Coinstash Review

Hedge with Crypto aims to publish information that is factual and accurate as of the date of publication. For specific information about a cryptocurrency exchange or trading platform please visit that provider’s website. This information is general in nature and is for educational purposes only. Hedge with Crypto does not provide financial advice nor does it take into account your personal financial situation. We encourage you to seek financial advice from an independent financial advisor where appropriate and make your own enquiries.

Bottom line:

The advantage of Coinstash is a beginner-friendly user interface that streamlines the onboarding process from account creation and verification to purchasing crypto. PayID and bank transfers are commonly available AUD deposit methods with zero fees which are two main methods to deposit AUD which are accessible to most Australians with a bank account.

On the flip side, the trading fee of 0.85% is quite expensive and not ideal for beginners that want to get started with crypto. For a comparison of Coinstash against the best crypto exchanges in Australia, read this article.

Coinstash Overview

Coinstash is an AUSTRAC-registered crypto exchange based in Australia that has been purpose-built to appeal to new investors and beginners. The platform features a simple to use and modern exchange for individuals to buy and sell over 170 coins. The fees are a little expensive and there is no mobile app to place trades or monitor a portfolio on the move.

Based on customer feedback on reputable sites such as Trustpilot, Coinstash appears to be a legitimate and reliable service for buying and selling crypto. Coinstash has been mentioned in the media by prominent sources such as Australian Fintech and the Australian Financial Review (AFR).

Other notable features of the Coinstash platform are:

• AUSTRAC licensed cryptocurrency platform in Australia
• Near-instant AUD deposit method using PayID and also bank transfers
• A simple and user-friendly trading experience for all levels of expertise in crypto investing
• Supports Australian Super Fund investors (SMSF)
• Highly responsive customer support team with a live chat feature

Exchange Name	Coinstash
Accepted Currency	AUD
Supported Crypto	340+
Trading Fee	0.85%
AUD Deposit Method	PayID & Bank Transfer
AUD Withdrawal Method	Bank transfer
Mobile App	Yes

Coinstash Compared

EXCHANGE	CRYPTO ASSETS	TRADING FEES	RATING	PROMOTION	WEBSITE	REVIEW
Swyftx	320+	0.6%	Rating We provide an overall weighted average rating out of 5 stars. Our ratings are based on objective criteria like the ease of use, fees, deposit methods, customer support and availability. Our reviews are not influenced by 3rd parties. Click here for further information about our rating methodology and a full list of categories we review against. 4.9 / 5	$20 Bitcoin for creating a verified account	Visit Swyftx	Swyftx Review
Binance	385	0.1% (spot) and 0.02% / 0.04% (Futures)	Rating We provide an overall weighted average rating out of 5 stars. Our ratings are based on objective criteria like the ease of use, fees, deposit methods, customer support and availability. Our reviews are not influenced by 3rd parties. Click here for further information about our rating methodology and a full list of categories we review against. 4.8 / 5	Up to $100 welcome bonus	Visit Binance	Binance Review
CoinSpot	380	1% (instant), 0.1% (spot)	Rating We provide an overall weighted average rating out of 5 stars. Our ratings are based on objective criteria like the ease of use, fees, deposit methods, customer support and availability. Our reviews are not influenced by 3rd parties. Click here for further information about our rating methodology and a full list of categories we review against. 4.7 / 5	$20 Bitcoin for creating a verified account and depositing	Visit CoinSpot	CoinSpot Review

Is Coinstash Safe?

Coinstash mentions that it provides industry-leading data security. Apart from 2 Factor Authentication (2FA), there is no information on the exact security measures implemented to protect customer's personal information. Likewise, Coinstash does not disclose what security features are used to minimize the risk of hackers compromising funds held by the exchange.

While Coinstash has not been hacked since it was founded in 2020, it is difficult to ascertain whether Coinstash is a safe and trustworthy exchange due to the limited information on its security measures, the company and its founders.

Features & Services

AUSTRAC Registered Crypto Platform

In an age of cryptocurrency exchange hacks and fraudulent activity, using a reputable and registered provider is essential. Within Australia, any company that provides digital currency (cryptocurrency) exchange (DCE) services must be registered with AUSTRAC. According to the website, Coinstash is registered with AUSTRAC and should therefore abide by the strict requirements around money laundering and terrorism financing to protect customers. Coinstash does have a mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) process before customers can deposit AUD in line with these requirements.

Large Selection of Crypto Assets

Coinstash has a wide selection of cryptocurrencies that can be bought and sold on the platform. In total, there are over 170 digital assets supported on Coinstash at the time of writing. Compared to other platforms in Australia, the number of supported coins is excellent and will suit various types of investors. There is also the option to favorite coins that are shown on the main dashboard for quick access.

Coin Bundles

Coinstash Bundles is a great feature that allows its users to diversify a crypto portfolio. The bundles are essentially a collection of crypto assets by category that can be purchased in a single transaction. This is a cheaper alternative than purchasing individual coins of the same type. For example, there are bundles for DeFi coins, exchange tokens, meme coins and stablecoins.

Visual Portfolio & Dashboard

The Coinstash dashboard, portfolio viewer and price charts of each asset are visually appealing for beginners. The prices of each coin are displayed in Australian Dollars (AUD). The portfolio is updated daily for individuals to monitor how their assets are performing. Live updates would be better, however, is still a useful feature when logging into the platform.

Supports PayID and Bank Transfers

The funding options to deposit a Coinstash account with AUD include using PayID or a bank transfer from an Australian bank. These payment methods do not include any fees. PayID is near-instant and involves using a unique Coinstash PAYID email address that is linked to the person's account. There is no requirement to enter a payment description.

Simple & Fast Trading Experience

A benefit of using Coinstash its simplicity. Once funds are deposited to the exchange, the process to convert AUD into cryptocurrency is very easy. There are no complicated menus or technical charts to understand. The orders are filled using a market order at the available rate. Experienced traders that use limit orders will not find these features on Coinstash, however, it appears this feature will be available soon.

The trading fees are shown underneath the amount to provide full transparency of the amount of crypto that will be received. The rates do not appear to be locked once the transaction has been entered. Users will therefore need to complete the purchase quickly otherwise an error will appear.

Learn: How to safely buy Bitcoin in Australia.

At the time of writing, users on Coinstash are limited to buying and selling crypto using Australian Dollars only. There is no option to swap crypto-to-crypto directly on the platform and will need to find another trading platform. This is a big disadvantage for investors that want to trade Bitcoin into Ethereum or another altcoin. They will need to either convert back to AUD then purchase the altcoin and incur additional fees, or transfer to an exchange that supports crypto swaps.

Verification Requirements

Coinstash is a licensed exchange with AUSTRAC and enforces mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) processes to minimize the risk of fraudulent account access and financing criminal activity. New customers that create an account with Coinstash will be prompted to verify an account before depositing funds. A valid ID document number and facial recognition is part of the ID verification process which takes a few minutes to complete.

Funding Methods

The supported methods to transfer Australian dollars to a Coinstash account are PayID and bank transfers. The most popular option is PayID which has a near-instant processing time and there are no fees involved. For new accounts, the first deposit using PayID can take up to 24 hours according to the website.

Individuals that own cryptocurrency can transfer their assets to Coinstash to sell back to AUD. Like most exchanges, the user will select the asset to deposit and generate a unique QR code to send the crypto from their hardware wallet or another trading platform. The speed to transfer crypto to Coinstash depends on the coin, network congestion at the time and the number of confirmations required.

Trading Fees

Coinstash uses a flat fee structure of 0.85% for buy and sell trades which is inclusive of GST. There are no fee discounts for trading higher volumes which places the fees at the higher end of the market. In comparison to other exchanges in Australia such as CoinSpot and CoinJar, the instant AUD to crypto fees are cheaper. Alternative platforms such as Swyftx, Independent Reserve and Digital Surge have fees below 0.6%. Overall, the fees on Coinstash are competitive but there are similar platforms that offer better value for money.

Customer Service

Based on our experience, the customer support option using the live chat is responsive and replied within a few minutes on a weekend. There are also guides and FAQs on the website, however, the depth of information on the website is fairly limited compared to other platforms. Coinstash has a 4.7/5 star rating based on 257 customer comments on Trustpilot, which is a good sign of a reliable crypto exchange. Many of the comments from existing users are brief and have been invited, although the positive feedback is a great indicator for a relatively small exchange.

Coinstash Alternatives

Coinstash is an appealing crypto exchange that provides the basic exchange for Australians to buy crypto directly with AUD. If Coinstash does not live up to expectations, there are several alternative exchanges with similar or better features that can also be considered.

• Swyftx. The Brisbane-based crypto exchange is our top-rated exchange in Australia. The platform features a wide range of cryptocurrencies, advanced trading features, dollar-cost averaging, staking and taxation tools.
• CoinSpot. A highly reputable and secure exchange that is well-established in the Australian community. With over 2 million users nationally, CoinSpot is a suitable alternative to CoinStash as it provides similar features, number of coins and trading experience.
• Digital Surge. Digital Surge is another alternative to CoinStash which is best known for its innovative and well-designed platform for beginners. A major benefit of Digital Surge is the instant AUD deposit and withdrawals and its mobile trading app. In contrast to CoinStash, the trading fees on Digital Surge are one of the lowest in the country.
• Cointree. Another popular exchange in Australia for buying and selling crypto is Cointree. The trading fees on Cointree are comparable to CoinStash which ranges from 0.5% to 0.9%.
• Easy Crypto Australia. Easy Crypto Australia is a safe and reputable non-custodial exchange. Investors have peace of mind when buying crypto as the assets can be sent directly to a hardware wallet.

How We Rated CoinStash

Review Criteria	Hedge With Crypto Rating
Features	3.5/5
Supported Fiat and Deposit Methods	3.5/5
Supported Crypto & Trading Pairs	4/5
Fees	3.4/5
Ease of Use	5/5
Customer support	4.2/5
Security Measures	4.4/5
Mobile App	4/5