Is crypto legal in Canada?

Yes. There is no prohibition on buying, holding, or using cryptocurrency in Canada. It is not legal tender, so no business has to accept it, but there is no ban on individual ownership or use.

No. A 2024 budget proposal to raise the inclusion rate to 66.67% on gains over $250,000/year was formally cancelled by Prime Minister Carney on March 21, 2025. The rate remains a flat 50% inclusion for individuals as of mid-2026, despite some outdated crypto-tax content still citing the cancelled figure.

Our assessment is that crypto is legal in Canada (confidence: confirmed). Cryptocurrency is legal to buy, sell, hold, and mine in Canada — it is not legal tender, but there is no prohibition on use. Exchanges and crypto dealers are regulated as money services businesses (MSBs) under FINTRAC/PCMLTFA, required since June 2020.

Commodity / capital property (not legal tender, not a security by default). CRA treats crypto as a commodity (capital property), not currency. Selling, trading, or spending it is a disposition: gains are taxed as capital gains (50% of the gain included in taxable income at your marginal rate) unless the activity resembles a business or frequent trading, in which case 100% is taxed as business income. Report capital gains/losses on Schedule 3; file T1135 Foreign Income Verification if cost basis of crypto held on foreign exchanges exceeds CAD $100,000. No crypto-specific tax form exists — general capital property rules apply.

No nationwide ban, but bank-by-bank friction. RBC prohibits crypto purchases on RBC credit cards outright. TD and Scotiabank generally allow e-Transfer/debit funding to Canadian FINTRAC-registered exchanges but block or flag wires to many offshore platforms, sometimes requiring proof of fund provenance.

FINTRAC-registered Canadian exchanges (e.g., Bitbuy, NDAX, Newton, Coinsquare, Shakepay) are the standard funding path via Interac e-Transfer/EFT; direct credit-card crypto purchases are increasingly blocked bank-side.

The 2024-budget proposal to raise the capital gains inclusion rate to 66.67% (on gains over $250k/year) was deferred, then formally cancelled on March 21, 2025 by PM Carney. The inclusion rate remains a flat 50% for all individual capital gains as of mid-2026 — many crypto-tax content sites still incorrectly describe the cancelled tiered rate as current law; do not repeat that figure.

It was last verified on 2026-07-14 against 4 cited sources: Money services businesses (MSBs) — registration & obligations (FINTRAC (Government of Canada)); Understanding crypto-assets and your tax obligations (Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)); Prime Minister Carney cancels proposed capital gains tax increase (Prime Minister of Canada (pm.gc.ca)); Important information regarding cryptocurrency transactions (RBC Royal Bank). Rules change; check the primary sources before acting. This is education, not legal or tax advice.