So, you want to know how to buy Bitcoin in Australia? Want to jump straight to the answer and learn how to buy and use Bitcoin as Australians residents?
You can Buy Bitcoin in Australia in 5 easy steps:
In the following sections, we will explain the process to buy Bitcoin in Australia in greater detail.
Please note that Cryptocurrency investments are high-risk investments. Any investment decision is under the responsibility of the individual. We are not financial experts, and the resource links below are provided for information purposes only. They are based on our own research and experience with Bitcoin (BTC) in Australia. They are not intended to be legal and/or financial advice.
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Key figure | Value |
---|---|
Name | Bitcoin |
Symbol | BTC |
Price Today | 153,637.06 Australian dollars (AU$) |
24 hour % change | 0.83 |
7 days % change | 1.45 |
30 days % change | -1.89 |
60 days % change | -8.47 |
90 days % change | 7.40 |
Total Supply | 19,824,459 |
Circulating Supply | 19,824,459 |
Daily Volume | 31,666,781,102 |
Market Cap | 1,934,309,593,878.00 |
Bitcoin was the first-ever cryptocurrency to be launched globally since it was first introduced back in 2008. What is intriguing is that so many years after its creation, nobody is still certain about who actually was Bitcoin’s original creator, since that person is still only known under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
The next step is to decide how and where you will buy Bitcoin. For most first-timers, the easiest and most convenient option to buy Bitcoin in Australia is to use a Bitcoin broker.
There are several brokers offering Bitcoin in Australia, and you can easily select one based on your requirements and preferences using our guide. Different exchanges have different transaction fees, withdrawal limits, payment modes, and verification processes that need to be kept in mind before users select one.
The final step is to submit an order through your chosen platform. No matter which platform you choose, you’ll usually need to sign up for an account first. Depending on the platform you use and the regulatory requirements it is subject to, you may be able to sign up simply by providing your email address or you may need to provide your full name, contact information and proof of ID before being allowed to trade.
Once your account has been verified, you’ll need to enter the amount of BTC you want to buy, choose your payment method, review the fees and the total cost of the transaction and then finalise your purchase.
The exact steps you’ll need to follow vary depending on the payment method and type of platform you choose, so keep reading for more details on the different ways you can buy Bitcoin (BTC) in Australia.
With hundreds of platforms to choose from, finding the best Bitcoin exchange for your needs is a challenging task. Consider these key factors when comparing exchanges:
While the regulatory environment surrounding Australia digital currency exchanges is becoming clearer all the time, the same can’t be said for some overseas-based exchanges. Do some research to find out where an exchange is based, the regulatory requirements that apply in that country, and whether the exchange complies with those requirements.
There are many different ways you can purchase Bitcoin, each of which has its own pros and cons.
The biggest advantage of buying Bitcoin with PayPal is that it’s quick and easy to do as you’ll no doubt be aware if you’ve ever used PayPal to purchase anything else online.
You may need to hunt around for the right platform, and if the platform you choose doesn’t accept AUD, then you’ll need to be fully aware of the fees that apply.
Another way to buy Bitcoin with Australian dollars (AU$) is to choose a platform that accepts bank transfer deposits. Choose a platform that accepts POLi Payments. Transfers using this system are typically processed more or less instantly, but they may attract higher fees
Many Bitcoin brokers and exchanges allow you to buy Bitcoin using your credit card in Australia. These include platforms like eToro and Coinmama, and using your credit card allows you to make quick and convenient purchases.
Whichever payment method you select, make sure you consider the following:
Regardless of whether you choose a Australia or overseas-based crypto exchange, make sure you compare a range of options before deciding which platform to use.
Our research highlighted several AUD platforms, but few are based in Australia and offer transparency. For this reason, we suggest considering the following locally-owned (and trusted) platforms.
The following two recommended platforms are Australian based and we feel can fully cater to the needs of Australian residents wishing to embark on their Bitcoin trading and investing journey with added trust and confidence in transparent conditions:
Highly trusted and respected, many view Coinspot as the best Australian cryptocurrency exchange. From its base in Melbourne, Coinspot provides Australians wishing to buy or sell Bitcoin, with a safe, secure, reliable and user-friendly platform where they can engage in all their crypto activities. By opening an account on the Coinspot exchange, Australians are able to instantly and easily buy or sell Bitcoin, as well as trade BTC in the open market and potentially earn significant profits through successfully speculating on prices.
Enjoying a good and reputable name and trusted by many Australians already for their crypto trading needs, Swyftx is another prime example of an entirely Australian owned and operated crypto exchange. Enjoying the backing of several global liquidity providers, Swyftx is able to offer very low trading fees and very competitive spreads, and this is one of the main reasons why many Australian’s made it their exchange of choice. Users cannot only buy Bitcoin on Swyftx, but an impressive number of over 260 different cryptocurrencies, including many newly-launched or less known ones which are not usually offered on other exchanges.
These platforms are popular with our users, have esteemed reputations and are trusted by tens of thousands of people living in Australia. Both options are free to join, funded from any Australia bank account/card, and have a local support team.
Remember to also enable 2-factor authentication on your account for extra security.
From your Coinspot account dashboard, select the currency you want to buy – in this case, Bitcoin (BTC).
Specify how much money in Australian dollars (AU$) you want to spend, up to an order limit of AU$10,000.
Click “Buy Now”. Pay through the Coinspot website via POLi Payments or deposit the required funds via bank transfer. Once Coinspot has received your payment, your order will be automatically processed and will typically arrive in your inbox within a few minutes.
Remember to take a moment to review the full details of the transaction before you finalise your transaction.
The BTC to AUD crypto-to-fiat pair presented the exchange between the world’s oldest and most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, and the national currency of Australia, the Australian dollar, which is the 5th most traded currency in the world. Both assets in this pair are popular and this means that the BTC/AUD pair enjoys increased liquidity in the market. This results in narrower spreads and lower transaction costs and fees for traders on this pair, compared to other less popular pairs being traded.
The successful trading of the BTC/AUD pair though largely depends on a trader’s ability to timely anticipate potential swings in the price of the two assets. To do so one needs to grasp the fundamentals driving the prices of the two currencies. In the case of BTC its price is largely impacted by the scale of its adoption as a payment method and a viable alternative to fiat currencies. The price of the AUD on the other hand, is largely affected by the prices of Australia’s key exported commodities, such as iron ore, gold, wheat, and copper, the monetary police decisions taken by the Reserve Bank of Australia, as well as the performance of the economies of Australia’s main trading partners, such as China.
The Bitcoin to Australian dollars (AU$) pair features BTC as the base along with AUD, the official currency of Australia, as the counter currency. The value of the pair can be interpreted as how many Australian dollars (AU$) can be purchased with one BTC or how many Australian dollars (AU$) it takes to purchase one BTC.
BTC to AUD is a very popular crypto-to-fiat pair. The pair’s counter currency – Australian dollars (AU$) – is the official national currency of Australia. The crypto market, including Bitcoin, is extremely volatile, which provides huge potential for speculation. Observing the popularity of BTC to AUD exchange transactions, there are immense opportunities for traders to profit from the pair’s trade.
The historical performance of BTC reflects its success since, while in 2010, you could get 1 Bitcoin (BTC) for less than a dollar in December 2017, the price of one BTC reached a record high of $17,900. In fact, BTC grew by almost 2000% in 2017 alone. Though like other cryptos BTC did see a huge dip in early 2018 and though fluctuations are commonplace, spurred by the pandemic it has recently hit new highs.
Australia and in its government in particular have long been very supportive of the fintech industry and progressive in their implementation of cryptocurrency related regulations. In fact, cryptocurrencies, digital currencies, and cryptocurrency exchanges are all legal in Australia, since a government declaration to this end was issued in 2017. This however has also meant that ever since all crypto related transactions and activities became subject to Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF 2006), and particularly to section 5 and associated rules of the said Act.
Australian legislation has also made specific reference to Bitcoin, and to consequently to all cryptocurrencies sharing the same fundamental characteristics, explicitly stipulating that the should be treated not as fiat currencies, but as property, which is also subject to Capital Gains Tax (CGT). This new tax treatment came to abolish a previous arrangement under which cryptocurrencies had been subject to double taxation under Australia’s goods and services tax (GST), and was also a sign of the progressive and liberal approach taken by Australian authorities on cryptocurrencies in general.
Bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies in Australia are considered as property and are thus taxable both for Income Tax purposes, as well as Capitan Gains Tax purposes. In fact, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) has recently set out clear and extensive guidelines on exactly how crypto buying, selling and mining is taxed in Australia, encouraging Australian tax residents to comply with their obligations in order to avoid incurring notices, audits and penalties due to their crypto related activities. Each Australian tax payer, who has either bought or sold cryptocurrency in any financial year, must clearly calculate and declare all their crypto totals when filling in their income tax return form.
Australian tax authorities have since mid-2019 devised a data sharing program with all Australian exchanges classed as designated providers of crypto services, and this has enabled them to obtain access to the crypto transaction data of these providers and their clients dating back to 2014 and have started thorough checks on this data to ensure all crypto related activities are properly taxed and the ensuing taxes paid by taxpayers.
Although Australia currently does not have specific legislation related to cryptocurrencies, any form of regulation is enforced by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Cryptocurrency is treated as property for purposes of income tax legislation.
You can check this Australia cryptocurrency guide for more information.