CoinJar is a well-established Australian cryptocurrency exchange platform that is suitable for beginners, experienced traders, and even institutions. 

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But is it worth your time and money? Or are there other crypto exchanges more suited to your needs?

The answer lies in the in-depth CoinJar review below.  

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What is CoinJar?

CoinJar is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia. It was founded in 2013 by CEO Asher Tan and COO Ryan Zhuo, with headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. One year after it was launched in Australia, the company expanded to the UK.

PROS:

  • Buy crypto with credit/debit card
  • Spend crypto online & in-store
  • User-friendly UI
  • Advanced security protocols
  • Reliable native mobile apps

CONS:

  • Only 50+ coins available
  • No live chat
  • 2% fee for Instant buy with Visa and Mastercard

Disclaimer: Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and involve significant risks. Always take into account your own individual circumstances before making any investment decisions, and don’t rely on the information presented here alone.

Today, CoinJar has over 600,000 members across the world and offers several great features, including crypto bundles, a state-of-the-art mobile app, SMSF support and OTC trading.

With CoinJar you can easily invest in crypto—the platform lets you buy crypto assets with fiat currency and store them in the exchange’s built-in wallet, one of Australia’s most prominent crypto wallets.

As of recently, CoinJar members can also spend crypto online and in physical stores with the CoinJar credit card with no exchange fees, and instantly buy digital assets with their debit or credit cards— two features you are not likely to find on other Australian crypto exchanges. 

Is CoinJar Safe?

CoinJar is registered with AUSTRAC and the FCA in the UK. On top of that, it is supported by some of the world’s leading investors, such as Blackbird Ventures, Digital Currency Group, and Boost VC. 

Security is very important to CoinJar and to that end, the company requires that all users pass a verification process (which can take up to 3 days). It also implements encryption protocols, privacy measures and transport layer security.  

Additionally, 90% of assets are held offline in secure locations to avoid external breaches. The site has not been hacked or compromised since it was launched in 2013, which speaks volumes about the company’s focus on safety. 

Who Is CoinJar Best For?

CoinJar was originally designed to introduce beginners to crypto trading and even though it has since expanded its features, it still retains the minimalist and simple interface. The main dashboard is straightforward to use and modelled on some of the most popular fintech companies, providing a comfortable and familiar setting for users. 

For more experienced traders, CoinJar offers its Exchange trading platform, where you can use more developed trading methods, charting software and advanced order types. 

That said, CoinJar has a limited number of coins you can trade on the platform. At the moment, there are 53 coins you can invest in, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Stellar, which is considerably less than the 360+ digital currencies available on CoinSpot. 

How to Get Started With CoinJar?

Like other crypto exchanges, opening an account with CoinJar is super easy. 

Here is what you need to do:

1. Sign up

  • Open the CoinJar website and click on the Join CoinJar button which can be found in the top-right corner of the page.
  • Fill out the necessary details (name, email, password)
  • Agree to the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Collection Statement

2. Verify your identity 

You will be required to provide documents that verify your identity and place of residence.

Note that you only need to provide this information if you want to transfer fiat currencies to and from your CoinJar account. 

More than one CoinJar review in Australia and the platform itself advises enabling Enhanced Security (2FA) to ensure that your account is safe and cannot be tampered with. 

3. Fund your account 

Australians can fund their account in AUD, while UK users can deposit funds in pounds sterling. 

There are three ways to fund your CoinJar account:

  • PayID
  • Bank transfer
  • Blueshyft

All deposit methods, with the exception of cash deposits through Blueshyft (1.5% processing fee) are free. 

The company also accepted BPAY, however, it was fully discounted on June 27, 2022. 

Another change is that from June 2022, all CoinJar members will be issued a unique PayID email address and are no longer required to include a reference number when depositing money this way. 

For more help on how to set up a PayID account, take a look at this article. 

There is also an option to instantly buy crypto with your credit or debit card. You can link your card to your CoinJar account or use Apple Pay or Google Pay to instantly buy crypto through the app without making a deposit. 

Bear in mind that Instant Buy comes with a 2% transaction fee and a limit of up to $10,000 worth of digital currencies a day. Additional fees may apply depending on your card type and provider. 

Note: If you want to transfer funds via bank transfer or POLi, platforms like EasyCrypto and Cointree can accommodate your needs. 

4. Start trading

Once you fund your account you can transfer the funds to your Everyday Bitcoin account or any other currency account—CoinJar has separate accounts for each type of currency making it easier to keep track of transfers. 

After that simply choose which currency you want to buy and click on the relevant button. You can buy digital currencies with other cryptos, but you first must convert the funds, i.e. transfer them from one crypto account to another (they are converted automatically). 

Keep in mind that you can only sell digital assets for AU dollars. If you want a platform with more supported fiat currencies, Crypto.com might be the one for you. 

CoinJar Main Features 

Here is a brief overview of the platform’s key features. 

CoinJar Bundles 

Crypto bundles are a great way to diversify your portfolio and spread the risk by buying several currencies in one purchase. 

There are several proportional and cap-allocated Bundles to choose from on CoinJar, including some popular options like the CoinJar Universe bundle that lets you buy 25 of the most popular coins on the platform. When ready to unbundle, sell the crypto or send it directly to the CoinJar wallet.

CoinJar Credit Card

The CoinJar card, one of the most unique features of the platform, lets you spend crypto as real cash both online and in-store, i.e. wherever Mastercard is accepted. Seeing as how more than 9.1 million Australian households shop online, this is a most welcome feature. 

The card automatically converts your chosen crypto into fiat currency using the platform’s best rates. It is easy to manage from the CoinJar app and since it supports both Apple Pay and Google Pay it can be used as a digital payment method. Alternatively, you could order a  physical card that you can also use at an ATM and withdraw cash.

Last but not least, for every $1 you spend, you get one CoinJar reward point which can be redeemed in the CoinJar Rewards Store or used for trading. 

Getting the card (both physical and digital) is free, although all transactions incur a 1% fee. There is also a daily spend limit of $5000 through a maximum of 25 transactions and a $1000 maximum ATM withdrawal per day. 

OTC Trades

The OTC trading desk is suitable for high-volume transactions over $50,000, and it comes with a personal trading broker, low fees, and rapid quotes. 

The CoinJar Exchange 

The CoinJar Exchange is designed for live crypto trading and is suitable for investors who have had some experience in the area.  Even so, the interface is uncluttered, simple and clean. 

The platform offers advanced order types (limit orders, stops and time-enforced order types), charting software that provides insight into liquidity and current market value as well as professional trading tools. 

Although more advanced than the regular buy/sell interface, the CoinJar Exchange is still limited in the number of assets it provides. If you are looking for a trading platform that lets you invest in other assets in addition to crypto (including ETFs, CFDs and futures), KuCoin and eToro might be your best bets.  

The CoinJar App Review  

The CoinJar app, available for free for Android and iPhone users, is an all-in-one crypto wallet. Designed to be highly accessible, it allows you to buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptos in minutes, make digital payments through the CoinJar credit card as well as manage your account.

SMSF Account

With CoinJar you can select SMSF as your account type and use your self-managed super fund to purchase Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies. 

Since setting up an SMSF is more complicated than a regular account on the Exchange, CoinJar has a dedicated support team on hand to help. You can reach the team on weekdays and from 9 am to 5.30 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

CoinJar Fees and Pricing 

Let’s take a look at how much CoinJar charges for its services.

CoinJar Exchange Fees

CoinJar has no taker fees and charges a dynamic trading fee based on trading volume.

All AU transactions include GST. 

Transaction Fees 

Unlike the Exchange (which is designed for more experienced traders), CoinJar charges a flat 1% fee for all crypto transactions, which is a bit higher than what other exchanges offer. For instance, Swyftx has 0.6% fees, which is almost half of what CoinJar charges. 

Deposit & CoinJar Withdrawal Fees

CoinJar does not charge deposit fees on any of its payment methods, except cash deposits which incur a 1.5% fee. 

Sending crypto to other members on the platform is also free, although transferring funds to external wallets incurs a dynamic transaction fee, i.e. a network fee that covers the payment processing. This dynamic fee does not apply to all cryptocurrencies (LTC and EOS are exempt for instance) and is recalculated every 15 minutes to reflect the current value of the asset you are transferring and how busy the blockchain is at that moment.

You can find the full list of cryptocurrencies that incur a dynamic fee here. 

CoinJar Customer Support

CoinJar has a ticketing system which is pretty fast as the average response time is 2 hours. The site also has an extensive Knowledge base with lots of how-to guides and answers to questions that customers might find helpful. There is also an in-house support team that is online on weekdays between 9 am and 2 am and at weekends from 9 am to 5.30 pm. 

There is no live chat or phone support, except for select CoinJar Exchange members. Considering that most crypto exchange platforms like Coinsmart and Digital Surge have live chat and phone support, CoinJar somewhat falls short of the competition in this regard.

CoinJar Alternatives

How does CoinJar compare to the competition? 

CoinJar vs Swyftx

Swyftx is one of the biggest crypto exchanges in Australia, offering a huge range of assets, low trading fees, demo trading and the ability to generate passive income by earning interest on your crypto holdings. Both platforms are beginner-friendly and have a sleek and simple interface, however, Swyftx offers more features and is definitely worth a try whether you are a newbie or a pro trader. 

CoinJar vs Coinstash

As you can see from the table Coinstash has more tradable assets and lower fees, although the platform was founded in 2020 and has yet to prove itself as a well-established Australian-based crypto exchange. It is also lacking some more advanced features, such as the ability to spend crypto and earn interest on your holdings. 

CoinJar vs Independent Reserve

Voted Australia’s Best Cryptocurrency Exchange of the Year 2019 – 2021, Independent Reserve is a very popular choice among investors thanks to its low fees, automated trading tools and top-end security features. It also allows users to sell and trade in AUD, USD, NZD and SGD. As a result, Independent Reserve is a great choice for pro traders, although beginners might feel more comfortable with CoinJar’s straightforward interface. 

Bottom Line

CoinJar is simple and effective—the process of depositing funds, buying/selling crypto and spending digital assets is streamlined to suit novice investors, particularly those who are interested in long-term investing. 

Seasoned traders, on the other hand, can use the platform’s OTC service and Exchange to get more out of the app, although if they want more options and the chance to actively trade, there are other trading platforms, like Binance and Coinbase, that might be better suited. 

Yes, CoinJar is legal for users in Australia. 

2. Does CoinJar report to the ATO?

No, CoinJar doesn’t report to ATO or any other tax office, which does not mean that trading in crypto is not taxable in Australia. 

3. How to withdraw from CoinJar?

You can withdraw funds from your CoinJar account to your personal bank account that you have linked with the platform. 

All you need to do is sign into your account, click on Withdrawal (found in the dropdown menu under the three dots in the right corner), select the account you would like to withdraw from and the amount. As mentioned in the CoinJar review above, there are no withdrawal fees.