CoinJar Review [The Ultimate Guide 2022]

Pros of CoinJar
  • An excellent platform for beginners traders
  • Offering a cryptocurrency wallet, an exchange and swipe
  • Trade on the move with the mobile app
  • Fully licensed Crypto provider in Australia
  • Structured fees that are competitive
  • Reward Points

CoinJar Cons
  • Limited selection of cryptocurrency
  • Trade fees for immediate buy or sell orders are high
  • Customers service is only available during business hours
  • Only Australians are allowed to deposit and withdraw fiat currency.

Since 2009, when the Bitcoin network was launched, cryptocurrencies gained significant popularity. The current value of the asset class stands at staggering $2 trillionThanks to institutional and retail investors who have flooded into this space.

Although there are many options for cryptocurrency traders who want to be exposed to digital assets, with various custody options, crypto exchanges offer the best opportunity to access the emerging markets.

CoinJar was an Australian-based cryptocurrency trading platform that was launched in 2013. It’s one of the oldest crypto exchanges that lets trading in digital assets through a beginner-friendly platform. Though initially designed to help beginners, this exchange offers advanced trading tools, including charting software and order types for experienced cryptocurrency traders. You can use the exchange to purchase and sell digital currencies on your desktop or mobile device. CoinJar customers can also top up their accounts with a bank transfer, credit card, or debit card. CoinJar’s simplicity, efficiency, competitive fees, military-grade security measures, etc., make it one of the best crypto exchanges for Aussie or UK beginners.

Continue reading to find out everything about CoinJar, including deposit methods and fees.

Let’s jump right in!

CoinJar: What’s it all about?

CoinJar homepage
CoinJar Homepage

CoinJar, one of Australia’s most well-known exchanges, is owned by CoinJar Australia Pty Ltd. It mainly focuses its attention on investors and the local cryptocurrency market in Australia. CoinJar, founded by Ryan Zhou in 2013, and backed by reputable VC firms. Blackbird Ventures, Digital Currency Group and Blackbird Ventures back the cryptocurrency exchange.

CoinJar’s launch has seen over 400,000 CoinJar registered users. There have also been more than $1.5 million in transactions made with digital currencies.

It offers an intuitive interface that allows you to sell, buy, store and spend digital currency. There are also innovative products such as the Crypto Debit Card, EFTPOS Card, CoinJar Bundles and a CoinJar application for secure wallet applications.

CoinJar Features

Now, let’s look into CoinJar’s core features to help you get started!

Register Now

Follow these steps to get CoinJar started: 

  • Go to the CoinJar website and click on the ‘Sign Up’ button.
  • Enter your email address and name to create a strong password.
  • Read the terms and conditions, click on ‘Accept,’ then ‘Sign Up.’
  • Click the link to verify your identity and complete the registration process.

After completing the seamless sign-up process, you’ll have to select a CoinJar username and a profile picture and insert your mobile number. To enjoy all the features, you will need to ID-verify your identity using an automated process which takes no more than 10 minutes. Here’s how to get verified to access the wide range of features on the CoinJar platform:

  1. Log in to your digital currency account and click the ‘Get Verified Now’ button.
  2. You can choose between an individual and a corporate entity.
  3. Select ‘Verify With Digital ID’ and upload a state-issued ID document.
  4. Complete the information contained on the ID and click the “Submit” button.

To complete identity verification, CoinJar will require you to take a selfie.

Congratulations! After your account verification, you will be able to make Visa and Mastercard deposit, purchase and sell cryptocurrencies and more.

CoinJar products
CoinJar products

CoinJar Debit card

The CoinJar card works just like other debit cards, with the only exception that it’s a crypto debit card. It’s powered by Mastercard, and card owners can pay for goods and services while earning rewards on every spend. Each AUD 1 that is spent using the CoinJar card will earn 100 CoinJar rewards points, which can then be instantly redeemed for cash to help pay other expenses.

With the CoinJar card, there are no monthly fees, transaction fees, activation fees, or monthly fees. The CoinJar debit cards do not have any loading fees for AUD transactions or EFTPOS purchase. There is no charge to withdraw AUD. Crypto coins are subject to the same loading fees as regular CoinJar exchange fee.

Digital control of the CoinJar can be done from any device. Or, you can use your Mastercard to operate it physically at all outlets that accept Mastercard. A fee is charged for online, in-store and ATM withdrawals.

OTC Trades

CoinJar allows both individuals and businesses to trade off-exchange over-the-counter for transactions exceeding AUD 50,000.

CoinJar says its services offer “ultra-competitive rates and liquidity” across cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin.

Be concerned about your privacy. CoinJar’s OTC offering allows users to fill transactions via private communication channels without compromising security discreetly.

CoinJar Bundles 

CoinJar Bundles allows you to purchase a variety of digital currencies in one transaction. It’s a unique feature beneficial to crypto traders interested in passive portfolio diversification.

CoinJar has a variety of bundles available, which include the most popular cryptocurrencies according to market capital, stabilitycoins and ERC-20 tokens. The CoinJar Bundle offers the possibility to select between either a proportional, or cap-adjusted allocation.

Bundles may be empty at no charge at all, and the funds can then move to CoinJar. Bundles allows you to create a direct debit that will automatically transfer money to any CoinJar Bundles via the Dollar Cost Averaging Method.

CoinJar Exchange

CoinJar offers an advanced cryptocurrency trading platform that provides “high-frequency, low-latency execution for experienced traders.” It provides a high degree of control for trading assets, letting users set order prices and take advantage of lower trading fees. An API for trading is available to facilitate account management.

Security

CoinJar, one of the safest cryptocurrency exchanges, implements many security measures to protect user funds as well as personal information. High-level encryption of data, Transport Layer Security and periodic audits are just a few of the strategies used. Advanced machine learning techniques (MLTs), which are used to detect suspicious logins and financial fraud as well as account takeovers. At least 90% of customers’ digital currencies are stored offline in geographically-redundant, secure locations.

CoinJar uses Amazon Web Services to provide its infrastructure and employs firewalls for internal network security. It’s also registered with AUSTRAC (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism.

When CoinJar requests authentication, you will receive SMS via your mobile app.

This is a step up from the previous. All staff members are screened for criminal links. All CoinJar employees are required to use cryptographically-secure Multi-Factor Authentication such as hardware U2F keys to access internal services.

CoinJar hasn’t suffered any major exploits since its launch in 2013.

Support for Customers 

CoinJar offers 24/7 support for users who have questions or issues with the platform. Support is available via LiveChat and email as well as phone calls. A drawback to the phone call feature is that it’s only available to registered users in Australia from Mondays through Fridays between the hours of 9:am till 5:00 pm (Melbourne time).

You can also browse CoinJar’s FAQ information covering the basics of using the platform. CoinJar also allows you to search for keywords.‘sKnowledge base or Submit a Support Request

Savings

These payment methods can be used by registered users to make deposits in Australian dollars to CoinJar wallets:

  • PayId/NPP – This payment option allows you to instantly send money from any Australian bank account using PayID. PayID systems are supported by NPP and Osko® 24/7.
  • Blueshyft – This payment method is free and allows you to deposit cash as well as crypto in order to buy cryptocurrency on CoinJar.
  • BPAY – Similar to regular bank transfer, BPAY allows to you to send funds from your internet banking to your CoinJar. It typically takes between one and three business days.

Before making deposits, it’s essential to ensure that your identity verification has been completed and that the bank account with the funds is in your legal name.  In the absence of these requirements, deposits may be returned.

Funding your accounts with cryptocurrency can be done at zero cost. It will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete the deposit, depending on which crypto currency you have sent.

Supported Cryptocurrencies

CoinJar can support up to 40 cryptocurrencies. This includes the most valuable assets according to market capitalization, i.e. BTC, ETH and LTC as well as XRP and XLM. 

You can also use it to support stablecoins like USD Coin, Dai and Tether USD. Aave is supported along with GraphToken and Polygon as well basic attention tokens.

The wide range of Wrapped BTC products is not available in CoinJar Bundles. Additionally, the platform warns users that unsupported currency sent to CoinJar could be permanently lost.

You can trade all supported cryptocurrency against Bitcoin (BTC), Australian Dollars, or British Pounds.  

CoinJar Fees

CoinJar doesn’t charge deposit fees for BPAY, NPP, direct debit deposits, or cryptocurrency deposits. Deposits made via Instant Buy (Visa or Mastercard), and Blueshyft Cash deposits are subject to 2% and 1.5% respectively.

A digital currency account that connects to BPAY Biller is subject to a 0.5% withdrawal fee. CoinJar charges no fees for withdrawing Australian dollars from your Australian account. For sending Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum(ETH), or other cryptocurrencies, there is a dynamic fees structure. A transaction’s initiator will automatically determine the dynamic fee. It also takes into consideration the level of blockchain congestion.

Conversion fees of digital currency accounts to cash accounts are 1% each. Cryptocurrencies like LTC, XRP, XLM, ALGO, and EOS don’t incur any transaction fees.

Sending cryptocurrencies between CoinJar accounts doesn’t require any fees if sent using CoinJar usernames. It’s important to note that if you have accumulated CoinJar Points, you can use them to pay the associated fees.

CoinStats to CoinJar Account

Here’s how to link your CoinJar account to CoinStats to manage all your cryptocurrency and DeFi portfolios from one place:

  1. Log in to your CoinJar accounts.
  2. You can select the API keys using the drop-down menu in the upper right.
  3. Click ‘Create New Key’ and select Read-only as permission.
  4. Copy the created key into the token section.

All your assets can be tracked in one location. CoinStats, a comprehensive crypto portfolio tracking platform that uses military-grade encryption allows you to easily manage all your digital assets from one location. You only need to enable an API to show all the coins and exchanges on the app’s interface. 

Currently, you can access CoinStats through desktop, tablets, mobile – android, and iOS, and there is also a version for the Apple watch. 

Closing Thoughts

With all of the features offered by Coinjar, it seems that Coinjar wallet is well-suited for beginner Australian traders. Coinjar has a competitive advantage because the fees charged for crypto-tocrypto trading are lower than average in the industry. CoinJar is an entry-level platform that allows fiat-crypto trading.

A further advantage is the CoinJar RewardPoints program. These points can be used to redeem CoinJar Rewards Points for gift cards and currency exchanges at no cost.

However, there are some missing features for traders outside Australia. CoinJar’s volume trading has exceeded $1.5 Billion according to its information, which is quite low compared with other crypto exchanges. The figure suggests that the exchange’s liquidity is not as robust as its rivals’, with billions of dollars in daily trading volumes. The absence of liquidity might result from the exchange’s regional outlook, being heavily focused on the Australian markets.

Also, with only a limited number of supported cryptocurrencies on the platform, users don’t have access to popular cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.

You should look at several Australian exchanges if you’re looking for CoinJar alternatives and other cryptocurrency exchanges.

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