Not in the typical vein of this blog, but I thought my experience might help some. My want was very simple: buy BTC. Of course the crypto bug sets in and you'll want to buy more than just BTC (IOTA!).

CEX.IO?

My first foray into the fund-and-buy was admittedly with cex.io. They got good reviews, and they had a nice website; great UI design! It took a VERY long time to wade through the verification process, and I failed. I waited approximately 15 days to be told that my credit card couldn't be used with the account type that I had (claiming it was a business card, while this wasn't entirely true). The verification process is very black and white, and any failure imposes massive time penalties (they probably don't get to consider nuances with the volume of applicants they probably receive). The minimum withdrawal values were a pain (I never did get verified). I found myself having to transfer BTC (which carries a fee) into cex.io just to surpass the min transfer threshold so I could get leftover BTC out. I can't recommend this exchange. Verification is a hassle, and the fees are very real. Great study on modern UI design though!

GEMINI?

After this I had tried to register with Gemini. I did get an initial onboarding response within about 2 weeks, replied with all required documentation, and still haven't heard from them (it's been quite some time!). Might pan out one day, who knows...

BITFINEX?

Bitfinex was the next find. I registered and headed to the verification area. The documentation requirements were very thorough, and direct deposit was not working at the time at which I wanted in. Before handing over the critical personal information; I thought I'd do a bit more Googling about Bitfinex... The writing on the web has that Bitfinex has been hacked twice already. I chose to stay away, too much negative on the web for my personal taste.

QUADRIGA!

Now the good: quadrigacx.com! What a change in pace (and breath of fresh air!). Their site isn't as pretty as cex.io's; much more utilitarian -- but it works. I registered and submitted the verification documentation on the same evening; and was validated about 2 days later. Back in, went through the Equifax verification, and was off to the races!! Exciting!

On a 2k deposit, you end up with $1,970 usable funds (transaction fee). Plus, funding from major Canadian banks is near immediate with direct transfer! I wish I had found these guys first!

So.. BUYING IOTA

Last bit before I wrap this up then! If you are registered on quadrigacx.com and would like to buy IOTA (really promising idea with unique propositions); I managed to do this successfully yesterday.

First, register an account at binance.com. Purchase BTC on Quadriga, meaning: fund your account with CAD, then buy BTC from the Dashboard or Trade tab. Log into binance.com, and access the Funds and Withdrawals area. Locate the BTC (Important!! Screw this up and you lose your BTC) row, and click on Deposit. Copy your BTC deposit address very carefully (it has happened, that this address takes a few seconds to appear). Head back to Quadriga, and click on "Withdraw" to send your Quadriga-bought BTC over to Binance. On the withdraw panel, specify desired BTC amount, and paste the Binance fund address into the Quadriga withdrawal form. Wait for the transaction confirmation to occur (on average, has taken me 20 minutes or so).

When the transaction verifies (be patient, the BTC transaction can take some time to verify), simply trade your BTC for IOTA in your Binance trade panel (under Exchange/Basic):