Are there any Bitcoin friendly banks in Canada? If you are a Canadian, who has appreciated the possibility to trade cryptocurrency and looks for official financial institutions in the country, you should know that there are banks which maintain relationships with crypto market.
You will also agree that not all Canadian banks manage to regulate and monitor cryptocurrency and some of them refuse from providing the following services.
Look: this article will inform readers about banks which are still friendly to BitCoin and ones which have already restricted the purchase of cryptocurrency.
Banks that Accept Bitcoin in Canada
The fluctuations and lack of regulation in the crypto market lead to the situations when banks which used to allow purchasing cryptocurrency from their credit and debit cards, accounts block this activity for their clients. In fact, there is only one bank left which does not apply any restrictions to crypto traders and it is a National Bank of Canada. Since it is the only establishment which offers services to crypto traders without limits, its first position in the rating is not accidental, of course.
National Bank of Canada
This is the sixth-largest commercial bank in Canada with its headquarters located in Montreal. There are over 2.4 million clients and multiple subsidiaries all around the country.
Nowadays, it is the only bank in Canada which allows buying cryptocurrency using credit cards. Naturally, since the crypto market has no strict regulations, all the crypto transactions are regulated and monitored thoroughly. However, the latest information about the availability of cryptocurrency transactions was given in February and no other official announcements were made since that time. At the same time, despite the fact that there is no systematic blocking mechanism at the moment, the bank representative admits that such one can be implemented soon.
What Banks are Not Friendly to Bitcoin Anymore?
Most of the Canadian banks stopped providing services connected with cryptocurrency in February 2019 when the price of BitCoin was at its lowest rates. As a result, all these banks where clients could buy cryptocurrency using credit and debit cards banned this activity.
Royal Bank of Canada
This is the largest bank in Canada founded in 1864 and being the twelfth largest bank in the world by market capitalization, Royal Bank of Canada serves over 16 million people in over 80 countries on the planet.
In April 2018, the bank announced that cryptocurrency transactions will be allowed only in limited circumstances and in May already it banned crypto activity at all. This information appeared in the blog of the bank and is still there saying that credit cards issued by the bank cannot be used for crypto purchases.
Toronto-Dominion Bank
This bank takes the second place in the size of financial institutions in Canada. Its headquarters are located in Toronto and it provides banking, insurance, mortgage, and investment services.
Its efforts to take advantage of blockchain technology began in 2016 yet. This bank joined the Chamber of Digital Commerce in July of 2017 and began to provide crypto trading services at the end of 2017. However, on February 23, 2018, the bank provided an email statement where it banned the purchase of cryptocurrency using credit cards. It was made with the goal to evaluate its policies and security measures. However, in several months, Toronto-Dominion Bank expressed skepticism towards cryptocurrency (October 2018).
Bank of Nova Scotia
This is the third-largest bank in Canada by market capitalization and deposit volume. It serves over 20 million clients in 55 countries all around the globe. Its headquarters are located in Toronto and it has several subsidiary companies.
In February 2018, the bank representatives admitted that they were reviewing the cryptocurrency policy of the bank taking into consideration all the risks involved. At the beginning of March, clients of Scotiabank were deprived of the possibility to purchase cryptocurrency with both credit and debit cards. All the clients were sent emails about the block initiated and the main reason mentioned there was ‘risk and regulatory factors which continue to evolve’.
Bank of Montreal
The bank which takes the fourth place in deposit amounts and was founded in 1817 is Bank of Montreal. It provides different financial services and one of the banks listed by Forbes.
This multinational banking corporation announced about blocking cryptocurrency transactions in March 2018 together with other Canadian banks. The bank issued a document Ops Bulletin #632 dated March 28, 2018 which was sent to the clients by email to announce the restrictive measures undertaken. The bank representatives explained this decision due to the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies’ and a desire to protect the security of clients and the bank.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
One more bank with a long history was founded in 1867 and its headquarters are located in Toronto. This bank used to offer its clients crypto trading experience but it has blocked credit card purchases and even closes clients’ accounts which make crypto transactions on a regular basis. Moreover, users mention the fact that the bank holds funds for a long period of time unreasonably even after closing accounts.
Alternatives for Buying Bitcoin in Canada
Except for banks that accept BitCoin, there are other methods to purchase cryptocurrency. The most popular alternative methods are the following ones:
Peer-to-peer exchanges
These are platforms which offer buyers and sellers to find each other. A seller with a suitable price and payment method can be chosen by a buyer from the list and they make a safe exchange transaction through the platform. The most popular peer-to-peer exchanges operating in Canada are:
- LocalBitcoins,
- Paxful,
- LocalMonero.
Exchange services
The safest and most comfortable way to purchase cryptocurrency is register on the reliable crypto exchange and trade or convert tokens into fiat money or other crypto coins. The best exchange platforms for Canada are the following ones:
- Coinbase,
- CoinSquare,
- BitBuy,
- Kraken,
- NDAX.
Conclusion
Cryptocurrency trading is a popular way of earning money nowadays, so more Canadians look for safe and easy ways of how to buy tokens. Banks could be a great destination to buy BitCoin, but the fluctuations and volatility of the crypto market as well as a lack of regulation led to the fact that even those banks which tried to offer crypto purchases to their clients blocked this activity. Only one bank is still on the flow though there is no accurate information about its friendliness to crypto today. It means that the Canadians who want to own crypto should look for alternative ways of coin purchases instead of using bank services.