Two honest routes, the fees on each, the identity check you cannot skip, and what your money is actually doing between the transfer and the cycle entry.
Canadians have two honest routes. Buy with Canadian dollars on a platform that lets you move crypto out, then withdraw it to a wallet you control. Or send an Interac e-Transfer through Paytrie into a vault you own, such as Fonte, where it arrives as USDC, earns Aave lending interest, and is invested in a BTC & ETH basket at a rules-based entry (next around October 19, 2026). Expect fees on either route, and an identity check on the Interac route.
Not financial advice. Crypto can lose value quickly, including your entire deposit.
When you buy Bitcoin on an exchange and leave it there, your account shows a balance that behaves like ownership. Underneath, it is usually a row in the company's ledger saying you are owed that amount. Most days that difference is invisible. If the company fails or freezes withdrawals, it becomes the only thing that matters, and you are a creditor.
A reasonable default is to use an exchange as a doorway, not a warehouse: buy there, then move meaningful amounts somewhere you control. Our guide Why an exchange balance is not really yours covers this in detail, including when an exchange genuinely is the right choice.
Choose this route if you want Bitcoin itself in your own wallet today.
Not every platform lets you move coins out. Check before you buy. For example, Wealthsimple's crypto page states that transfers let you move crypto to or from Wealthsimple (wealthsimple.com, checked September 15, 2026).
What you take on with Route 1:
This is how Fonte works, and it differs from buying Bitcoin directly in one important way.
Your e-Transfer does not buy Bitcoin the moment it lands. Funds arrive in your vault as USDC (a US-dollar stablecoin) and are lent on Aave at a variable rate. The BTC & ETH basket is bought by the strategy at its next rules-based entry, currently scheduled around October 19, 2026. If you want Bitcoin in your hands today, use Route 1.
What you get instead: a vault that is a Safe smart contract wallet you own on the Base network, a rules-based halving-cycle strategy that buys, holds and later exits for you, and no exchange account holding your funds.
Go to app.fonte.finance/onboarding. You answer a few plain questions that match you to a Conservative, Balanced or Aggressive profile. Then you create a passkey with Face ID or your fingerprint.
You also get a 12-word recovery key. This step is mandatory. Write it down offline. It is your spare key if you ever lose access to your passkey. Vault creation itself takes about 30 seconds once the questions and the recovery key are done, and there is no exchange account or existing wallet required.
From your dashboard, pick Interac e-Transfer. You enter an amount in Canadian dollars and see a live quote for how much USDC will arrive.
The Interac route is provided by Paytrie, a FINTRAC-registered money services business. Paytrie is a separate company from Fonte, and your purchase is made with Paytrie on Paytrie's terms.
You confirm your email with a code, fill in your profile, and complete Paytrie's identity verification. Review can take up to 24 hours in some cases. You may be asked for a fresh email code after the review. If you were searching for a way to buy crypto without ID, this route is not it.
Paytrie gives you the e-Transfer details. Send it from your own online banking and type the reference exactly as shown, because that is how the payment is matched to you.
When the USDC arrives, Fonte's automation detects it and allocates it to Aave USDC lending, typically within seconds. From there, your vault follows the same schedule as every other vault: lending until the next entry, then the BTC & ETH basket.
| Item | Cost | Who charges it |
|---|---|---|
| Interac e-Transfer purchase | Greater of CAD 5 or 0.6%, plus spread | Paytrie |
| Opening a vault | Free (Fonte pays the network fees) | Fonte |
| Withdrawing from your vault | Free (Fonte pays the network fees) | Fonte |
| Performance fee | 10% of profit above your high-water mark, including 10% of lending interest earned | Fonte |
| Management or subscription fee | None | Fonte |
| Trading costs when the basket is bought and sold | On-chain swap costs, modelled in the backtest | The venues used |
Two worked examples for the Paytrie fee, using the greater-of rule:
The high-water mark means you are not charged twice for the same gains. If your vault dips and recovers, no fee is taken until it is back above its previous peak.
Market risk. The strategy is backtested, not proven live. Across three halving cycles, backtested worst drawdowns were -59% (Conservative), -64% (Balanced) and -69% (Aggressive), against -88% for simply holding 50/50 BTC and ETH. Backtested results are not a promise. There is no stop-loss while the basket is held, and on deep dips the strategy adds to it. The entry and exit timing is fit to only two or three past cycles, the next entry has never been tested live, and the four-year pattern may not repeat.
Smart contract risk. Your funds depend on the correctness of the Safe wallet, the permissions module and Aave. These are widely used and independently audited, which is a strong track record and not a proof. The permission configuration itself is Fonte's own work and is not independently audited. If you use a passkey, you also depend on Fonte's own signer contract, which has not been independently audited. Full detail is on the security page.
Stablecoin and rate risk. While your vault is in the cash phase you hold USDC, which depends on its issuer. The Aave rate is variable, recently around 3.4 to 3.6%, and can fall.
Third-party risk. Paytrie handles the conversion from Canadian dollars. Fonte is not a bank, and Paytrie's registration belongs to Paytrie.
Your device. Someone with your unlocked phone and your biometrics can sign as you.
If Route 2 fits, you can open a vault in about half a minute and fund it later. See how Fonte works and what it charges, or open a vault.
Yes, indirectly, with Fonte. An Interac e-Transfer through Paytrie funds your own vault in USDC, and the strategy buys a BTC & ETH basket at its next rules-based entry, around October 19, 2026. It does not buy Bitcoin the moment the e-Transfer lands.
No. Your vault is a Safe smart contract wallet you own on Base, and you can withdraw from it at any time without Fonte's cooperation. Fonte's keeper is a separate automation role with its own on-chain permissions, which you can read on a block explorer and revoke yourself. The security page sets out what that role can do and its current limitations.
Paytrie charges the greater of CAD 5 or 0.6%, plus spread. Fonte charges nothing to open a vault or to withdraw. Fonte's only fee is 10% of profit above your high-water mark, which includes 10% of the Aave lending interest your vault earns.
No. You can open a Fonte vault with Face ID and a 12-word recovery key, then fund it by Interac e-Transfer. If you already use a crypto wallet, you can connect it to own the vault instead.
No. It arrives as USDC and is lent on Aave at a variable rate until the strategy's next scheduled entry, around October 19, 2026. The entry date comes from a backtested rule, is not a price prediction, and has never been tested live.
At the time of writing, withdrawals to a Canadian bank by Interac e-Transfer are not open to every vault. You can withdraw USDC to a crypto wallet you control at any time, with no lock-up and no Fonte withdrawal fee.
Disclaimer: This article is general information, not financial, investment, legal or tax advice, and not an offer of securities. Backtested results are not live results and are not a promise of future returns. Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose money, including your entire deposit. Interac e-Transfer funding is provided by Paytrie on Paytrie's terms. Wealthsimple details are from wealthsimple.com as of September 15, 2026; Fonte is not affiliated with Wealthsimple.