Most people pick an exchange because a friend uses it or an ad found them first. That works until you need something the exchange does not offer. A short, side-by-side comparison avoids that.
This article is a worksheet. It does not rank exchanges. It shows you what to write down for each one, where to find it, and why it matters if you plan to connect Atheron Trading later.
Use the exchange's own words
The rule for this comparison is simple. Every fact in your worksheet should come from the exchange itself: its fee page, its help centre, its terms of service, its API documentation.
Reviews, forum posts and comparison sites can point you to questions worth asking. They should not be your answers. Fees change, coin lists change and features change. The exchange's own pages are the only place that has to keep up.
If you cannot find a fact on the exchange's own site, write "not stated" in that cell. A blank you can see is more useful than a guess you forget you made.
Start with availability
Before comparing anything else, confirm the exchange serves you. Look for:
- Whether it accepts customers in Canada, and in your province. Some services limit access by province.
- Whether it says it is registered with Canadian securities regulators. If it does, check that claim on the regulator's own site rather than taking the exchange's word for it.
- Whether you can deposit and withdraw Canadian dollars, and by which methods.
If an exchange fails any of these for you, take it off the list. There is no point comparing fees on a service you cannot use.
The worksheet
Open a spreadsheet, put each exchange in its own column, and fill in these rows.
| What to check | Where the exchange tells you | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Trading fees (maker and taker) | Fee schedule page | Every trade pays them, automated or not |
| CAD deposit and withdrawal fees | Funding or fee page | You pay these moving money in and out |
| Coins and trading pairs offered | Markets or asset list | Your coin list can only include what is listed |
| API access | API documentation | Needed to connect a bot at all |
| API key permissions | API documentation or key settings | You want trade on, withdraw off |
| Two-factor sign-in | Security or help pages | Protects the account the key belongs to |
| Minimum order size | Trading rules or market pages | Small budgets can hit this limit |
| Support channels | Help centre | You will want answers when something looks wrong |
We have covered fees in detail elsewhere on this site, so here we will only say this: record the fee for the pairs you actually plan to trade, not the headline rate.
The row that matters most for a bot
If you plan to use Atheron Trading, one row decides more than the rest: API key permissions.
Atheron Trading places trades in your own exchange account through an API key. That key should be able to trade but never withdraw. We never hold your money. It stays in your account, under your name, at the exchange you chose.
So for each exchange, check the API documentation for two things:
- Can you create a key that is allowed to place trades?
- Can you turn withdrawal permission off for that key?
If an exchange cannot separate those two, write that down clearly. A key that can withdraw is a key that can empty your account if it is ever exposed.
Match Your list to your rules
With Atheron Trading you set your own rules before anything happens: a budget, a stop-loss and an asset list. Those rules are checked before every trade.
Your coin list can only contain coins your exchange actually lists, in pairs you can trade. Check the exchange's market list against the assets you care about. If an asset is listed only against another coin and not against Canadian dollars, note that too. It changes how your budget is spent.
Practise before you decide
Until launch, Atheron Trading trades with paper money only, which means pretend money at real prices. That gives you time. You can fill in your worksheet, open an account at the exchange that fits best, and learn how its screens and settings work without any rush.
Paper trading cannot show you everything. Real orders face real fees and real price movement between the moment you decide and the moment the order fills. Your worksheet helps you know what those costs will be before real money is involved.
An honest limit
No exchange choice removes risk. Crypto prices can fall quickly, and you can lose money trading, whether you trade by hand or with a bot. A careful comparison helps you avoid surprises in fees, access and security. It does not protect you from the market.
Choose the exchange whose own documents answer your questions clearly. If you have to guess, keep looking.
