How to Buy Dai in Canada
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How to Buy Dai (DAI) Cryptocurrency in Canada

Coinsquare is the most trusted cryptocurrency trading platform in Canada. We facilitate your participation in the cryptocurrency space with over 50 of the top crypto coins on the market, including the popular Dai (DAI) coin.  

Want to learn more about how to invest in cryptocurrencies like DAI? This page covers the essentials for beginning crypto investors, with instructions on how to get started quickly.  

How to Buy Dai (DAI) in 5 Minutes or Less

  1. Open a Coinsquare account.

  1. Confirm your identity and answer a few quick onboarding questions.

  1. Fund your account.

Add money in the currency of your choice (this can include CAD). These funds are what you’ll use to buy DAI.  

  1. Choose Dai from the list in the trade section.

Before you buy, you can check the current price of Dai, or any other token listed in Coinsquare in CAD or USD.

  1. Choose the currency you want to use to buy Dai.

  1. Purchase Dai (DAI).

Congratulations! You are now an owner of the Dai cryptocurrency, along with thousands of others in the Dai community!

  1. Enjoy being a Dai owner.  

After making your purchase, your Dai will be stored in your secure and insured Coinsquare wallet. If you wish, you can withdraw the coin to your own external wallet.

What is Dai?

Dai, formerly SAI, is an Ethereum-based and collateral-backed cryptocurrency that is managed and governed by MakerDAO, founded by Rune Christensen in 2014. Christensen wanted to create a decentralized crypto-credit system without traditional intermediaries. MakerDAO is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) with MKR as its governance token.

In December 2017, the Single Collateral Dai (SAI) was launched on the Ethereum network. Despite the dramatic drop in ETH price, Dai maintained its USD 1 goal for every 1 DAI during its first year. This early success showcased the potential of decentralized stablecoins.

In September 2018, Andreessen Horowitz showed his support of the project by investing USD 15 million in MakerDAO and owning 6% of all MKR tokens. Later that year, MakerDAO established the Maker Foundation, an open-source software, to support and fund projects in the Maker ecosystem. The Maker Foundation replaced SAI with the Multi-Collateral Dai (DAI) in 2019.  

DAI is the native Dai crypto coin collateralized by other cryptocurrencies and operates as an ERC-20 token. This means you can use DAI tokens with any Ethereum-based wallet, protocol, dApp, or platform. DAI has a market cap of USD 9.4 billion. However, it doesn’t have a maximum supply as users can generate their desired number of DAI tokens using their crypto assets as collateral.

So, what can you do with DAI tokens? DAI crypto offers a wide range of uses beyond simply holding a stablecoin. Here are some ways you can use it:

  • To purchase goods and services from merchants who accept them.    
  • Decentralized finance (DeFi) applications or blockchain-based games
  • NFT marketplaces
  • Traded for other cryptocurrencies  

DAI aims to have a one-to-one ratio or keep its value close to USD 1. So far, it has achieved its goal, except for minor fluctuations. The question is—how does DAI maintain its stability? Here are some of the methods they use:

  • Stability Fee - This fee works like an interest. It’s only charged when returning your DAI for your collateral. The stability fee depends on the current supply and demand of DAI. For instance, the fee increases when more people want to borrow DAI.
  • Vault and Keeper Accounts - Users deposit collateral into the vault account. When they repay the loan, the DAI is burnt or destroyed. If the value of a vault account is less than the issued DAI, keeper accounts seize the collateral to pay off the loan. This helps maintain DAI’s stability.
  • DAI Savings Rate (DSR) - Operates like a bank savings account. Locking your DAI allows you to earn a consistent interest rate that comes from the stability fee.  

As a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, it eliminates the price fluctuations common in cryptocurrencies, making it a reliable option for sending money overseas. Additionally, DAI transactions are processed quickly and securely on the Ethereum network. This means faster, cheaper, and more accessible money transfers to people worldwide.

However, unlike some stablecoins that rely on actual dollars held in banks, Dai doesn’t work that way. Instead, it uses the Maker platform. This is where participants deposit ETH as collateral. To clarify, when people are trying to secure a loan, traditional lenders often require borrowers to surrender valuable assets. This makes the loan less risky for the lender, so they usually charge lower interest rates. This is what DAI crypto is all about; instead, it uses cryptocurrency.  

People can lock up or “collateralize” their ETH tokens through smart contracts running on the Ethereum network in the Maker Protocol to generate DAI tokens. However, the value of the collateral must exceed the DAI issued. For example, if you’re trying to borrow 100 DAI, your collateral should be 200 ETH.  

If users need or want to retrieve their locked ETH tokens, they must repay the loan and interest. If they don’t, the system can sell their digital assets to cover the debt. Users might need to trade the DAI crypto for Ethereum on the Maker platform if the Dai credit system undergoes an update.

MakerDAO controls the number of DAI available by managing several factors, including deciding which digital assets can be used as collateral, setting the minimum value of those assets compared to the DAI borrowed, and determining the interest rate. Additionally, people who own MKR tokens also have the power to make changes to these variables.

What You Need to Know About Dai Before You Buy

Investors with all levels of knowledge are welcome to participate in the exciting world of Dai investing, trading, mining, and all other activities in this technology space. As an inclusive community, crypto arenas work to be accessible to everyone.  

Coinsquare is vigilant about education, maintaining a real-time news feed in its mobile app, and providing 24/7 customer service support for all our account holders.

Before investing in Dai, do your research and your due diligence. Evaluate the market performance, the Dai community, and the security aspects of Dai. As you immerse yourself in the crypto space, you can go further: assess the project’s partnerships with other companies and organizations, figure out what Dai's plans are for the future, and evaluate the Dai community’s engagement, online presence, and enthusiasm.

Understanding the Technology

Anyone who wants to invest in Dai should understand basic concepts like what a blockchain is, how blockchains work, and the purpose of consensus mechanisms like Proof of Work and Proof of Stake. These concepts are reasonably accessible and essentially the same for all cryptocurrencies. You can find plenty of online guides to explain them. If they don’t make sense to you right away, stick with it and search for resources that are suited to your learning style.  

Reviewing Dai's Market Performance and Historical Price Data

Dai’s market performance and price data over time isn’t representative of where Dai is going, but it will give you a sense of the confidence other investors have had in it. As with all investments, past results are not indicative of future performance, so be diligent in your research before buying any type of investment

Also, consider the market capitalization for Dai. The market cap is a metric used to indicate the total value of Dai. Each cryptocurrency has a market cap. This figure is important because it can be used to compare different cryptocurrencies and evaluate their relative dominance on the market overall.

Coinsquare makes this data easily accessible. We provide all the information you need to make an informed decision about buying Dai.  

Liquidity and Trading Volume

Sufficient liquidity when purchasing Dai on the trading platform you choose is important so that it’s easy to buy and sell without significantly impacting the price. Trading volume can be used as an indicator for trading interest in Dai within a specific timeframe.

Dai's Partnerships  

Look into the partnerships that Dai has established with other companies and organizations. Partnerships with reputable, well-respected companies indicate trust in Dai. These partners often conduct extensive due diligence, which will give you confidence in Dai and its ongoing viability.

Partnerships with tech companies can also give Dai access to resources like expertise and equipment, while strategic partnerships can provide the financial backing that Dai needs to shore up its stability and continue to innovate and grow.  

Overall, solid partnerships suggest that other companies see value in Dai and are willing to back it with their own resources.  

Community and Social Media Presence

A large and active community is important to a cryptocurrency’s success. Follow Dai's social media channels to see how involved people are with Dai, keep up with the news about it, and get a sense of the community vibe. Developer support for Dai can give you additional information about the Dai community.  

Security

Investigate any past security incidents and see how they were addressed. Check on the social media chatter about these incidents to evaluate how the public and the Dai community responded.

Collecting information about Dai before you invest will help you make better investment decisions and manage any potential risks. Coinsquare is dedicated to giving you as much information as possible to help you get comfortable in the crypto space.

Coinsquare’s Advantages

You have options for trading platforms in Canada. Why choose Coinsquare?

Here are the advantages we offer to individuals or organizations interested in Dai or other cryptocurrencies:

  • We facilitate the purchase of over 53 unique cryptocurrencies, including SHIB, BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, DOGE, LTC, and more. Whether you’re interested in old favourites or an up-and-coming new product, trust us to make your purchasing experience smooth and simple!
  • Getting started with Coinsquare couldn’t be easier. Go through our sign-up procedure and try out the app - you’re under no obligation to make a transaction!
  • Our mobile apps for both iOS and Android are top-of-the-line, allowing you to access information, make trades, and stake your cryptocurrency wherever you are.
  • Our highly rated in-app support and real customer success representatives will answer any other questions you may have.  
  • The Coinsquare app and website carry real-time news updates, so you can stay on top of what’s going on with Dai and other cryptocurrencies.
  • We participate fully in the regulation of the industry. Our goal is to make it safe for our customers to trade in Dai  and our other cryptocurrency offerings. We understand that regulation is the best way to bring crypto more solidly into the mainstream, which we believe benefits everyone.
  • Our service packages allow you to choose the level of involvement and assistance you want, accommodating casual traders all the way up to advanced traders interested in advanced tools.  

Since its founding in 2014, Coinsquare has become a leader in the cryptocurrency space in Canada. Over the past decade, we have welcomed over 500,000 Canadian users to the crypto space and facilitated trades in excess of 8 billion Canadian dollars. We have the experience, customer base, and dedication to the community to have earned an outstanding level of trust and success. Open an account today; let’s see where we can go together!