CoinJar Review: Should You Use This Exchange?

In this CoinJar review, we take a close look at one of the most popular Australian crypto exchanges with over 400,000 users. CoinJar is at the forefront of innovation with several crypto products tailored for the local community. Individuals can buy, trade and sell cryptocurrencies with ease using a safe and secure platform.

In this review, we will compare and assess CoinJar's features, supported coins, trading fees, security and customer service. Our methodology includes creating an account, depositing AUD, buying crypto and withdrawing funds back to a bank account.

Before you start trading crypto, it is good security practise to use a Bitcoin hardware wallet such as the Ledger Nano X. If you don't have a wallet, read our guide on the best Bitcoin hardware wallets.

CoinJar is popular cryptocurrency exchange founded in May 2013 that offers a safe and secure environment for people to buy, trade and sell digital currencies. The exchange supports 59 coins that can be bought with AUD via a variety of payment options. CoinJar's best features include a secure wallet, straightforward user interface, crypto debit card and mobile app. On the flip side, the trading fees to instant buy and sell of 1% is quite expensive in the industry.

Each cryptocurrency provider has advantages and disadvantages that should be weighed up and considered when looking to buy crypto in Australia. Important aspects that should be researched include compliance with local authorities, deposit methods, supported currencies, security and customer support. The pros and cons of CoinJar are listed below.

CoinJar appears to be a safe cryptocurrency exchange and wallet that includes 'bank-like' security features to protect client funds and personal information. Approximately 90% of user funds are stored in offline wallets located at secure locations for maximum safety. Based on our research, CoinJar has never been hacked or compromised resulting in the loss of digital assets.

The exchange protect its clients information using a layer of security measures that include data encryption, Transport Layer Security (TLS), periodic security audits and best practice organisational security.

Bank transfer is one the most popular methods to deposit AUD on CoinJar. This comparison table lists other exchanges in Australia like CoinJar that offer bank transfers.

CoinJar allows its users to convert Australian dollars in exchange for 49 crypto coins such as Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Litecoin, ZCash, 0x, USD Coin, Stella Lumens, Maker, Compound, Uniswap, Yearn Finance, LINK, Omise Go, Basic Attention Token, Shiba Inu and Dogecoin. The offering of crypto assets on CoinJar is quite limited compared to Binance and Swyftx which have over 280 digital currencies. This is one area that could be improved to cater for savvy altcoin investors.

The process to register a CoinJar account is simple and can be completed within a few minutes. To start, follow these steps:

When you login for the first time, you will be required to set a CoinJar username, upload a profile picture, select your country of residence and enter in your mobile number for verification.

Before depositing funds, you should setup and activate 2FA and SMS authentication (highly recommended) for extra security. This can be found under 'Settings' and going to the 'Enhanced Verification' section which you can read more about here.

To buy or sell Bitcoin to AUD with CoinJar, you will need to verify your account. The process is automated thorough Digital ID (Australia Post) which takes only a few minutes to complete. To verify your account, follow these steps:

Once you have verified your account, you are now ready to deposit funds into your CoinJar wallet. Users can deposit fiat currency to CoinJar using the following payment methods:

CoinJar offers the ability to send payments using PayID from your supported Australian bank account. PayID deposits are support by Osko® and NPP which are available to use 24/7. PayID is a faster payments method with money credited to a CoinJar account in only a few minutes.

CoinJar has released a new payment gateway for individuals to deposit funds using a credit card or debit card to buy crypto. The exchange supports both VISA and Mastercards.

CoinJar users can purchase cryptocurrency with cash deposits at 1,200+ retail outlets around Australia using Blueshyft. To find your closest supported retail outlet is, you can follow this link to view the interactive map. Just note that cash deposits must be at least $50 and maximum of $5,000 per 24 hours.

Like most crypto exchanges, users can deposit crypto directly to the CoinJar unique wallet address. This deposit process time will depend on the crypto coin you are sending, but should appear in your account after approximately 15-20 minutes. Bitcoin transfers can take up to 1 hour depending on the network traffic at the time.

When you login for the first time, you will see the CoinJar dashboard or user-interface. Navigation to view your accounts, transfer funds/crypto, buy and sell and view account settings is accessible on the left menu. The default dashboard is the accounts page where you can see your CoinJar wallet balances in the 'Cash' account (AUD) and also any crypto wallets that you add.

We point our there is no visual chart representation of the cryptocurrency markets to view price action, market depth profile and recent trades. If you rely on technical analysis, then you might want to use other crypto charting sites in conjunction with CoinJar. In short, we found the dashboard a little confusing at first which will not suit beginners. Compared to other crypto exchanges such as Swyftx and Digital Surge, the CoinJar user-interface could be simplified to suit crypto newbies that may be purchasing crypto for the first time in our opinion.

CoinJar charges a flat 1% fee across all trading assets to buy and sell crypto instantly. The fee is similar to other exchanges such as Coinspot and Elbaite which high in the industry. There is the option to use CoinJar Exchange which uses a different fee structure (as described below). There are more advanced features including charts and orders that will suit crypto traders and experienced investors. 

CoinJar Exchange applies maker or taker fees between cryptocurrency and AUD/GBP pairs that starts from 0% and 0.05% per trade respectively. The trading fee is deducted from the account balance and will not affect the initial margin of the order. Users that trade in excess of $10M will pay fees as low as 0.1%.

Trading between cryptocurrency pairs such as ETH/BTC and XRP/BTC will incur a 0% taker and 0.04% maker fee. Overall, compared to other crypto providers in Australia, CoinJar Exchange trading fees are quite competitive and there is also trading fee discounts for higher volume amounts.

The deposit fees for transferring fiat currency into CoinJar depend on the deposit method:

Withdrawals in AUD do not incur a processing fee. International or non AUD withdrawals incur a $20 fee. Users should be aware that crypto withdrawals will carry a network fee that is charged when you withdraw from the exchange. This fee is determined by the blockchain load.

CoinJar have added innovative products to separate the exchange from its competitors in the Australian digital currency market such as:

These products are aimed to diversify their service offering and include new ways to put cryptocurrency in the hands of hundreds of thousands of people.

CoinJar Swipe is a crypto debit card that allows you to spend digital currency at any retailer that EFTPOS in Australia. You can also withdrawal cash at any ATM or merchant with cash-out facilities. There are no activation fees, no transaction fees and no monthly fees with CoinJar Swipe Card.

CoinJar has introduced a crypto trading exchange that is called CoinJar Exchange. It's a different product to the CoinJar fiat-to-crypto exchange that has been established for many years. You can use your registered CoinJar email and password to login to the digital currency account.

CoinJar Exchange is suited for traders that understand how to read live crypto charts. The interface is sleek, minimal and clean which is easy on the eye. It is quite basic so don't expect any advanced indicators, drawings tools and order types.

The charting interface appears to be aimed for beginners. It lacks trading features that are expected for crypto trading exchange in today's environment. CoinJar Exchange has a different fee structure to the fiat exchange for buying and selling crypto.

According to the website, CoinJar uses multiple strategies to protect their customer’s assets and information, including data encryption, Transport Layer Security, periodic security audits and best practice organisation security. The website also uses advanced machine learning techniques to recognize suspicious logins, account takeovers and financial fraud.

CoinJar features two types of Two Factor Authentication to help prevent your account from being accessed by anyone but yourself:

Authenticator apps are installed on your mobile device such as Google Authenticator or Authy. They work by generating a new authentication code every 30 seconds. Once you have linked the app to your CoinJar account, use the code to complete the login process to your account.

The apps have the benefit of being used anywhere you have an internet connection, so it's great for travelling or if SMS is unreliable for any reason. It's also fully encrypted, and never visible to a third party at any point. In contrast, SMS messages are not encrypted by phone providers, and can be susceptible to security threats such as port forwarding or interception.

SMS authentication works by receiving a SMS on your mobile device when CoinJar requires authentication. All you need to do is enter in the code sent to your phone. This enhanced security method is not as secure as using an app as described above. SMS messages are not encrypted by phone providers and can be vulnerable to security threats such as port forwarding or interception.

CoinJar wallet uses a cold storage solution to store at least 90% of their customers digital assets according to the website. The hardware wallets are stored offline in geographically-redundant, secure locations. The exchange also uses a multisig withdrawal process with multiple staff required to process withdrawals. Interestingly, the exchange states that they maintain full reserves at all times, with sufficient assets to cover customer balances and currencies.

CoinJar support provides a comprehensive knowledge base with how-to guides and answers to frequently asked questions about the platform. The guide covers topics ranging from verifying your identity, depositing funds using a bank transfer, sending digital currency payments and more. There is also the option to contact the customer support team directly using a ticket system. Overall, the customer service on CoinJar is excellent and a good example of an exchange that provides multiple features to support its customers.

CoinJar is a top rated crypto exchange with a variety of features to suit Australian investors and traders. There are a number of alternative exchanges like CoinJar with similar features that can also be considered.

To conclude this CoinJar review, the exchange appears to be a legitimate and safe crypto provider for Australian's to buy and sell cryptocurrency. There are some improvements that could be made such as making it more easy to use, increase the number of supported coins and implement advanced trading tools on the Exchange. The 1% trading fee for instant buy/sell orders is higher than other exchanges and should be avoided as there are cheaper alternatives in Australia.