CoinSpot vs Kraken: Which Exchange is Superior?

CoinSpot and Kraken are two both award-winning cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia with strong user base and robust trading activities. While Kraken offers more advanced trading tools such as margin trading and futures, CoinSpot’s strengths are transparent and attractive transaction fees and high-level security.

Comparing these platforms’ features, fee structures, customer experience, and security, our verdict leans towards CoinSpot – the Best Local Exchange that earns its name as the most user-friendly exchange in Australia. To better understand why we rank CoinSpot above Kraken and our methodology, let’s delve into this article together!

CoinSpot & Kraken Australia: At a Glance

The table below provides a comprehensive comparison between CoinSpot vs Kraken Australia.


Website	www.coinspot.com.au	www.kraken.com/australia
Trading Options	Spot Trading, Instant Buy, Swap, In-place NFTs Marketplace, OTC	Spot Trading, NFTs, Futures, Margin Trading, Staking, OTC
Supported Tokens	Over 480+ cryptocurrencies27/30 top highest market cap tokens	Over 200+ cryptocurrencies
Deposit Fees	POLi, PayID, Direct deposit: 0%Debit cards: 1.88%Credit cards: 0.9%	Bank transfer, PayID, Osko: 0%Real Time Gross Settlement: 33 AUD
Withdrawal Fees	Free for AUD	Free for AUD (not for NFTs)Cash, checks, credit & debit cards or third-party payments processor withdrawals: Not available
Transaction Fees	0.1% for Market Trades1% for Instant Buy/Sell0.1% for OTC Trades1% for CoinSwap	Instant Buy: 0.9% for stablecoins; 1.5% for other cryptos. NFT Trading: 2%Spot Trading: Depends on various factors.
Payment options	POLi, PayID, OSKO, Debit/credit Cards, Cash	Bank transfer, OSKO, Real Time Gross Settlement
Security	2FA, Biometric security, Offline cold storage, AUSTRAC registered, ISO 27001 certified	2FA, SSL encryption, global setting time lock, PGP signed and encrypted email
Customer Support	24/7 Live Chat customer support New request-a-call feature for users to organise a call with support staffResponsive and available specialist Support Team via Help Desk	24/7 live chat and email support for urgent concerns It’s hard to reach a support team via email or live chat. You cannot chat with support staff unless signed in.

CoinSpot Overview

Founded in 2013, CoinSpot is one of Australia’s oldest and most reliable crypto exchanges in Australia with robust & verified security and a firm customer base of over 2.5 million users. The platform is acclaimed as one the most user-friendly and transparent exchanges, catering to the needs of both novice and advanced traders.

The exchange has consistently strived to provide supporters with a wide selection of digital assets, boasting over 480+ cryptocurrencies available for trading.

Pros

Supports 480+ cryptocurrencies

Crypto credit card available

Direct integration with OpenSea allows for NFT trading

Advanced TradingView charting and tools for technical analysis

OTC offering allows larger trades for a low 0.1% fee with no extra costs

24/7 live chart support, new request-a-call feature for users to organise a call with support staff

AUSTRAC-regulated and ISO27001 certified

Cons

Only support fiat currency deposits and withdrawals for AUD

No advanced trading markets such as derivatives & leverage trading

Some deposit limits apply for accounts that are not fully verified

Higher fees on instant buys & sells

Kraken Australia Overview

Kraken Australia is a subsidiary of the global Kraken exchange renowned for its strong security measures, regulatory compliance, and user-friendly interface.

The platform provides Australian Dollar (AUD) support and maintains a competitive fee structure with tiered trading fees that decrease with higher trading volumes. It offers both spot trading and advanced trading features, such as margin trading and futures, which cater to the needs of seasoned investors.

However, beginners might find Kraken’s fee policies complicated as they vary based upon payment methods, sorts of trading, and additional fees for special transactions. Still, Kraken Australia’s reputation is bolstered by its commitment to transparency, regular security audits, and strong customer support.

Pros

Supports over 200 cryptocurrencies

Offers advanced trading options, including futures, margin trading, staking, and APIs.

7 fiat currencies accepted (AUD, USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CAD & CHF)

Cons

Only 16 cryptocurrencies available to buy/sell with AUD

Instant buy/sell fees of 1.5% are extremely high

The standard Kraken platform charges higher transaction fees than Kraken Pro.

Some users report costly hacks with little support from Kraken.

Poor selection of educational materials and resources

Complex and not clear fees structure with hidden fees.

CoinSpot vs. Kraken Australia: Unique Features

CoinSpot’s Features

CoinSpot is known as the most user-friendly exchange in Australia with easy-to-use interface and a variety of trading options that cater to the needs of both novice and experienced investors.

Spot Trading: CoinSpot offers an intuitive trading interface. Users can easily browse and buy any of over 480 digital currencies. The cryptos list is also regularly updated each month, depending on customer requests.
Bundles: Bundles are a carefully selected assortment of various digital currencies. Using bundles can help you cut down the fees by just paying one time for the whole bundle instead of paying the fee for each coin.
In-platform NFT Marketplace: CoinSpot is the first platform in Australia to enable users to make purchases directly through its in-platform NFT Marketplace. It allows users to purchase NFTs using their choice of cryptocurrency with no need to convert currency or set up an external wallet.
OTC Trading: CoinSpot’s specialised OTC Trading Desk allows members to perform high-volume transactions without the need of traditional public order books.

Kraken Australia’s Features

Kraken also offers basic trading instruments like Spot Trading and NFTs besides advanced trading tools like futures, margin trading, staking, and API trading.

NFT Marketplace: Kraken offers an all-encompassing web3 experience through its NFT marketplace, where users can buy, own, and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The platform supports three major blockchains – Ethereum, Polygon, and Solana, enabling users to explore popular digital collectibles in a single platform. Please note that you may incur 2% fees.

Crypto Staking: Customers can stake over 15 cryptocurrencies on Kraken, including BTC and SOL.
Over-the-Counter (OTC) Desk: Kraken’s OTC desk is designed for traders handling large transactions exceeding $100,000, offering tighter spreads and personalised service. This option is ideal for institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals interested in the latest Kraken listings.

CoinSpot vs. Kraken Australia: Fee Structures

CoinSpot Fee Policies

Fees are how crypto exchanges and platforms earn money in the end, so investors need to understand “What are CoinSpot fees?”.

CoinSpot’s fee structure. Source: CoinSpot

Deposit Fees

The exchange accepts a wide variety of deposit methods. On CoinSpot, you don’t need to pay any fee when you make instant deposits via POLi, PayID, or Direct Deposit (via OSKO). If you use Bpay or cards, you will have to pay 0.9% fee (for credit cards) or a 1.88% fee (for debit cards). Otherwise, for physical cash deposits at Blueshyft newsagents, the deposit fee is up to 2.5%

Withdrawal Fees

You can withdraw money from CoinSpot using bank transfers like POLi or PayID without paying any charges. It offers free AUD withdrawals. However, you must pay a small mining fee (blockchain network fee), depending on the token and the network traffic. For example, Bitcoin withdrawals have a fee of 0.0002 BTC, Ethereum withdrawals have a fee of 0.0018 ETH, and Solana withdrawals have a fee of 0.02 SOL.

Transaction Fees

The exchange lays trading fees out simply, so you only pay one transparent fee and avoid any hidden costs as on other platforms.

Market Trades (0.1% fee): When you set a price at which you want to buy or sell a cryptocurrency, your order will be filled when another trader places an order at that same price. At the time of writing, CoinSpot includes 15 popular options, including BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, and ADA.
Instant Buy/Sell (1% fee): CoinSpot sets a fixed price for your desired coins. You don’t have to wait for traders to buy from you or sell to you. Trade happens instantly. The advantage of “Instant” purchasing is that you don’t have to worry about price fluctuations while waiting for your order to be filled. All 410+ crypto assets available on CoinSpot can be purchased instantly.
OTC Trades (0.1% fee): Users who conduct high-volume transactions can take advantage of CoinSpot’s OTC Trading Desk, which offers instant liquidity and settlement into your account. For transactions of $50,000 AUD or more, this is usually the best option. The best part is that it settles instantly with only a 0.1% fee per trade.
Advanced Trading Tools (1% fee): If you are a seasoned trader, you can use tools like Recurring Buy, Take Profit, Stop Loss, and Limit Orders with a 1% fee.
CoinSwap (1% fee): When you swap on Swyftx (exchange any crypto for any other one they offer), you make two trades: sell & buy. Each of these trades has a 0.6% fee, so the total is 1.2%. CoinSpot’s swap feature, in contrast, allows customers to swap between currencies in one simple trade for a low 1% fee.

Kraken Australia’s Fee Structure

Kraken’s funding fees in AUD. Source: Kraken.

Deposit Fees

Kraken offers funding methods in 7 fiat currencies, including US dollar, EUR, CAD, AUD, GBP, CHF, and JPY. The Aussie can choose to deposit cash using bank transfer or OSKO, which costs you zero fee. Similarly, if you wish to deposit through SWIFT (Etana Custody), you won’t need to pay anything, but transactions can take up to 5 days.

Another option is Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) with a fee of 33 AUD and a minimum threshold of 100 AUD.

It’s noteworthy that Kraken does not accept physical cash, cheks, debit or credit cards to deposit or withdraw AUD.

Withdrawal Fees

Similarly, customers do not have the option to withdraw AUD in cash, checks, credit or debit cards. Still, cryptocurrencies are allowed, with fees varying based on tokens’ networks and traffic.

Nevertheless, customers can still use bank transfer and OSKO, with the minimums of 5 AUD and no fees. Otherwise, you can make withdrawals through SWIFT, which costs you 55 AUD for a 150 AUD threshold.

Transaction Fees

Kraken is not as transparent with its spreads, and they can vary dramatically from asset to asset when crypto trading. The platform charges different fees depending on how much you trade and your account status. The fees can be as low as 0% or as high as 1.5% for instant buy/sell and 2% for NFTs. You can also get discounts if you use Kraken Pro.

CoinSpot vs. Kraken Australia: Customer Experience

CoinSpot’s Customer Feedback

For those first entering the crypto space, it is effortless to buy, sell or swap various crypto assets with CoinSpot. This exchange has been recognised as one of the top solid choices for both beginners and experienced traders due to its straightforward and user-friendly interface. There are no complex pages so that users can feel like they know the platform very well.

Compliment for CoinSpot on Finder. Source: Finder

CoinSpot’s review on Trustpillot.com. Source: Trustpillot.com

If you encounter any problem and want help, CoinSpot also has a Live Chat option that enables you to reach out for assistance immediately, 24/7. Therefore, when you encounter difficulties, you can contact the customer support team right away.

If you cannot converse over live chat, CoinSpot provides alternative measures through their help desk, where you can respond whenever you are ready. The support staff will contact and help you address your problems within 24 hours.

Besides, CoinSpot features a comprehensive information centre with informative tutorials for beginners and a FAQ area to assist new investors in acquiring Bitcoin and other digital currencies.

The customer service team is also active on various platforms to answer any queries from their users. For instance, you can feel free to discuss everything about crypto and receive timely support from the official CoinSpot Reddit.

Kraken Australia’s Customer Experience

As we have experienced searching for help on Kraken, we think that Kraken’s Support Center is pretty decent. The platform does offer a comprehensive support hub that offers help centre articles, FAQs, email contacting and a chat bot that can direct you to a real person from Kraken.

The live chat system uses a chatbot, which is very responsive. However, when we ask for the whole fee structure on Kraken, it’s not possible. We received trading fees at first and needed to ask twice more to receive a deposit fee structure for the crypto only. Moreover, it took less than 1 minute to be put in touch with a customer service representative, although it did require several prompts, and you must sign in to your account to get assistance.

Coinspot v.s. Kraken Australia: Security

When choosing an exchange, security is one of the most integral factors. Literally, both Binance and CoinSpot emphasise strong security measures against crypto frauds, scams, or cyber breaches.

CoinSpot’s Security

CoinSpot offers a wide range of customisable options, such as two-factor authentication (2FA), anti-phishing phrases, custom withdrawal restrictions, session timeout settings, and geo-lock logins.

The exchange is registered with AUSTRAC and is one of a few that has received the Blockchain Australia certification since 2014.

It is also the first Australian crypto exchange to be awarded the internationally recognised ISO 27001 certification for information security. The examination process requires the platform to fully adhere to the International Organisation for Standardisation’s requirements and pass an external audit conducted by SCI Qual International (an accredited JAS-ANZ certification body). Therefore, CoinSpot has proved stringently unrivalled in terms of security.

Kraken Australia’s Security

Kraken Australia is registered as a digital currency exchange with AUSTRAC like CoinSpot. However, there are some differences between security measures that these two exchanges employ.

Kraken also use Two-factor authentication (2FA) but instead of biometric authentication, the platform uses proof of reverse, custody security (custody wallets), and a bug bounty programme.

However, despite their endeavour to keep users’ funds safe, Kraken underwent a cyber breach on June 9, 2024, in which “security researchers” from its own Bug Bounty Programme exploited a bug and stole $3M.

The platform was also sued by ASIC in September 2023. In August 2024, the Federal Court found that Kraken’s margin trading didn’t meet design and distribution obligations due to failing to provide a Target Market Determination (TMD).

Article Sources

At CoinCulture, we value content that is authenticated and helpful. All information is supported with white papers, government data, authorised organisations reports, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research and articles from other trusted publishers.