When we started writing this review, we thought that Coinjar was a jangled, convoluted mess of an exchange.  However, as we began digging around and taking the time to understand the platform, we came to realize that Coinjar offers a number of very interesting and unique services to the Australian market.

While we don’t think that the user experience is entirely friendly, this is more than made up for thanks to Coinjar’s integrated debit card, easy to use hedging accounts, and apps on both Android and iOS. All this – and more! – explained in our Coinjar review below.

Opening an Account

Before depositing customers need to verify their identities, which is done using the Australia Post Digital ID system. Already have a Digital ID account?  Great, you can instantly verify. If not, you will need to go through a pretty standard verification on the Digital ID platform.

Upload an Australian driver’s license front and back photo OR your passport, OR your medicare card, OR your citizenship certificate and Digital ID will get you verified in a jiffy. If you prefer not to upload your details, you can walk into any post office and get yourself verified in person.

Deposit using either BPAY or Blueshyft. Blueshyft offers instantaneous transfers, and allows for cash deposits.  

Note that your daily deposit limits may be found under settings – you start out with $2,000 after verification.

Withdrawals are free, and daily limits range from $5,000-$50,000.

Coinjar Exchange 

Coinjar has been around since 2013 and has done a good job keeping the site looking fresh. However, in our opinion the user experience is a bit strange. The dashboard starts you off with a look at your accounts – Everyday Bitcoin, a Hedged Account, and your Coinjar Rewards, which is activated when you verify your account.

Once activated, you will also be set up with a cash account. Each account offers three different options – pay, request, or transfer.  

The pay tab allows you to pay any internal account or external digital address.  Most exchanges would call this “send”. With Coinjar, you can actually pay someone in bitcoin directly from your cash account if you would like.  Coinjar will quote the price, tag on their additional 1%, and send the crypto to the recipient.

To buy bitcoin, you actually must use the “transfer” tab, what most other exchanges would call “buy”. If you transfer from your cash account to your bitcoin account, for instance, Coinjar would quote you the price, tag on their 1%, and make the transfer instantly.

This is also how you would put your bitcoin in hedged accounts.  The hedged accounts are basically Coinjar’s version of tether. If you believe bitcoin is headed towards a period of volatility, you can send your coin to a hedged account, and the value of the bitcoin will be maintained at the same fiat rate, regardless of how bitcoin has fared in the markets.

This is useful for two reasons.  First, if you can’t or don’t want to unlock the cash account, this is a way to simulate converting your bitcoin into fiat. Second, transferring to the hedged account prices at the mid market rate; were you to simply sell your bitcoin, you would be hit with the additional spread. If the hedging is then temporary and you plan to reenter the bitcoin market, then the hedged account is advantageous.

Coinjar Swipe

Good on Coinjar for integrating a debit card solution directly into their platform.  Available only for Australian customers, the Swipe card works at any EFT point of sale, as well as any Australian ATM. You can order a swipe card from your profile at upper right of the site, which should open a new swipe account under your account tab.  Transfer $30 to this account, which goes to pay for the card, after which your shiny new bitcoin debit card should arrive at your residence within the next 3-4 weeks, probably faster.

To use the swipe card, simply transfer bitcoin from your bitcoin account to the swipe account – this transfer does not accrue the standard 1% conversion fee.  See below the swipe fees:

And the limits:

Note that the maximum spend is just under $1,000, meaning for large purchases you will need to set up some sort of payment plan.

Coinjar Points

Last and sort of least is the Coinjar loyalty scheme. Customers earn points for different actions – like purchasing bitcoin, introducing friends, or making a purchase using your swipe card. You can pay for your swipe card fee in points, which is nice, and there are an assortment of gift cards available, at the rate of 1,000 point per $10 equivalent.  You get 500 points per bitcoin converted, or $5 in gift card. Any event, we appreciate the effort and it is definitely better than nothing!

Mobile

Coinjar offers both Android and iOS apps.  The iOS app allows for all the same activities as the web-based platform, while the Android allow for buying, selling and transferring crypto, but does not have cash depositing set up.  Note that the iOS device even grants access to CoinJar’s new exchange platform, which at the time of writing does not have enough volume to use.

Bottom Line

Coinjar is not the easiest product to get set up with, but once you have get the hang of it you will likely appreciate all the value adds offered, specifically their debit card, the hedged accounts, their relatively low brokerage fees, and the very nice mobile applications.