Best Crypto Exchange Australia

How to Choose a Cryptocurrency Exchange in Australia?

For starters, you need to compare the listed crypto or bitcoin exchanges to find an option that’s best suited to your purpose, experience, and your expectations from crypto trading. There are several key factors to consider when choosing the best place to buy bitcoin or crypto.

Type of Trading

First, consider the type of trade you’ll place and ensure that your exchange of choice supports it. The offered types of trading are usually:

• Crypto-to-crypto trading
• Fiat-to-crypto trading
• Both

For example, if you plan to buy some bitcoin with Australian Dollars, you should look for a crypto brokerage service that allows this sort of crypto to fiat trade and also supports your preferred payment method (bank transfer, credit card, etc.).

Otherwise, if you want to trade crypto coins you already possess against other cryptocurrencies (BTC to ETH, for example), then find a trading platform that offers direct crypto-to-crypto swaps. Luckily, most crypto exchanges offer this, anyway.

User-Friendliness

Crypto exchanges differ greatly in how they present their products and services to the user, and various layouts are best suited to traders with different skill levels. Some of them feature an uncluttered and intuitive user interface, which helps novices feel comfortable when making their first crypto transactions.

On the other hand, seasoned traders usually look for a cutting-edge layout that offers detailed insight into market indicators, charts, candlesticks and graphs, and everything that can contribute to better trading strategies.

Yet, starting off with an advanced trading platform can be rather discouraging for absolute beginners.

One of the most important features of UI is a great crypto exchange app. Apps make the whole experience of signing up and trading a LOT easier. Definitely something to look out for.

When searching for the best bitcoin app in Australia, we would recommend checking out Swyftx or Coinspot, as they both have fantastic apps.

Supported Cryptocurrencies

Knowing what type of cryptocurrencies you’re planning to buy before choosing a cryptocurrency exchange is good. Almost any exchange will do if you just want to buy Bitcoin. Even though there are over 4,000 circulating altcoins, some exchanges support BTC exclusively.

However, the majority offer BTC and the standard selection of the most dominant cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC). Keep in mind that it’s difficult to find a reliable exchange that supports unpopular and newly-discovered coins, as those are less reliable.

If you trade crypto with fiat money, you should also double-check whether the exchange has listed your local or preferred currency in the available fiat-to-crypto trading pairs.

Deposit & Withdrawal Methods

Crypto exchanges today try to cater to a broader audience so generally, there is a wide choice of deposit methods. Most frequently, exchanges support regular bank transfers and credit debit cards but some of them also offer various e-payment options based on geographical availability. Check whether your exchange of choice:

• Supports AUD deposits and withdrawals
• Has a daily or monthly deposit/withdrawal limit

Trading Fees and Exchange Rates

The fee structure is perhaps the most variable factor between crypto exchanges. However, all crypto exchanges incur the same types of fees: trading, withdrawal, and deposit fees.

That’s why you’ll need to consider the total cost and find something that is worth the money. For example, some exchanges may not charge for deposits but do incur trading fees much higher than the industry standard. You can learn more about how trading fees work to get a better idea.

When it comes to the purchase price of your selected cryptocurrency, you should know that there is no single, unified exchange rate – it’s calculated based on the current supply and demand, so the price of cryptocurrencies can differ up to 10-15% from one exchange to another.

Account Verification Process

Some users want to avoid giving away any personal details when trading cryptocurrency. However, full anonymity is nearly impossible today due to the strict AML/CFT (anti-money laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism) policies that crypto exchanges must follow. In any case, an exchange that operates under local regulations is more likely to be a trustworthy one.

So, be ready to spend some extra time on a KYC (know-your-customer) verification before you start trading on any of the well-established platforms. In fact, the verification process varies between exchanges, but more or less, some of the information you’ll need to submit include:

• Full name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Utility bill to prove your address
• A copy or photo of a government-issued document (ID card, driving license or passport).

Remember that some exchanges have several thresholds of verification that determine the deposit/withdrawal limits and services you can use on their platform. The more personal information you provide, the more trading you can do.

Some of the best bitcoin exchanges in Australia also have referral codes that offer some free crypto upon signing up. An example would be our Swyftx referral code.

Security Features for Both the Platform and the Wallets

In digital space, security comes before anything else. In general, crypto exchanges have a history of unresolved hacker attacks resulting in permanent losses of millions of dollars.

You’ll notice that they strongly aim at implementing the highest security standards in their platforms, users’ accounts and wallets. When reviewing the exchanges’ features, you’ll need to focus on the following:

• 2FA (two-factor authentication)
• Online or offline storage of customer funds
• Control over users’ private keys
• Type of verification required
• Email or SMS notifications on account activity
• Full-time security monitoring
• Email encryption
• Proof of reserve

Customer Support

We always underrate the “customer-support” factor but the truth is that the majority of user complaints arise from not being able to reach the support team and get help with issues regarding account verification or transactions.

When inspecting a platform’s customer support, focus on:

• How can you reach the support team: email, live chat, phone, or inquiry form (ticket)?
• If there is an open phone line, do they employ a bot for the most frequently asked questions, or do they talk to you directly?
• Is the support team available only during business hours or 24/7?
• How long does it take to get a response?
• Do internationally registered exchanges have support in English?
• Does their website have a support section?

Reputation & Reviews

What do online reviews say about the exchange? The personal experiences of users are the most reliable source where you can learn a lot about the platform’s real drawbacks and perks. Rating systems are really helpful in deciding whether the platform can be trusted.

It’s always a good idea to read something more about the exchange’s history – how long it’s been around and whether it has any track record for security breaches.

Is It a Regulated Exchange in Australia?

It looks like local authorities worldwide were caught unprepared for the rapid growth of the crypto industry. They are putting in a great deal of effort to set some legal frames, but most countries are far from reaching the desired outcome.

In Australia, crypto operators must be registered with AUSTRAC (the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) and follow the governments’ AML/CTF regulations.

Due to local regulations, some exchanges are banned from certain countries and conversely, there are exchanges that don’t allow access to users from particular territories. Fortunately, Australia isn’t on any of these “black lists”.

How we choose and rank the best crypto exchanges.

We test, review and rate exchanges by looking at their ease-of-use, trading features, customer support, and fees. Analyzing user reviews helps us assess the overall sentiment. However, we didn’t evaluate every exchange and your needs might dictate an exchange we haven’t reviewed yet.