CoinSpot and Independent Reserve are two major Australian cryptocurrency exchanges. Both of the exchanges were extremely early to the cryptocurrency world having been founded in 2013.
As a quick summary, we believe that CoinSpot is the superior platform for cryptocurrency investing. This is mainly because they offer lower fees, multiple free AUD deposit methods and a more diverse range of assets available on their platform.
- Australia's Largest Exchange with over 2 million users.
- 370+ Cryptocurrencies to trade starting at 0.1% fees.
- NFT Marketplace, Crypto Staking, Crypto ETFs and more.
Comparison Overview
Both CoinSpot and Independent Reserve have been in the crypto space since 2013 which is significantly longer than most major exchanges like Binance and FTX which were founded in 2017. This makes them both trusted and reliable cryptocurrency platforms for Australian investors.
The table below provides a high-level summary of both exchanges and compares their fees and other key features.
 |
.svg){kind=small} |
|
|---|---|---|
| Trading Fees | 0.1% - 1% | 0.5% |
| Cryptocurrencies | 357 | 28 |
| Year Founded | 2013 | 2013 |
| Devices | Web, iOS & Android | Web, iOS & Android |
| Key Features | Trading, Staking, Bundles (ETFs), NFT Marketplace, OTC Desk | Trading & OTC Desk |
| Deposit Methods | POLi, PayID, BPAY, Cash, Direct Deposit, Crypto Deposit | PayID, Osko, Direct Deposit, Crypto Deposit |
| Rating |  |
|
| Website | Visit CoinSpot | Visit Independent Reserve |
Trading Fees
CoinSpot has the lowest fees among any exchange in Australia and are second to none for trading fees. eToro used to offer $0 trading fees but now charge a hefty 1%. CoinSpot currently offers 0.1% in trading fees when using Market Buy and charge 1% when using Instant Buy.
Independent Reserve's fees start at 0.5% and go down to 0.1% when you trade up to 4,000,000AUD within a 30 day period. For this reason, CoinSpot is the preferred exchange for trading fees as they do not require a minimum spend for their 0.1% trading fee.
Key Features
CoinSpot has recently launched their NFT marketplace which allows their users to purchase some of the most popular NFTs directly on their platform. They currently support the following NFT projects - Bored Ape Yacht Club, VeeFriends, Cool Cats NFT, 3Landers, Boss Beauties, World of Women, DeadFellaz, Coolman's Universe, WonderPals, Creature World, The Heart Project, PUNKS Comic, Gauntlets & AO Art Ball.
Additional to their NFT marketplace, they offer cryptocurrency staking on 22 different cryptocurrencies including AVAX, MATIC, ADA & SOL. For a guide on how to stake cryptocurrency on CoinSpot, please visit our CoinSpot Cryptocurrency Staking page.
One of CoinSpot's most popular features is their Bundles feature, this allows users to invest in anywhere between 2-10 cryptocurrencies at once. To simplify it, it's a package of various crypto assets in that you can purchase in one transaction to speed up the process. It's an easy and simple way for users to diversify their portfolio and hedge their risk.
Lastly, CoinSpot's OTC Desk is a feature for users with high-volume transactions that want to lock in a certain price without the need of traditional order books. Users get direct access to a professional trading broker for all their trading needs. Which is important for corporate clients.
Independent Reserve has unfortunately a limited number of features, similar to CoinSpot they have an OTC Desk for users who trade between $100,000 - $10,000,000AUD.
Besides that they only have one other feature which is their 'AutoTrader' function, it allows their investors to auto trade cryptocurrencies through three different ways. The first 'AutoBuy on Deposit' assists users to automatically buy one of their supported cryptocurrencies whenever a deposit is credited to their account. You can choose a maximum percentage of your deposit to be used.
The second is their 'AutoBasket' strategy which is similar to AutoBuy, but instead of buying a specified cryptocurrency, AutoBasket will buy multiple cryptos weighing them against the market capitalisation of each crypto. The last is the 'AutoSchedule' strategy which allows you to automatically buy or sell one of the supported cryptocurrencies on a regular schedule.
Deposit Methods
For a full breakdown of the costs and available deposit methods for both exchanges, please refer to the table below.
CoinSpot vs Independent Reserve Mobile App
CoinSpot supports both iOS and Android versions of their platform, the UI is very similar to the web version. Their mobile app has all the same functionalities as their website, users can check their portfolio, trade and even stake on the platform.
Independent Reserve also supports both iOS and Android, you can also use their app on both iPhone and iPad for apple users. The app has the exact same functionality as their website.
CoinSpot vs Independent Reserve: Cryptocurrencies
CoinSpot has the largest and most diverse selection of cryptocurrencies available out of any Australian-based cryptocurrency exchange. They currently support 356 cryptocurrencies to invest in. Not only do they list Stable Coins, they also support Alt Coins, Meme Coins, NFT Coins, Metaverse Coins, DeFi Coins & GameFi Coins.
Independent Reserve on the other hand only have 28 cryptocurrencies to trade and they are BTC, XRP, ETH, USDT, USDC, ADA, LINK, DOGE, XLM, UNI, MATIC, LTC, ZRX, OMG, BAT, DOT, GRT, BCH, EOS, AAVE, YFI, ETC, MANA, PMGT,SNX, COMP, MKR & DAI. This is a considerably low amount when comparing with CoinSpot and other major cryptocurrency exchanges.
Is CoinSpot safer than Independent Reserve?
CoinSpot is the only cryptocurrency exchange in Australia who is properly regulated and licensed that has undergone the SCI Qual International security audit. They are the only platform in all of Australia to have been granted the ISO 27001 standard security certificate, making them Australia's only high security exchange. They also store a vast majority of their users assets in highly secure offline locations.
Independent Reserve is yet to be awarded the ISO 27001 standard security certificate but is still considered a secure exchange. They also store 97%+ of cryptocurrency in cold storage, with constant automated monitoring. For more details about Independent Reserves security, please visit their Security page.
Final Verdict
When it comes to which exchange is better, CoinSpot is the clear winner. They are better in terms of fees, available assets, security, features and deposit methods. They are widely regarded as Australia's best cryptocurrency exchange. Additional to all of their features, they also have an extremely easy-to-navigate UI which even complete crypto newbies would have no issue using.
For a comprehensive review on CoinSpot, you can refer to our CoinSpot Review page.
I am a Finance graduate and market analyst that enjoys researching and writing about digital assets and how they intersect with Macro.
