BTC Markets – Australia’s Largest & Most Trusted Cryptocurrency Exchange

BTC Markets Overview

Founded in Melbourne by software engineer Martin Bajalan, the platform’s user interface and API are clean and straightforward to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and altcoins. The interface is fully customizable to meet the needs of novice users and veteran traders alike. This BTC Markets review will examine the company and tell you if it’s right for you.

BTC Markets is one of the few Australia-based exchange platforms on which you can stake and get crypto rewards. The platform is widely known for low trading fees, especially for large-volume traders.

Every exchange has advantages and disadvantages, and BTC Markets is no exception. Before we go into more detail on the platform’s use and features, let’s review its pros and cons, in no particular order:

BTC Markets Pros

• Comprehensive platform with critical features such as stop losses
• Prices are all in AUD, an advantage for the everyday Aussie investor
• Same-day deposits and withdrawals
• The minimum deposit is AUD$200
• Low trading fees, especially for large trading volume
• Staked crypto comes with more crypto
• Users making large trades have access to an OTC trading desk
• User can easily link their accounts to Australian bank accounts
• Advanced charting options, trading tools, and order types
• Mobile app – new in 2022
• Self-managed super funds (SMSF) portfolio management
• Customizable interface suitable for either beginner or advanced users
• Easy to generate tax reports when needed
• Supports PayPal and PayID to deposit AUD and fund a trading account
• Comes with Dollar cost averaging tools for recurring transactions

BTC Markets Cons

• Only supports one fiat currency (AUD)
• ● Trading transaction fees vary by cryptocurrency
• Limited range of tokens in which to invest and trade
• No NFTs or DeFi
• No margin trading
• Requires significant personal verification
• Does not offer demo accounts
• Only AUD deposits and withdrawals are limiting for a proficient investor
• Read on to learn more about BTC Markets’ features, benefits, and limitations.

Listed Cryptocurrencies

BTC Markets supports more than 15 cryptocurrencies. In addition to Bitcoin (BTC), BTC Markets supports trending crypto assets such as Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Chainlink (LINK), Compound (COMP), Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC). Golem (GNT), Litecoin (LTC), Powerledger (POWR), Ripple (XRP), Tether (USDT), Stellar (XLM), and USD Coin (USDC), among others.

Users can compare costs between different cryptocurrencies through pairs. BTC Markets currently offers 19 different pairs.

Supported Fiat Currencies

BTC Markets supports and conducts trades solely in Australian Dollars (AUD). Traders can get around this by converting USD or other currency to AUD using a third-party currency exchange, although they will pay a fee for the conversion service.

Supported Countries

BTC Markets exclusively supports traders residing in Australia (or present in that country at the time of registration and trading). Other locations are blocked.

Virtual private networks (VPN) are an option for accessing BTC Markets from other sites. There are no rules prohibiting VPN use. However, VPN users should expect verification to take longer. They are also unlikely to have access to same-day deposits and withdrawals.

Signing Up for An Account

BTC Markets is an AUSTRAC-registered digital currency exchange platform and abides by Australian laws and regulations. All traders must complete Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) testing. The verification process can take as long as 48 hours, but you can begin trading immediately once approved.

Cryptocurrency Wallet

BTC Markets does not have a native crypto wallet. Traders can use any third-party wallet to withdraw funds and digital assets. The platform recommends using Blockchain Wallet or Electrum.

Buying and Selling

Users first select “Buy/Sell” on their account dashboard and then “Change Market.” They choose the market they wish to trade cryptocurrency and place either a market order or limit order.

Market Orders

In the “Volume” field, the trader enters the amount and then selects either “Buy” or “Sell.” After visually reviewing the order, selecting “Confirm” executes the transaction. Users cannot cancel market orders because they process immediately.

Limit Orders

The process is essentially identical to placing Market Orders, except in addition to specifying the volume, the user also determines the price at which they want to buy or sell. Once “Confirm” has been selected, the order will go through when the market hits the limit price. Traders can cancel limit orders until the point the transaction goes through.

Staking

No BTC Markets review would be complete without mentioning staking, a popular feature not widely available on Australian exchanges. Users can earn rewards by buying and holding Algorand (ALGO) digital assets in their accounts. Rewards automatically accrue to increase the trader’s holdings over time. BTC Markets pays rewards into trader accounts on the first of each month.

BTC Markets occasionally offers staking promotions. For example, for 2021, users could take advantage of a 0% ALGO staking fee.

Trading Fees

BTC Markets’ fee structure operates exclusively in AUD. Its trading fees are higher than other popular platforms such as Coinspot, Swyftx, Digital Surge, Independent Reserve, CoinJar, and Binance, but the exchange remains very popular due to its liquidity and reliability. There are no deposit or withdrawal fees for bank transfers in AUD fiat.

The exchange charges 0.22% for digital asset exchanges on a per-trade basis regardless of whether a maker or taker deal. BTC Markets charges a maker fee of -0.05% and a taker fee of 0.2% for pairs. Currently available trading pairs include ETH-BTC, LTC-BTC, and XRP-BTC.

For AUD to crypto trades, BTC Markets charges a fee of between 0.10% and 0.85% per trade. The highest rate applies to transactions up to $500. The low end applies to transactions of AU$5million and up.

Payment Methods and Limits

Traders can make instant deposits through BPAY or OSKO. There are no deposit fees since both are in AUD. Deposit methods are not yet available using debit card, credit card, or POLI.

• BPAY deposits have an AU$2,000 daily limit applied by BTC Markets. BPAY requires a Customer Reference Number (CRN) plus a platform-provided biller code.
• OSKO deposits have no limits by BTC Markets, but users must provide their OSKO deposit number to process the transaction.
• BTC Markets applies an AU$8,000 cap on daily withdrawals in Australian Dollars, a $50,000 limit on crypto withdrawals, and a $100,000 limit on deposits in cryptocurrency.

All of the above limits can be lifted or modified by BTC Markets on request. In addition to providing a reason for needing your limits revised, the user must give more information on occupation, business, and socials. BTC Markets will verify the information before making any changes to your account limits.

Withdrawals on BTC Markets are easy. Just tap the Domestic Bank Transfer button, and your crypto assets will be on their way to your BTC Markets account balance, ready to be converted to AUD. Once converted, the trader can process a withdrawal to their bank account (your name must be on the account). Bank transfers take 24-48 hours to complete.

Mobile App

BTC Markets debuted its first mobile app early in 2022. Available for iOS and Android, the BTC Markets app can manage portfolios in real-time, make AUD or crypto deposits, monitor prices, and market movements, and create advanced or straightforward buy/sell orders.

Users not interested in all markets listed on the platform can set a Watch List on the app to view only specific markets. The app does not currently support withdrawals; you must make withdrawals through your BTC Markets website account.

As to security, the app offers Single Sign On (SSO) login and two-factor authentication (2FA), internal control limits, personal data encryption, and offsite cold wallet storage.

Margin Trading

BTC Markets does not currently support margin trading.

OTC Trading

High-volume traders can use over-the-counter (OTC) trading to execute trades of AU$100,000 or more with minimal slippage. BTC Markets’ trading desk handles large orders for direct facilitation. Using the trading desk minimizes exposure to market fluctuations and reduces the impact on market price.

Self-Managed Super Funds

Using digital assets with self-managed super funds (SMSFs) is often overlooked. Crypto can diversify an SMSF in ways that other retail funds cannot. Digital assets are legal in Australia and considered property. In New South Wales (NSW), courts have even accepted crypto as collateral.

There is no prohibition on SMSFs investing in cryptocurrency. However, the investment must meet SISA and SISR strategy and risk regulations. In other words, SMSFs must be allowed under the fund’s trust deed and fit within the fund’s investment strategy.

BTC Markets offers portfolio management for SMSFs and experienced a 95% increase in the number of SMSFs using the platform over the 2020-2021 period. By the end of 2021, the average SMSF account contained hundreds of thousands of dollars, whereas their totals had been in the tens of thousands. Average trade sizes in 2021 rose 427% over 2020.

Customer Support

Traders can troubleshoot practically any problem they may have on the platform by using the Frequency Asked Questions (FAQ) section on the website. Users can also contact the BTC Markets customer support team directly by submitting a ticket.

BTC Markets does not currently offer live chat or phone support. Some believe one or both are

needed, as receiving a response to support tickets is sometimes slow.

Safety and Security

BTC Markets is a safe platform that has earned Blockchain Australia’s Gold Certification, the first exchange to do so. In 2021 they were awarded the ISO 27001 certificate for Information Security Management by the British Standards Institute (BSI) following a rigorous audit.

Traders have to verify personal data before making deposits or withdrawals in Australian Dollars. (Cryptocurrency deposits or withdrawals, meanwhile, do not require verification). Users must provide a government-issued ID (passport, driver’s license, or national ID card) to verify their accounts through GreenID. Address verification is also required, which users can do via the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). Another way to prove residence is to provide utility bills or bank statements.

BTC Markets maintains a reserve that matches what users currently hold on the platform. The exchange also conducts hourly audits, twice-daily crypto bank accounts, and cold wallet match confirmations. Regardless, traders should periodically move their funds offline to hardware wallets as a matter of routine.

BTC Markets Review Summary

BTC Markets is not the be-all, end-all cryptocurrency exchange platform – and if you reside outside of Australia, you can’t execute trades on it at all.

However, customer reviews are overwhelmingly positive, competitive fees, and limits are reasonable. BTC Markets is a solid platform, safe and secure, which is all many traders want or need. This Australian cryptocurrency exchange is easy to use with a simple API for a better trading experience. And that wraps up our BTC Markets review.

Disclaimer: smartbillions.com is owned and operated by Smart Billions and may contain advertisements, sponsored content, paid insertions, affiliate links, or other forms of monetization.