Note: like BlockFi and other platforms before it, Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13, 2022. We strongly recommend against using their services.
Celsius is a blockchain-based crypto lending platform that has been around since 2017, and it has some pretty strong features going for it, such as allowing you to earn up to 17% APY on your crypto holdings and its own cryptocurrency token that will allow you to earn even more rewards. However, it lacks a lot of regulation in Canada, it doesn't have any advanced trading features or advanced charting, and it has a very limited array of supported crypto for purchases, which makes me hesitant to recommend it as a top crypto platform for Canadians to use.
Instead, I recommend CoinSmart, Bitbuy or Newton, since they all offer more features and charge lower fees than Celsius. For the best possible crypto trading experience, you can't go wrong with any of these three platforms.
What Is Celsius?
The Celsius Network is a blockchain-based crypto lending platform that has been around since 2017. It is headquartered in the UK (specifically in London), and the founders of the platform are S. Daniel John, Alex Mashinsky, and Nuke Goldstein. The platform is also currently used by 1.7 million users to date, and as of May of 2022, the platform has over $11.8B+ in assets.
Currently, the platform has support for 50 cryptocurrencies on its Borrow and Earn platforms, but you can only buy 18 different cryptocurrencies on the platform. A few of the platform's key features are its Earn platform, where you can earn up to 17% APY on your crypto holdings, its native token (CEL), and its crypto credit card that lets you earn rewards when spending while earning weekly rewards on your crypto holdings.
To start off this Celsius review, let's take a deeper look at Celsius's pros, cons and features.
Why you should trust me
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ExperiencedI bought my first cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) in 2013, bought Ethereum in 2017, and have held active accounts with at least 5 exchanges since 2018.
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UnbiasedAll of my selections are supported by multiple data points, including crypto thought leaders, security experts, and TrustPilot reviews.
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Deep ResearchMy team and I spent more than 100 hours researching exchanges before choosing our top picks, and we update them almost daily as the industry continues to change.
Celsius Pros & Cons
Celsius Pros
- Very simple to use platform.
- Has rewards of up to 17% APY through its Earn platform.
- Has its own crypto token that will allow you to earn even greater rewards.
- It is available worldwide.
- Has its own credit card.
- Has great customer support.
- Has no fees.
Celsius Cons
- It's a centralized platform.
- Has a minimal number of available cryptocurrencies.
- Has very limited educational resources.
- Doesn't have any advanced trading features or advanced charting.
- Has no regulation in Canada.
Celsius Features
1. Celsius Desktop Platform
The Celsius desktop platform is very intuitive and easy to use, which is something that beginners in the world of cryptocurrency investing will find very useful. Your funds and total earnings with the platform are right in front of you once you log in and head to your dashboard, and if you want to consult additional information (such as the weekly breakdown of your earnings), all it'll take is a single click. With this in mind, navigating the Celsius platform takes no guidance at all, which is a big plus.
Lending and borrowing your crypto is also very easy to do, and you'll have the option of doing both actions with over 50 different cryptocurrency tokens, which is something that not all exchanges allow you to do. In fact, most crypto exchanges that support similar features (such as crypto staking) only ever allow you to do so with as little as 2 tokens, so it's refreshing to see just how much variety you have when using Celsius. Additionally, the platform allows you to earn up to 17% APY on your crypto, which is a pretty high rate compared to other exchanges out there.
Another plus that comes with using Celsius is that the platform has zero fees for any action that you make, which is great. This even applies to its Swap feature, which allows you to swap your crypto tokens for others instantly: many crypto exchanges lack this feature, so seeing it here is a very welcome sight.
However, the platform's simplicity is a double-edged sword: for starters, the platform doesn't have an advanced version, and you can only place market orders, which is something that seasoned crypto investors will find extremely limiting. Additionally, you can't sell your cryptocurrency tokens on the platform, and you'll be limited to sending your crypto tokens to other users, to an external cryptocurrency exchange, or to an external crypto wallet.
2. Celsius Mobile App
Celsius also has a really well-designed and intuitive mobile app that lets you do everything that you can do on the desktop platform, including buying cryptocurrencies, earning interest on your crypto holdings, borrowing and lending crypto assets, and swapping crypto assets as well. However, as I mentioned previously, the desktop platform doesn't have any advanced trading features or any other order types beyond regular market orders, so you can expect that absence to be here as well.
As for the app's mobile ratings, you can expect to see 3.7 out of 5 stars based on 9,000 reviews on the Google Play Store, and 3.6 out of 5 stars based on 2,000 reviews on the Apple Store, indicating mixed to positive customer satisfaction. Common critiques of the app include loading screens taking forever to load and constant crashes and requests for app updates.
3. Celsius Security Features
Celsius's regulation track record is pretty varied and largely depends on the country you find yourself in. For instance, in the United States, it's a registered Money Services Business (MSB) with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and it also has a California Finance Lender License, which is great. However, things are not so great once we start talking about Canada, as the platform is not a registered MSB with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), nor is it a registered firm in the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
As for the security features they offer, you can expect some industry-standard functionalities like 2-factor authentication (2FA), but it has to be enabled manually before it can be used, negating some of its effectiveness. You can also whitelist your withdrawal addresses from within the platform and activate HODL mode, which prevents withdrawals from your account until you deactivate it as a last resort.
Additionally, your account is constantly monitored to check for suspicious activity (like a login attempt from a different IP address), and it has gone through security audits and earned an ISO/IEC 27001 security certification in the process. However, do keep in mind that Celsius has stated that they do not offer any insurance on their assets.
4. Celsius Customer Support
One aspect where Celsius shines is in its customer support: you'll be able to reach them through a variety of channels such as ticket submission, phone support, email, and even a Live Chat icon on the bottom right of the screen. Additionally, they have a Help Center with relevant information that will aid you in answering some basic inquiries on using the site, but the information found here could be a bit more thorough.
- Phone: 1-866-463-5669 (Monday – Saturday, 10am – 11pm EST)
- Email: [email protected] (24 hours)
- Live chat: Available
Additionally, the platform has a social media presence, and you'll be able to talk to them through channels such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. However, keep in mind that the customer support you'll receive here will be somewhat limited, as these channels aren't used for customer support primarily.
5. Celsius's Own Token, CEL
One unique feature that Celsius has is its own cryptocurrency token, known as CEL. With this token, you'll be able to earn at rates of up to 30% more, get discounts of up to 25% on loan payments if you pay in CEL, and more.
These rewards have a tiered structure that increases your winnings depending on how much CEL Balance you have in your account, as well as what your CEL ratio is. This tiered rewards structure looks something like this:
| Tier (Reward Status) | CEL Ratio | CEL Balance | Bonus Rewards | Loan Interest Discount |
| None | 0% – 5% | 0 CEL | 0% | 5% |
| Bronze | 5% – 10% | 1 CEL | 10% | 5% |
| Silver | 10% – 15% | 1000 CEL | 15% | 10% |
| Gold | 15% – 25% | 10,000 CEL | 20% | 15% |
| Platinum | 25% – 100% | 25,000 CEL | 30% | 25% |
Cryptocurrencies On Celsius
Currently, Celsius offers support for around 50 cryptocurrencies when lending, borrowing, and earning interest on their platform. However, you can only buy 18 cryptocurrencies on the platform, which are the following:
| Bitcoin (BTC) | Polkadot (DOT) | Bitcoin Cash (BCH) |
| Ethereum (ETH) | SushiSwap (SUSHI) | EOS (EOS) |
| Litecoin (LTC) | Dogecoin (DOGE) | PAX Gold (PAXG) |
| Cardano (ADA) | Solana (SOL) | Avalanche (AVAX) |
| Paxos Standard (PAX) | Tezos (XTZ) | Dogecoin (DOGE) |
| USD Coin (USDC) | Stellar Lumens (XLM) | Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) |
Celsius Fees
As mentioned previously, using the Celsius platform will not incur any fees, no matter what. This means that you can forget about any withdrawal fees, holding fees, gas fees, transfer fees, and origination fees, which is fantastic.
3 Exchanges I Recommend Over Celsius
Celsius isn't a bad exchange, but it's also not the best in Canada: it lacks a lot of regulation in Canada, and it doesn't have any advanced trading features or advanced charting to give you an edge over the competition in the crypto market. Additionally, it has a very limited array of supported crypto for purchases, and all of these cons don't allow me to recommend it as a top Canadian crypto platform.
That's why I recommend any of these three exchanges over Celsius:
- Kraken: With the lowest fees in Canada, an excellent app and desktop platform and best-in-class 24/7 customer support, Kraken is the best crypto exchange in Canada. Open your account with Kraken here.
- CoinSmart: With quick deposits and withdrawals and average customer support, CoinSmart is a decent exchange with a great signup bonus. Get your $50 signup bonus with CoinSmart here.
- Bitbuy: With trading fees at 2%, tight spreads, and a well-rated mobile app, Bitbuy is more expensive than Kraken and CoinSmart, but it's still a popular, trustworthy exchange. Get your $50 signup bonus with Bitbuy here.
Here's a quick summary of these three exchanges:
Best In Canada
|
Total Fees: ~0.16% |
★★★★★ Rated 4.9/5 |
Very Secure
|
Total Fees: ~3% |
★★★★ Rated 4.4/5 |
Strong Security
|
Trading fees: 2% (High) |
★★★★ Rated 4.2/5 |
How To Withdraw From Celsius
To withdraw crypto from Celsius, follow these steps:
- Log in to your Celsius account.
- On the main menu, click the “Withdraw” button.
- Select the coin you wish to withdraw.
- Select the amount you wish to withdraw.
- Copy the wallet address from the destination you wish to transfer to.
- Paste it under the withdrawal address on the Celsius app.
- Receive the crypto in your destination.
In Summary
Celsius is a blockchain-based crypto lending platform that has been around since 2017, and it has some pretty strong features going for it, such as allowing you to earn up to 17% APY on your crypto holdings and its own cryptocurrency token that will allow you to earn even more rewards. However, it lacks a lot of regulation in Canada, it doesn't have any advanced trading features or advanced charting, and it has a very limited array of supported crypto for purchases, which makes me hesitant to recommend it as a top crypto platform for Canadians to use.
Instead, I recommend CoinSmart, Bitbuy or Newton, since they all offer more features and charge lower fees than Celsius. For the best possible crypto trading experience, you can't go wrong with any of these three platforms.
Celsius FAQs
Is Celsius safe & secure?
No. Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13, 2022, so it's not a safe option for crypto transactions. We strongly recommend against using their services.
Is Celsius legit?
Yes, Celsius is legit for several reasons: the platform is used by 1.7 million users to date, has over $11.8B+ in assets, and is a registered MSB with FinCEN in the US.
Is Celsius legal in Canada?
Yes, Celsius operates legally in Canada. However, be aware that it's not a registered Money Services Business (MSB) with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), nor is it a registered firm in the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
Is Celsius trustworthy?
Even though the platform constantly monitors your activity to check for suspicious activity, it has gone through a security audit (and earned an ISO/IEC 27001 security certification), and it's a registered MSB with FinCEN in the U.S., Celsius is not a trustworthy platform since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Does Celsius verify accounts instantly?
Yes, Celsius does verify some accounts instantly, though if your account needs to go through the manual verification process for some reason, these are the documents you'll need to provide:
- First name
- Last name
- Date of birth
- Citizenship
- Country
- State (if the country is the United States)
- City
- ZIP code
- Street
- Phone number
- SSN (if citizenship is the United States)
- Document type
- Document front image
- Document back image (if the document type is an identity card or a driving license).
Is Celsius good for Canadians?
Celsius used to be a decent exchange for Canadians, though even before filing for bankruptcy, I recommended using other platforms like VirgoCX, CoinSmart, Bitbuy, or Newton instead. Each of them offers quite a bit more than Celsius, and I'm confident you'll have a better experience with them.
How well is Celsius reviewed on Reddit?
Reddit's review of Celsius is uncertain: some Redditors have good things to say, while others don't. Of course, Redditors are known for their brutally honest opinions, so take what they say with a grain of salt.
Can I buy Dogecoin with Celsius?
Yes, you can buy Dogecoin with Celsius. If you want to buy Dogecoin with lower fees, though, I suggest using CoinSmart, Bitbuy or Newton instead.
Is Celsius insured?
No, Celsius's crypto holdings are not insured.
Celsius Referral Code
You don't need a referral code to get your signup bonus with Celsius. Simply sign up using our signup bonus link and then deposit $100 or more into your account.
Does Celsius report to the CRA?
No. Considering that Celsius is not a registered Money Services Business (MSB) with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), you'll have to report any crypto income that you make using the platform to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) yourself, especially if these transactions exceed the 10,000 CAD mark.
