To help navigate the complicated world of crypto, we've launched a comprehensive review of cryptocurrency exchanges available in Australia.
Our goal is to recognise and award exchanges that excel in one of the following categories: Overall, Value, Beginners, Altcoins, Extra Features and Advanced Trading.
These awards are then used to inform our "Best for" selections across many of our cryptocurrency guides.
We analyse more than 1,100 data points across 16 cryptocurrency platforms in Australia to find winners in 6 different categories. Approximately 100 hours went into data collection, review and analysis.
Awards are based on quantitative criteria which are weighted and scored for each category.
A total of 16 cryptocurrency platforms were eligible to be reviewed as part of the awards program.
In order to qualify, platforms must be registered with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) as Digital Currency Exchange or hold an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL). They also had to pass Finder's internal due diligence process, which is a requirement for all platforms listed on our website.
Platforms were scored on a set of criteria chosen by Finder's cryptocurrency experts and data analysts.
Criteria were based on publicly available data. If data was unavailable, we contacted platforms and requested the data. Some platforms declined to provide missing data and received a score of zero for that criterion as a result. The criteria were then weighted differently for each award.
For instance, criteria that related to fees were up-weighted for the "Value" award, while criteria related to advanced trading products received a weighting of zero for that award.
The exchange that scored highest in each award was named the winner, with the exchanges that scored second and third highest each receiving a highly commended award.
Awards are based on a comprehensive list of 38 individual criteria that fit into one of the following 6 categories:
Criteria and weightings were chosen by an expert panel of Finder crew, including data analysts and editorial staff. They took into account user experience, industry standards and regulatory requirements. We defined a spot market as an exchange with an order book.
Each individual criterion received a weighting, which varied depending on the award. Each award has a unique combination of weightings. Customer support and security were considered in all awards.
The weighting of each category for individual awards is outlined below.
This award focuses heavily on fee data. The main focus is the spot market, followed by instant purchase fees. It also considers payment methods as well as the number of coins available.
This award captures a wide range of factors that all contribute to a beginner-friendly experience for users. In addition to beginner-friendly features, customer service, value for money and access to instant purchase features contributed significantly to this award.
A small number of brands were excluded from this award at the discretion of editorial staff after conducting hands-on research.
This award highlights exchanges that provide a comprehensive instant purchase experience with an emphasis on value for money.
This award focuses heavily on the number of coins and tokens available on the exchange, in addition to liquidity and trading pairs.
This award spotlights exchanges that offer a broad range of features on top of the standard trading experience, such as NFT markets.
This award takes into account advanced trading features such as order types and charting tools as well as regulatory compliance, liquidity and fees.
The Overall award was given to the exchange that had the highest average score across each of the 38 criteria.
This award goes to the highest rated ETF trading platform in our share trading platform awards that also offers cryptocurrency trading.
No. We perform due diligence on exchanges before listing them on our website.
As a result, we purposely choose not to compare some exchanges, as we consider these platforms unsuitable for various reasons.
For example, a platform may be excluded because it is not appropriately registered with local regulators like AUSTRAC or offers high-risk products without the appropriate licence.
Despite this, our list of exchanges accounts for the bulk of retail use in Australia and represents the majority of popular and well-regarded providers.
Finder asked Australians to rate the brands they know and use for our Customer Satisfaction Program.
Consumers were asked to review a crypto trading platform they had used.
Brands had to receive a minimum of 45 responses in this category to be eligible for the award.
The brands were rated based on the following categories:
The final score was calculated as an average of all of these metrics.
Finder's Customer Satisfaction Awards is an independent awards program and commercial partnerships do not influence the results in any way.
Cryptocurrency exchange platforms are not created equal. To help you identify where an exchange shines – or falls flat – Finder's editors objectively assess each platform across a spectrum of performance metrics.
Finder considers 7 key factors in our ratings to get an overall score:
Our ratings are designed to help you assess a cryptocurrency exchange's strengths and weaknesses. The best way to inform your decision is to read Finder's full platform review for an in-depth breakdown of its features.
Finder rates crypto platforms using a system of 1 to 5 stars.
 5/5 – Excellent |
| 4/5 – Good |
| 3/5 – Average |
| 2/5 – Subpar |
| 1/5 – Poor |
We consider a wide range of factors before choosing the best crypto tax software for Australian investors. We take into account the following:
Price. We compare software plan prices as well as free tiers. We pay close attention to value for money, the additional features included, and how many transactions are included in each tier.
Number of exchanges. We analyse the number of exchanges that are natively supported by the software using API integrations. This means exchanges where users can automatically connect to their exchange using the software and analyse their transactions without the need to manually export a CSV or similar file.
Integrations. We consider the number of exchange, wallet, blockchain, and coin tracking service integrations each provider offers. This allows for easy importing of all your cryptocurrency transaction data using API keys or CSV files.
Advanced DeFi and protocol support. We analyse the number of specific DeFi protocols that are integrated with the software, as well as their popularity. This is particularly important for users who participate in lending markets, yield farming, and staking.
NFT support. We assess whether the software has native support for NFT trading. This may encompass specific protocols or the ability to analyse on-chain transactions for NFT trades and calculate tax accordingly.
Ease of use. Next, we compare crypto tax software on user experience and layout to find out how easy it is to use. From signing up to importing transaction data and generating tax reports, we looked for programs that simplify the process from start to finish.
Included tax forms and reports. The best crypto tax software is optimized for use with Australian tax rules. This not only means it has the ability to calculate capital gains and losses, but it can also do things like take into account the 50% CGT discount on assets held for more than a year, plus calculate income from staking, lending, and more.
Accountant access. Once you've generated your tax report, we inspected how easy it is to give your accountant access to your tax report and export your data to popular tax filing software.
Customer service. Finally, we also consider how you can get in touch with a software provider's customer support team, what previous users have to say about the level of customer support, and whether they also offer online help resources.
To evaluate our picks for best exchanges for day trading cryptocurrency, we compared over 20 exchanges on a range of criteria, including the following:
To evaluate our picks for the best crypto wallets, we compared 50+ wallets on a range of criteria, including the following:
Our "best for" picks are displayed on many of our cryptocurrency guides and feature 3-5 "Best for X" categories.
The exchanges are awarded titles using the methodology above and from time to time may also include some "Promoted Picks", which have been chosen from among our commercial partners based on factors that include special features or offers and the commission we receive.
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