Does Questrade Have Crypto? The Complete 2025 Guide

If you're a Canadian investor using Questrade, one of the country's most popular online brokerages, you've likely wondered: can I use it to get into the crypto market? It's a great question, as many people prefer to keep all their investments in one place.

The answer is both yes and no. Let's clear up the confusion.

The Short Answer: No Direct Crypto, But Yes to Crypto ETFs

You cannot buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) directly on Questrade. This means you can't purchase the actual coins and withdraw them to a personal crypto wallet (like a Ledger or Trezor). Questrade is a traditional brokerage for stocks and ETFs, not a cryptocurrency exchange.

However, you can get investment exposure to the price of cryptocurrencies through a simple and powerful tool: Spot Crypto ETFs.

What is a Spot Crypto ETF?

Think of an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) as a basket that holds assets. A Gold ETF holds physical gold. A S&P 500 ETF holds stocks from 500 top companies.

A Spot Crypto ETF (like a Bitcoin ETF) is a fund that buys and holds the actual cryptocurrency. When you buy a share of that ETF on Questrade, you are buying a piece of the fund that owns the real crypto. The price of your ETF share will track the price of the underlying crypto almost perfectly.

Canada was one of the first countries in the world to approve these Spot Crypto ETFs, giving Canadian investors a huge advantage.

Pros and Cons of Using Questrade for Crypto

The Pros (Why it's a great option):

• Simplicity: You can buy a Bitcoin ETF just like you'd buy a share of Apple or Shopify. No need to sign up for a new, unfamiliar crypto exchange.
• Use Registered Accounts (TFSA & RRSP): This is the biggest advantage. You can hold crypto ETFs in your Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) or Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP). This means any gains you make could be tax-free (in a TFSA) or tax-deferred (in an RRSP)! You cannot do this on a standard crypto exchange.
• Security: You don't have to worry about managing private keys or seed phrases. The ETF custodian (a professional, regulated financial institution) handles the secure storage of the crypto.

The Cons (Why it might not be for you):

• No "Real" Coins: You don't own the underlying Bitcoin. You can't send it to a friend, use it to buy something, or move it to your own wallet. As the saying goes, "not your keys, not your coins."
• Management Fees: ETFs charge a small annual fee, known as a Management Expense Ratio (MER). This is usually around 0.5% to 1% per year.
• Limited Selection: You can only invest in the cryptocurrencies that have an approved ETF, which is currently limited to mainly Bitcoin and Ethereum. You can't buy altcoins like Solana, Cardano, or Dogecoin.