Netcoins Review

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Bottom line:

Netcoins is a simple crypto exchange for Canadians to trade Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other popular cryptocurrencies for a flat 0.5% trading fee. While designed for Canadian residents, non-Canadian users can also purchase through its third-party integration with Simplex, buying crypto with a debit or credit card.

There are limitations to Netcoins as it is designed for new crypto investors only. It doesn’t feature advanced trading features, such as options or futures trading, or the ability to earn a deposit yield. The lack of broader features will not appeal to serious crypto traders and investors in Canada, and the 0.5% fee is a little high.

How We Rated Netcoins

Category	Hedge With Crypto Rating
Features	3 / 5
Supported Fiat Currencies and Deposit Methods	4.2 / 5
Supported Cryptocurrencies and Trading Pairs	3.8 / 5
Fees	3.8 / 5
Ease of Use	4.4 / 5
Customer Support	4.5 / 5
Security Measures	4 / 5
Mobile App	4.3 / 5

Netcoins At A Glance

Netcoins is a Canadian crypto exchange that started as a Bitcoin ATM business in 2014 but quickly pivoted to offering exchange services to users. The exchange is designed for the general community and has expanded from a Bitcoin exchange to now offering over 30 cryptocurrencies for trading. Netcoins also offers mobile trading with both an Android and iOS app.

Netcoins offers several notable features, including:

• Regulated exchange with FINTRAC license in Canada
• Flat-rate trading fees
• No withdrawal fees on fiat currency
• 31 crypto available to trade
• Prepaid VISA card that pays rewards in Bitcoin
• Owned by BIGG Digital Assets, a publicly-traded company

Netcoins is a regulated crypto exchange in Canada by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) and is a licensed Money Service Business (MSB). It is also Canada's first publicly traded crypto exchange as part of its parent company, BIGG Digital Assets. Netcoins is currently headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Exchange Name	Netcoins
Fiat Currencies	CAD, USD
Cryptocurrency	31
Payment Type	Cryptocurrency, Interac e-Transfer, Wire Transfer (CAD only), Credit/Debit card
Trading Fee	0.5%
Deposit Fee	None
Withdrawal Fee	Free fiat withdrawals, crypto withdrawal fees vary by currency
Mobile App	Yes

Netcoins Compared

EXCHANGE	CRYPTO ASSETS	TRADING FEES	RATING	PROMOTION	WEBSITE	REVIEW
BitBuy	24	2%	Rating We provide an overall weighted average rating out of 5 stars. Our ratings are based on objective criteria like the ease of use, fees, deposit methods, customer support and availability. Our reviews are not influenced by 3rd parties. Click here for further information about our rating methodology and a full list of categories we review against. 3.7 / 5	None available at this time	Visit BitBuy	BitBuy Review
Kraken	222	0.16% (maker) and 0.26% (taker)	Rating We provide an overall weighted average rating out of 5 stars. Our ratings are based on objective criteria like the ease of use, fees, deposit methods, customer support and availability. Our reviews are not influenced by 3rd parties. Click here for further information about our rating methodology and a full list of categories we review against. 4.8 / 5	None available at this time	Visit Kraken	Kraken Review
NDAX	13	0.2%	Rating We provide an overall weighted average rating out of 5 stars. Our ratings are based on objective criteria like the ease of use, fees, deposit methods, customer support and availability. Our reviews are not influenced by 3rd parties. Click here for further information about our rating methodology and a full list of categories we review against. 4.0 / 5	None available at this time	Visit NDAX	NDAX Review

Review of Netcoins Top Features

Access to Bitcoin and other Top Crypto

Netcoins supports 31 cryptocurrencies for trading, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Polygon (MATIC), and XRP (XRP). It also supports Dogecoin (DOGE), ApeCoin (APE), and Shiba Inu (SHIB), as well as one stablecoin, US Dollar Coin (USDC). Each token and coin is shown with live prices for the day and historical charts.

There is a surprising lack of stablecoins support, as Tether (USDT), Dai (DAI), and others are not available on Netcoins, which is a con. Other top coins are missing as well, including Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), and Polkadot (DOT). While the selection is decent, users who want access to a larger selection of crypto may be better served by using a top altcoin exchange like Binance or Coinbase.

Simplex Integration for Purchases via Credit/Debit Card

While Netcoins is designed for Canadian residents to use, non-resident users can still create an account with just their name and email address and purchase crypto with a debit or credit card through Simplex. This third-party service is a non-custodial crypto-buying app that requires inputting a crypto wallet address to receive the funds directly.

This integration only offers access to 5 cryptocurrencies (BTC, ETH, BCH, LTC, XRP), and still requires inputting personal data to complete the transaction. There are also additional fees for purchase, up to 5% on credit card purchases, with a $10 USD minimum purchase amount. The integration is the only way to buy crypto with a debit or credit card on Netcoins. Still, Canadian residents will save money by transferring funds to the Netcoins platform directly.

Netcoins VISA Prepaid Card

Netcoins offers a rewards VISA prepaid card that offers cash back paid in Bitcoin rewards. This card allows users to deposit CAD into their Netcoins account and spend those funds at any place that accepts VISA cards. Netcoins offers 3% rewards within the first 3 months of opening the account and 1% rewards after that. There are no annual fees for holding the card, and users can opt to use a virtual card to make purchases digitally. The rewards are initially earned in CAD upon purchase but automatically converted to BTC with a user’s Netcoins account at the end of each month.

While the Netcoins card offers decent rewards for the first 3 months, users cannot use it to spend their crypto, and it doesn’t have the same flexibility as the top crypto debit cards that we have reviewed such as the Binance Card and Crypto.com VISA card.

Excellent Customer Support

Netcoins offers some of the best customer service available from any crypto exchange. Users can quickly connect via live chat, submit an online form, send an email, or pick up the phone and call the support team. Netcoins also offers customer support via social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, making it easy to connect with a team member. Business hours for support differ between email and phone/live chat. Email support is available from 6AM to 8PM PT, Mon – Fri, and Sat – Sun from 9AM to 8PM PT. Phone and live chat support is available from 7AM to 5PM PT, Mon – Fri, and Sat – Sun from 9AM to 5PM PT.

Messaging Netcoins on live chat, we were able to get a response from the team within 2 minutes, and they were able to quickly and accurately answer our questions. This is refreshing to see, as most large crypto exchanges do not offer this level of high-touch support.

Regulation and Security

Netcoins is a regulated exchange in Canada that complies with FINTRAC and anti-money laundering (AML) policies. Most crypto assets are held on offline cold storage vaults supported by BitGo, with over $250 million in insurance coverage against theft. Netcoins also utilizes SSL to encrypt user data on the platform and offers Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) to further secure user accounts.

Netcoins was the victim of a security breach in April of 2022, where a user exploited a software vulnerability to steal about $1.5 million in Canadian Dollars (CAD). This did not affect any user funds, and the hacker was not able to access any crypto wallets. Outside of this software vulnerability that was immediately patched, no user funds have been lost, and assets are insured against theft, making Netcoins a safe place to trade.

Netcoin Verification

Netcoins requires KYC verification on all accounts to be able to use all the functions of the platform, including fiat and crypto deposits, crypto trading, and withdrawals. Verification is only available to Canadian residents at this time, though efforts are underway to expand into the U.S. market in 2022.
To verify an account, Netcoins users will need to provide personal data, including a valid phone number, full name, address, and birth date. Netcoins also requires submitting the following documentation;

• A picture of a photo ID, such as a driver’s license
• Proof of residence document, such as a utility bill
• Selfie picture

All of these documents are submitted and verified by Netcoin before fully verifying a user’s account. Netcoin states that all of this documentation is necessary to comply with FINTRAC regulations, and is in place to help prevent fraud and theft on the platform.

Funding & Limits

Netcoins supports both Canadian Dollars (CAD) and U.S. Dollars, as well as 31 different cryptocurrencies for account funding. CAD deposits can be made via Interac e-Transfer or wire deposit, and USD deposits are only available via bank wire transfer. Crypto deposits are free. There are no maximum deposit amounts on fiat or crypto, though individual banks may impose daily limits. Fiat deposits via e-Transfer require a $10 minimum transfer, and fiat deposits via wire transfer require a $500 minimum transfer.

Fiat and crypto withdrawals are also unlimited, but crypto withdrawals come with minimums, as do fiat withdrawals. Crypto withdrawal minimums vary by currency and are listed here, while CAD fiat withdrawal minimums are $10 for e-Transfer and $500 for wire transfer, while USD withdrawals require a $1,000 minimum.

Volume and Liquidity

Netcoins does not share its liquidity details publicly and is not listed on CoinMarketCap, a third-party website that ranks the liquidity of top exchanges. Netcoins does partner with BitGo as its liquidity provider, though details on BitGo’s liquidity are not available either.

Netcoins Trading & Ease of Use

Netcoins offers a simple user interface for buying and selling crypto. Here’s how trading works with Netcoins:

User Interface

The user interface is very simple, with a dashboard showing the user’s portfolio, open orders, and recent transactions. There are only a few menu options, allowing users to fund their account (with fiat or crypto), buy/sell crypto, and withdraw funds. Users will find using the Netcoins platform to fund an account and view balances very simple.

Placing Orders

The Netcoins trading interface is fairly straightforward, showing users a simple line chart for each crypto, with basic market stats, such as Volume, Market Cap, and Supply. Crypto traders who need candlestick charts will not find them on Netcoins and are better off using a specific crypto day trading platform for this.

Users can place both Instant and Limit orders within the order form, allowing some control over the trade. Once a user fills in the details of the order form, the order can be previewed, which shows the fees associated with the transaction as well. Instant orders are fulfilled immediately, while Limit orders may end up placed in the order book to be filled when the price is met.

Netcoins Fees

Netcoins charges a flat rate fee of 0.5% for all transactions, with no “spread” or other fees collected. There are also no fees for making purchases with fiat currency. The only transaction fees that exceed this fee are credit/debit card purchases through a third-party partner, Simplex. Those transactions may cost up to 5% but are not collected by Netcoins.

Here’s how Netcoins fees compare to other crypto exchanges in Canada such as Binance, Newton and Gemini based on our reviews.

Exchange	Trading Fees	Token Discounts
Netcoins	0.5%	No
Binance	0.1%	Yes
Huobi	0.2%	Yes
Gemini	0.5%	No
Newton	0.5% – 2.0%	No

Netcoins Mobile App

Netcoins offers a mobile app, available for both Android and iOS devices, with over 10,000 downloads across both platforms. The app offers all the same functions as the desktop version, allowing users to deposit fiat or crypto, place trades, and withdraw funds with ease. The Netcoins exchange app has an overall 4.2/5 star rating in the Apple store based on about 160 reviews, which is a good rating overall.

Most complaints center around the higher withdrawal fees and the limited crypto selection. The support team seems to respond to any technical issues reported.