts GBP deposits.
Individuals within Canada that create an account with Coinberry have immediate access to 19 different cryptocurrencies which include the major assets by market capitalization. The supported coins include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Cardano, Dogecoin and Polkadot. The available coins will appeal to beginners, however, the list of assets is quite limited for serious altcoin investors that are searching for DeFi tokens and low-cap speculative coins.
Institutional-Grade Protection
Coinberry was one of the first crypto exchanges in Canada to offer an insurance policy that protects the exchange against financial losses due to dishonest or fraudulent acts of employees such as robbery, burglary, theft, hold-up, or other fraudulent means within Coinberry's offices.
The 200 Million policy provides a great level of assurances to its customers, however, does cover user funds lost to external bad actors such as hackers. In comparison, its competitor exchange Bitbuy provides 1:1 insurance on BTC holdings in offline cold storage with insurance up to the full value.
Coinberry Pay
Coinberry Pay is a flagship product offered to allow Bitcoin payments between merchants, charities and individuals. The feature allows individuals and businesses to accept Bitcoin payments for goods and services, donations or tips. Digital assets that are received can be automatically converted into Canadian Dollars using a unique Coinberry iPay Link. The accepted cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin & XRP. Coinberry Pay is useful for companies in Canada that want to accept crypto payments directly from their website or mobile device.
Getting Started
To buy, sell, send and receive cryptocurrency using Coinberry, users will need to create an account and be at least 18 years or older. There is no fees to create or maintain a Coinberry Exchange account or wallet. However, all users to complete an ID verification process before depositing funds to obtain crypto.
ID Verification
Coinberry complies with the strict Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements as set out by FINTRAC to prevent fraudulent activity. All users must complete account verification by submitting documentation that states a full name and date of birth. Examples include a Canadian Passport or Canadian Driver's License. The automatic verification process takes a few minutes to complete.
Deposit Methods
Coinberry supports wire transfers and Interac e-Transfers to fund an account using Canadian Dollars]. For large investments, using a wire transfer is the best option with a maximum limit of CAD 50,000 per 24 hour period. The speed of the wire transfer can take between 1 and 3 business days to clear depending on the bank.
For small purchases and using the recurring order feature, Interac e-Transfers are suitable with near-instant processing times. There are no minimum amounts which are ideal for retail crypto investors.
| Deposit Type | Minimum | Maximum | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interac e-Transfer | None | $10,000 | Instant |
| Wire transfer | $10,000 | $500,000 | 2-3 days |
Individuals that want to sell crypto can deposit funds to Coinberry which can be sold on the exchange. Users can only transfer coins that are supported by Coinberry to a unique wallet address. The time to transfer Bitcoin or another asset depends on the blockchain network congestion at the time of the transaction.
Buying & Selling Cryptocurrency
Buying and selling crypto assets on Coinberry is very streamlined that is ideal for quick purchases. Once an asset is selected from the coin list, the user interface is intuitive and follows a step-by-step process. There is the option to choose at market price or limit order to execute a trade. This can be useful however there are no price charts to maximize the benefits of a limit order. Traders will need to use a third-party website for crypto charting to determine a lower or higher price to place a trade.
Once an amount of CAD has been entered, the corresponding value of the cryptocurrency is displayed. The transaction fees are shown before confirming the order which is a positive to provide full transparency on the fees.
In short, the buying and selling experience on Coinberry is minimal and straightforward with no complicated options or selections. The user interface is suited for individuals of all experience levels. However, the trading experience could be improved with the inclusion of price charts such as Tradingview which is widely integrated with many crypto platforms.
Trading Fees
Unlike a traditional crypto exchange, Coinberry is a broker that obtains its pricing from its liquidity providers. The fees are inclusive of a spread charge that varies for each supported coin. The spread ranges between 0% and 2.5% which is in addition to the rate provided by other exchanges. This is comparable to Newton and VirgoCX, which are other exchanges in Canada that charge a spread fee only. However, when compared to other platforms with fixed fees such as Bitbuy and NDAX, the fees on Coinberry can be a lot higher.
Related: How to calculate crypto spreads.
Furthermore, individuals could simply purchase crypto directly from top cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase Pro, FTX, Kraken and KuCoin. However, not all exchanges offer CAD which means Coinberry users are paying a premium for the benefit of using CAD with a local exchange.
| Exchange | Trading Fee |
|---|---|
| Binance | 0.1% |
| KuCoin | 0.1% |
| Kraken | 0.16% / 0.26% |
| Huobi | 0.2% |
| Crypto.com Exchange | 0.2% |
| NDAX | 0.2% |
| Bitbuy | 0.2% |
| Coinberry | Up to 2.5% |
In comparison to local crypto exchanges in Canada such as Bitbuy and NDAX which offer a flat trading fee of 0.2% per transaction, Coinberry's fees are too expensive and don't offer good value for money. Furthermore, the actual fees can fluctuate during the purchasing process which is a major pitfall. The quoted price and executed price can vary during the transaction process.
This means the person could receive less crypto than what was initially displayed. A better solution would be to fix the rate during the buying or selling process which is common practice for other crypto brokers and instant-swap crypto platforms.
Mobile App
Coinberry offers a mobile app for iOS and Android devices that can be downloaded from the respective app marketplaces. The Coinberry app has similar features to the desktop version and can be used to verify identity, fund an account with CAD, buy and sell crypto, withdraw or transfer to another wallet address. While the app is easy to navigate, customer reviews on the app are negative with several comments citing a poor mobile experience.
Customer Support
Coinberry has a 3.7/5 star rating based on 766 customer reviews. Although, the feedback on the customer support is underwhelming with numerous comments suggesting slow response times. Coinberry does not provide a 24/7 customer support service to assist with day-to-day troubleshooting issues.
There is a simple ticket system to submit queries for issues with verification, deposits and withdrawals. However, there is no contact number to contact the exchange directly which is disappointing for a local company. Several how-guides cover the majority of topics to get started with Coinberry. Overall, the customer service for a relatively small exchange could be much improved.
Frequently Asked Questions
The benefit of using Coinberry is the easy to navigate website, 0% CAD deposit and withdrawal costs and a $200 million insurance policy. However, its disadvantage include high trading fees up to 2.5%, limited number of cryptocurrencies and slow customer service.
Coinberry is a locally owned and operated crypto exchange in Canada. The platform accepts CAD deposits only to Canadian bank accounts and therefore is not available to residents in the United States.
Our Verdict
Coinberry does many things right for individuals in Canada to buy Bitcoin and 19 other cryptocurrencies. Its benefits include a beginner-friendly user interface and 0% CAD deposit and withdrawal fees for wire transfer and Interac e-Transfer. However, the trading fees which range up to 2.5% per transaction are too high when compared to similar Canadian exchanges.
Overall, Coinberry is a good exchange for first-time crypto investors and beginners that are looking for a modern and secure digital asset exchange. However, intermediate and experienced investors are better off using global exchanges with greater support for altcoins, deeper liquidity and lower trading fees.
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