Shakepay Review

Shakepay is one of my favorite crypto exchanges in Canada because it simplifies buying and selling Bitcoin or Ethereum. Instantly fund or withdraw fiat ($CAD) using Interac e-Transfer. Signing up and verifying an account was fast and automated.

Use a referral link to activate the secret ‘ShakingSats’ rewards easter egg to earn free Bitcoin daily and get a $5 sign-up bonus.

I have been using Shakepay for over three years at the time of post update. I have read the good and bad reviews on Reddit/social media — this has been my experience buying and selling crypto on Shakepay. This Shakepay review will break down everything you should know before signing up to Shakepay.

My conclusion: I recommend Shakepay to friends who are just starting out in crypto and simply want to buy a small amount of Bitcoin or Ethereum. No fee crypto withdrawals and the ShakingSats rewards program make it a really great experience.

Shakepay handles peak times very well. It has worked consistently through the market ups and downs in the last bull market. Not all exchanges have handled it as well as Shakepay.

✅ TL;DR Summary of Shakepay Review

Why I LIKE Shakepay:

1. Easiest crypto exchange to use
2. No Fee – Free crypto withdraws is awesome
3. Good for buying small amounts
4. Features: recurring buys, limit/custom orders, pay bills
5. Earn 2% Bitcoin cash back with a virtual Visa Prepaid Card
6. Shaking SATs is an unbelievable way to earn free Bitcoin
7. Trustworthy and safe Canadian cryptocurrency exchange

Why I DON’T LIKE Shakepay:

1. High spread fee
2. Limited crypto options – BTC and ETH only
3. App only. The website has limited functionality
4. Lacks advanced trading features

Shakepay Review

Shakepay is a good exchange for Canadians to use. Easily Buy and sell Bitcoin or Ethereum on Shakepay. Quickly fund or withdraw money using Interac e-Transfer.

Operating System: iOS, Android

Editor's Rating:
4.6

Get $5 Shakepay sign-up bonus

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What’s New with Shakepay and this Shakepay Review (Updated November 1, 2023)

• Shakepay has updated, improved, and simplified its app design.
• Earn 2% in free Bitcoin cashback rewards to your Shakepay account when you shop with any Visa prepaid card at merchants worldwide (on the first $5,000).
• Limited ShakingSats rewards to only active users.
• Added bill payments.
• Added direct deposit.

About Shakepay – Quick Summary

• Shakepay is a Montreal-based company that has over 50 employees.
• It was founded in 2015 and is a legal and regulated Canadian crypto exchange.
• Shakepay is Canada’s largest (by total users) crypto exchange and has served over 1,000,000 customers.
• Shakepay makes buying and selling crypto through their Android, and iOS apps a fast and easy experience.
• Earn 2% Bitcoin rewards with the cashback prepaid Shakepay Visa debit card.

Learn More

Read: Shakepay Review

Shakepay Fees

• Deposits and withdrawals: $0
• Spread: ~1 to 2%
• Crypto withdrawal: Free

Check Fees and Prices

Funding & Withdrawal Options

• Interac E-Transfer
• Wire Transfers
• Pre-authorized Debit

Cryptocurrencies: 2

Visit Shakepay

✅ Shakepay Pros

• No fee crypto withdraws
• Simple app UI/UX
• Earn Bitcoin cashback reward with a prepaid Visa debit card
• *NEW – Dark mode
• Shakepay ShakingSATS
• Shakepay Card for BTC Rewards

❌ Shakepay Cons

• Limited coin selection
• High spread fee
• Mobile app only

Get a $5 Shakepay Sign Up Bonus →

Shakepay — Compare Fees, Spread, Coins

Shakepay Fees Explained

Deposits and withdrawals: $0

Spread: ~1 to 2%

Free Withdraw Fees – Shakepay covers the network fees when sending crypto to your wallet.

How Does Shakepay Make Money – Shakepay sets the price you can buy or sell digital currencies. At any point in time, there will be a small difference between the price customers can buy crypto and the price at which they can sell.

Shakepay will capture this difference (spread) as revenue to make their money.

Funding & Withdrawal Options

Send and receive funds, fast and securely into your account with:

• Interac E-Transfer
• Wire Transfer
• Direct deposit

Order Types

• Limit or Custom
• Recurring
• Market

Cryptocurrency Coins

Choose only to trade $ CAD for Bitcoin or Ethereum. Shakepay does not offer any crypto-to-crypto trading pairs, stablecoins, or any other altcoins.

Business Accounts

Shakepay customers can open both a personal and a business account. If you already have a personal Shakepay account, you will be able to use the same phone number for both a personal and business account. However, your business account will require a different email address.

Personal accounts and business accounts are entirely separate, you’ll need to go through the business account signup flow. This also means business accounts cannot be submitted to your personal account for review.

How to Use Shakepay

1. Sign up to Shakepay
2. Verify your account
3. Add – Make a deposit. Interac e-Transfer is easiest.
4. Buy & Sell (blue button) to convert your $ CAD to ฿ BTC or ETH
5. Send Bitcoin from Shakepay to your wallet Recieve address

Here is an in-depth tutorial (with images) that shows a step-by-step guide for beginners on how to buy Bitcoin on Shakepay and send it to your wallet.

Is Shakepay a Scam?

Shakepay is NOT a scam. Shakepay is a legitimate, legal, regulated Canadian crypto exchange.

But someone may be trying to scam you using Shakepay. Cryptocurrency transactions are not refundable. Any funds you ‘Send‘ off Shakepay are not recoverable in any way.

Elon Musk (or anyone else) is not going to send you back double the Bitcoin you send them.

Your Facebook/Instagram boyfriend or girlfriend that you have never met in real life is also not going to send your Bitcoin back.

It is gone forever once you send it.

If you do not understand Bitcoin and Ethereum and someone you don’t know is asking you to send them some, or send it to some “exchange” to earn more crypto — don’t do it.

Just assume it is a scam.

If you have done your research into crypto, and are a responsible human being who understands the risks and wants custody of your own digital assets — then Shakepay is a good exchange to use.

Shakepay Card Review

Earn 2% in free Bitcoin to your Shakepay account when you shop with any Visa Prepaid Card.

The virtual card allows you to shop online from your phone with Apple and Google Pay, or in-store anywhere Visa is accepted.

• Rewards: Cashback in Bitcoin on all purchases
• Fees: No annual or monthly fees
• Ease of Use: Seamless integration with Shakepay account
• Limitations: Currently available to Canadian residents only

Fund your Shakepay account with an Interac e-Transfer or sell your crypto balance for $ CAD to spend from your Shakepay account dollar balance and earn 2% in Bitcoin cashback on every purchase. There is no physical card option available at this time.

Shakepay ShakingSats

Shakepay ShakingSats is a “secret” promo where Shakepay will give you free Bitcoin daily by simply shaking your phone. When you shake your phone with the Shakepay app open – you will be rewarded with free Satoshis (Sats) daily.

In the image above you can see my shaking streak in 900 days. I have earned approximately $748.89 in Bitcoin by shaking my phone daily and being an ‘Active Stacker’.

ShakingSats is activated when a customer is referred and verifies their account or refers another customer who verifies their account. Sign up to Shakepay, deposit $100 and you will get ShakingSats activated.

There are two tiers to ShakingSats rewards program:

• Active stackers earn more sats the longer they keep their streak alive. The minimum reward amount for an active stacker is 50 and the highest reward amount of 1000 sats is reached on day 356 of your streak.

• Inactive stackers earn 21 sats each time they shake, regardless of their streak. Becoming inactive does not affect your streak, but as soon as an inactive stacker becomes active, they will receive the higher tiered reward associated with their current streak. Read more about ShakingSats.

Reputation and Reliability

Shakepay is one of the only exchanges that stayed working consistently through the market ups and downs in during the last crypto bull run.

Many other crypto exchanges had issues handling the influx of new customers and funding accounts at peak times. Shakepay only does a few things and they do them well.

The Shakepay status page is a good resource to check so you can see the past incidents, uptime, and technical issues Shakpay has had and their frequency.

Shakepay has officially been registered as a “restricted dealer” in all Canadian provinces, territories, and jurisdictions.

• Shakepay holds customer funds 1:1. Your money is yours, they don’t lend it out.
• Your money and crypto assets are held separately from theirs. They hold your Canadian dollars in segregated Canadian bank accounts and the vast majority of your crypto assets in segregated cold storage wallets.
• Security & Privacy measures to secure your Shakepay Account

Compare: Shakepay App to other Crypto Exchange App Reviews & Ratings

Security

CipherBlade conducted a third-party audit of Shakepay’s Proof of Reserves and Security Report.

• Cold Storage: The majority of digital assets held in cold storage.
• Insurance: Comprehensive insurance on digital assets in cold storage.
• 2FA Authentication: Available for enhanced account security.
• Regular Security Audits: Conducted by third-party security firms.

Shakepay is registered with the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) and the securities regulatory authorities in all Canadian provinces and territories. FINTRAC in Canada (FINTRAC#M17065696)

Customer Service

When I contacted customer service through email they responded and fixed my problem and answered my questions. I have made quite a few transactions in the past three years — from buying/selling crypto, withdrawing crypto to my own wallet, or selling crypto and withdrawing Canadian dollars to my bank account instantly with the eTransfer option.

I haven’t had any issues with Shakepay. The one or two times I did contact them – they answered my question within a few hours at most.

• Community Trust: Highly trusted in the Canadian crypto community.
• Regulatory Compliance: Strong adherence to Canadian financial regulations.
• User Reviews: Generally positive, with praise for simplicity and reliability.
• Response Time: Generally responsive with 24-hour email support
• Support Channels: Email and in-app support.
• User Feedback: Positive reviews on promptness and helpfulness of support.

They also maintain and are responsive to support questions through their; Discord, Twitter, Reddit, and Facebook social media channels.

Shakepay Reddit

r/shakepay – 10,377+ subscribers on the Shakepay subreddit. Shakepay admin answers support questions, new feature updates, and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Shakepay used for?
Shakepay is a cryptocurrency exchange. Shakepay allows Canadians to buy or sell Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Is Shakepay legit?
Yes. Shakepay is a legit legal Canadian crypto exchange. It is one of Canada’s most popular and trusted exchanges to buy or sell Bitcoin. They are registered with FINTRAC. I have been using Shakepay for years with no issues.

Is Shakepay a wallet?
No, Shakepay in a cryptocurrency exchange. Shakepay makes it easy to exchange Canadian dollars in your bank account into Bitcoin or Ethereum. You need to send crypto on Shakepay to your wallet.

How does Shakepay make money?
To make money, Shakepay sets the price you can buy or sell cryptocurrencies at (spread). At any point in time, there will be a small difference between the price customers can buy crypto and the price at which they can sell.

Can you withdraw crypto from Shakepay?
Yes, you can withdraw crypto from Shakepay to your wallet using the app. There is a minimum amount of Bitcoin or Ethereum needed to withdraw your crypto for free.

Can I leave my money in Shakepay?
Make sure you do everything Shakepay recommends to secure your account.

Is Shakepay safe and secure to use?
Shake is safe as can be. It is best practice to not leave your funds on an exchange and to transfer your crypto to your own wallet. Hacks and bugs are always possible.

Can you use Shakepay under 18?
No. You need to be 18+ to create an account at Shakepay. You will need to verify your account by providing ID to prove your age and identity.

Shakepay Alternatives

• Newton is a great all-around crypto exchange alternative to Shakepay.
• NDAX or Kraken if you are looking for staking or advanced trading features.
• Netcoins if you want another easy-to-use exchange that can deposit/withdraw $USD with a Canadian bank account.

Shakepay Review — Conclusion

Shakpay is Recommended For:

• Beginners: Due to its simple interface and easy navigation.
• Small to Medium-volume Traders: Especially those focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
• Canadians Seeking Convenient Fiat Transactions: Interac e-Transfer is a near-instant way to fund/withdraw funds when buying or selling crypto.

Shakepay stands out for its user-friendly platform, unique features like ShakingSats, and the Shakepay Card, making it a solid choice for Canadian crypto enthusiasts, especially beginners and those looking for simple, quick fiat transactions.

However, its limited cryptocurrency options and higher spread may deter advanced traders and those looking for a diverse crypto portfolio.

Shakepay Review

Shakepay is a good exchange for Canadians to use. Easily Buy and sell Bitcoin or Ethereum on Shakepay. Quickly fund or withdraw money using Interac e-Transfer.

Operating System: iOS, Android

Editor's Rating:
4.6

Shakepay Review Methodology

Community Reputation
We research social media mentions on Reddit, Twitter, and app store ratings over the last year to aggregate a reputation rating.

Buy and Sell Crypto on the App / Exchange
We use every app or service we review. Test how easy it is to use. How fast do funding and deposits happen.

Customer Service
We send in customer questions via multiple channels to measure helpfulness and response time.

Advanced or Uniquely Helpful Features
What makes it special or unique from the competitors.

(Source)

Related

• Shakepay vs Newton
• Shakepay vs NDAX
• Newton Review
• Shakepay Referral Code
• How to Buy Bitcoin on Shakepay and Send it to Your Wallet

Craig Leontowicz

HowToBuyBitcoin101.com is basic how-to crypto guides, reviews, and information for beginners to get started with cryptocurrency in Canada. Personal investment disclosure: I am long BTC & ETH. I take profits when I feel like it. I trade altcoins in hot markets. NOT investment advice. Investing in cryptocurrency is risky. Do your own research.

Seen in: Finbold, CoinMarketCap, and TheBitTimes.com