CDIC and crypto: what deposit insurance does and doesn’t cover

What CDIC protects

The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) protects eligible deposits held at its member institutions if a member fails. According to CDIC’s What’s covered page, each insured category is protected separately up to $100,000, including principal and interest, and each member institution has its own distinct coverage.

Eligible deposits include savings and chequing accounts, and GICs and other term deposits. Deposits in Canadian or foreign currency can be eligible.

Coverage is automatic for eligible deposits. You don’t apply for it, and you don’t pay for it directly.

The nine categories

CDIC insures each of these categories separately:

• Deposits held in one name
• Joint deposits
• Deposits held in a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)
• Deposits held in a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF)
• Deposits held in a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA)
• Deposits held in a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP)
• Deposits held in a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)
• Deposits held in a First Home Savings Account (FHSA)
• Deposits held in trust

See the full infographic with notes.

What CDIC doesn’t cover

CDIC lists products that are not eligible for deposit insurance. Among them are mutual funds, stocks and bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and “cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins”.

That last item is worth reading twice. A stablecoin is designed to hold a steady value, often one US dollar, and may be backed by cash and government securities. But it is not a deposit at a member institution, so CDIC does not protect it. This applies whether the stablecoin sits on a Canadian platform, in your own wallet or in a DeFi protocol.

ETFs are excluded too, which includes high-interest savings ETFs and money market ETFs. They may hold deposits inside the fund, but the ETF units you own are not CDIC-insured deposits.

If you are comparing a crypto yield with a GIC, this difference belongs at the top of the comparison. Our DeFi vs GIC comparison lays the two side by side.

Fintechs and crypto platforms

Many apps that hold money for you are not banks. CDIC’s fintechs page says fintechs are not CDIC members and are not insured by CDIC. Your funds are protected only if the fintech places them as eligible deposits with a CDIC member institution.

Crypto trading platforms are not CDIC member institutions. Some platforms may hold Canadian-dollar cash with a bank on clients’ behalf, but whether that cash is eligible, and in whose name it is held, depends on the arrangement. The crypto itself is never covered.

Securities regulators make the same point about stablecoins. On 2024-09-26, the CSA warned that value-referenced crypto assets do not carry the protections of regulated deposits.

“Insured” claims to be wary of

Words like “insured”, “protected” and “safe” get used loosely in crypto. Here is how to read them.

• “Your crypto is insured.” This often refers to a private insurance policy held by the platform or its custodian. Such policies may cover specific events, such as theft from a storage system, up to a limit shared by all clients. It is not deposit insurance, and it may not cover a platform failure or your own mistakes.
• “CDIC-eligible” from a fintech. This can be true only for funds placed as eligible deposits with a CDIC member. Ask which member institution, which category and in whose name.
• “Insured stablecoin” or “stablecoin deposit”. Under Finance Canada’s stablecoin framework, issuers will not be allowed to claim a stablecoin is a deposit or insured. As of 2026-10-30 that framework is not in force, but CDIC already excludes stablecoins.
• “Protected” DeFi yield. A smart contract or a protocol fund labelled as insurance is not deposit insurance. Read what it covers, how claims are decided and who pays.

How to check before you deposit

1. Ask: is this a deposit at a CDIC member institution? If it is crypto, the answer is no.
2. For cash, confirm the institution is a CDIC member, using CDIC’s own website.
3. Work out which of the nine categories the deposit falls into, and how much you already hold in that category at that member.
4. For a fintech, ask in writing which member institution holds your funds, and in whose name.
5. For crypto, check the platform on the CSA lists and read its custody terms, knowing CDIC is not part of the picture.

This check matters most for money you might need on short notice, such as an emergency fund, because a sudden loss there hurts the most. Whatever you decide to hold in crypto, decide it knowing that it carries no deposit insurance.

For DeFi in particular, there is no member institution anywhere in the chain. A stablecoin you lend through a smart contract is exposed to the issuer, the contract and the market at once, and none of those risks is insured by CDIC. Our Canadian rules hub collects the other protections, and gaps, that apply to crypto in Canada.

Your checklist

• Confirm the institution is a CDIC member before relying on coverage.
• Keep each category at each member under $100,000 if full coverage matters to you.
• Treat all crypto, including stablecoins, as uninsured.
• Ask fintechs exactly where and in whose name your money is held.
• Read any private insurance claim for what it actually covers.

Sources and dates

• What's covered — Canada Deposit Insurance Corporationin force
  No date shown on page · checked 2026-10-30. Up to $100,000 per category per member institution; cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins, are not covered.
• Fintechs — Canada Deposit Insurance Corporationin force
  No date shown on page · checked 2026-10-30. Fintechs are not CDIC members; funds are protected only if placed as eligible deposits with a member.
• CSA update to crypto asset trading platforms about value-referenced crypto assets — Canadian Securities Administratorsin force
  Page date 2024-09-26 · checked 2026-10-30. After December 31, 2024, platforms may only offer stablecoins that meet their decision terms; stablecoins lack deposit protections.
• Canada's Stablecoin Framework — Department of Finance Canadaproposed
  Page date 2026-03-31 · checked 2026-10-30. 1:1 high-quality liquid reserves, at-par redemption, no interest/yield, Bank of Canada supervision; expected in force in 2027.
• Investment scams — Canadian Anti-Fraud Centrereference
  No date shown on page · checked 2026-10-31. Warning signs of investment and crypto investment scams.