Last update: Jun 28, 2022
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Digital Surge Review

Cryptocurrencies have become more prevalent as the years progress. But despite the increasing popularity of digital currencies, trading and keeping track of their values isn’t always easy. One way traders have made managing cryptocurrency easier is with cryptocurrency exchange platforms. In Australia, one of the newest and most well-known of those platforms is Digital Surge.

  • Digital Surge


    1. Operating Since 2017
    2. Currencies Supported 270+ cryptocurrencies
    3. Fees Varies
    4. Deposit Methods PayID, POLi, OSKO
    5. Fiat Currencies Yes
    6. Verification Methods Identity verification
    7. Margin Trading No
    8. Futures Trading No

But what has made this application the hot new crypto exchange, and is it worth its hype?

In this Digital Surge review, we will examine what Digital Surge is, its unique features and drawbacks, answer a few common questions about the platform, and ultimately offer our take on whether or not you should use it.

What Is Digital Surge

Digital Surge was established in 2017 in Brisbane, Australia. Its two most prominent founders, Josh Lehman and Dan Rutter, saw the power and potential digital currencies had during their combined decades of professional IT experience. From there, they turned their attention to creating Digital Surge.

Rutter and Lehman had a key goal while developing Digital Surge; to make cryptocurrencies and altcoins as accessible and understandable as possible, and their finalised crypto exchange platform reflects that goal in a few ways.

Digital Surge utilises a clean, easy-to-navigate user interface and easily digestible charts. It also offers anyone who signs up for a Digital Surge account several educational resources on digital currencies, so any beginner crypto traders can learn as much as they want about market trends and the different types of digital assets.

Digital Surge isn’t feature-heavy like some of the best Bitcoin trading sites in Australia, such as Binance, Independent Reserve, Coinspot, and Swyftx, but its simplified characteristics make it easier to navigate and understand. Digital Surge is about buying and trading digital currencies at its core, and its straightforward approach to that goal makes it easy for newcomers to do just that without getting lost in the weeds.

Digital Surge’s Supported Currencies

Digital Surge allows you to exchange Australian Dollars (AUD) for more than 270 types of digital currency.

This diversification in how many cryptocurrencies you can trade for is relatively new. Previously, Digital Surge only allowed AUD to Bitcoin exchanges, and the platform still reflects that slightly. Digital Surge is one of the best exchange platforms for trading Bitcoin between the customisation, user-to-user interactions, and other highly optimised features.

Trading for other digital currencies is still easier through Digital Surge than most other platforms. However, progressing through every aspect of Bitcoin trading on this Australian crypto exchange is a breeze, even for complete newcomers.

Digital Surge’s Biggest Selling Point

If you take anything away from our Digital Surge review, it should be that the platform works overtime to create an experience as user-friendly as possible. And in an industry like cryptocurrency – one that isn’t simple for beginners and one where that complexity is reflected in many popular crypto exchange platform designs – the effort from Digital Surge is a breath of fresh air.

The most prominent “hand holder” Digital Surge offers its users is the “Digital Surge Pay Wizard,” a unique feature that promotes Bitcoin use in everyday life. For example, when you trade for Bitcoin and utilise the Pay Wizard, you can settle all your BPAY bills and utilities with Bitcoin up to $1,000.

With Bitcoin and the Pay Wizard, covering your expenses is easier, faster, and more reliable than ever. All you have to do is enter your billing information into the Pay Wizard, and Digital Surge will calculate how much of your digital currency you’ll have to trade.

Personalised Customer Support

You can see Digital Surge’s commitment to the customer’s betterment throughout the platform, from its accessible interface to its user-friendly features like Pay Wizard. However, that commitment comes across through quality customer service as well.

You can reach Digital Surge’s extensive customer support team through several channels, including email, social media platforms, and the platform’s live chat feature. That team is primarily there to assist you through your technical inquiries about the application, such as how to access certain features or what to do in instances of technical issues. However, Digital Surge’s experts can better your understanding of cryptocurrency as well.

The members of the support staff are crypto experts, so they’ll offer bits of their first-hand knowledge whenever possible and direct you to the platform’s available educational resources.

Digital Surge reviews from users on platforms such as Reviews.io and Trustpilot celebrate the platform for its accessibility, with its support staff being a primary reason for that praise.

Digital Surge Fees and Other Financial Drawbacks

We’ve highlighted several reasons to love this crypto exchange platform throughout our Digital Surge review. While Digital Surge’s streamlined interface, user-friendly features, robust digital currency catalogue, and qualified support staff have earned our favour, the platform still has several downsides.

First and foremost, Digital Surge has a substantial fee structure. The most prominent one you’ll run into is the withdrawal fee on Bitcoin. Specifically, there is a 0.0004 BTC blockchain network transaction cost every time you take Bitcoin from your external wallet.

There are trading fees for Digital Surge’s other accepted cryptocurrencies as well that average about 0.5% of whatever amount you withdraw. And while there isn’t a direct fee for depositing with the platform, Digital Surge does require you to enter at least $20 before you can access their services in full.

Digital Surge also has fees based on how much you use their platform. For example, if you trade less than $10,000 over 30 days, you’ll have to pay a transaction fee of 0.75%. On the other hand, if your trades exceed $1,500,000, that fee will decrease to 0.1%, potentially discouraging low trading volume users.

Additionally, if you use Digital Surge’s PayID as your primary payment method, the platform will impose a $10,000 cap on how much you can trade per day. However, that limit is significantly lower than competing services. For instance, the limit for POLi payments caps out at $8,000.

How Digital Surge Keeps You Safe

While Digital Surge might be best known for its helpful features and quality customer experience, it’s no slouch regarding user safety.

Josh Lehman worked in the cybersecurity field of IT and brought that expertise to Digital Surge while he helped create it. As a result, the company emphasises safety behind the scenes, ensuring everybody on their staff passes a thorough criminal and background check before they start.

But Lehman, Rutter, and the rest of Digital Surge prioritise safety within the app as much as they do within their own company. And with an extensive list of features, partnerships, and authentication requirements, Digital Surge works overtime to keep you safe.

Features

We stated earlier in this Digital Surge Review that the platform’s features list is lacking compared to more complex competitors. And while that might ring true for the features available to users, powerful and plentiful security features are working in your favour behind the scenes.

One of the most vital of these features is SSL encryption. This ensures that all sensitive data, including sign-in information and personal account data, are stored on a separate and secure database. That way, the user’s valuable data is never stored on the same code that runs the platform.

Beyond SSL encryption, Digital Surge holds users’ crypto funds in “cold storage,” a digital wallet disconnected from the internet. Since those funds aren’t linked online, cyber attackers won’t have a way to access your digital currency.

Digital Surge has never experienced a security breach, in large part due to its expansive security features but also because of its partnerships and verification process.

Partnerships

Digital Surge is registered with AUSTRAC, a branch of the Australian government dedicated to preventing financial crimes, including money laundering and cyberattacks. The platform also complies with CTF and AML as a part of its dedication to the Anti‑Money Laundering and Counter‑Terrorism Financing Act.

Digital Surge has connections with Australia’s leading authorities on financial protection and is effective at keeping your money safe as a result. However, the partnership with AUSTRAC collects all of your cryptocurrency exchange data and stores the personal information you use on Digital Surge.

Digital Surge might not be the platform for you if you value your anonymity because of their connections with AUSTRAC. But you’ll have nearly bulletproof financial security if you can accept a branch of the government monitoring your cryptocurrency exchanges.

Extensive Verification

Digital Surge requires robust verification before you can create an account that ensures they don’t permit fraudulent profiles. You will need to provide your full legal name, phone number, and a verifiable government ID card that the platform’s software must approve. Digital Surge partnered with Australia Posts Digital ID, so you know their verification process is firm.

But just because it takes a lot to earn verification on Digital Surge doesn’t mean it’s a lengthy process. You won’t spend more than a few minutes inputting your data and waiting for the platform’s approval.

Safety and Security

Yes. Digital Surge uses industry-standard security measures like server encryption and two-factor authentication. No security breaches have been disclosed. They also run background checks on all employees.

Digital Surge Pty Ltd (ACN 624 473 109), which operates the service, is registered with AUSTRAC. They must operate their business within the regulatory framework.

Hot and cold storage wallets can be used by users, so they have the best of both worlds.

You can still log in and trade, but you will need two-factor authentication to access your account. Until 2FA is enabled, certain functionality such as sending coins to an outside wallet will be disabled.

Supported Cryptocurrencies and Countries

Digital Surge enables its users and customers to buy Bitcoin and and sell cryptocurrencies. The exchange supports over 300+ crypto assets, with some of the most well-known alternatives being:

  • Bitcoin (BTC)
  • Ethereum (ETH)
  • Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
  • Theta (THETA)
  • Basic Attention Token (BAT)
  • NEO
  • Tezos (XTZ)
  • Cardano (ADA)
  • Stellar Lumens (XLM)
  • Algorand (ALGO)
  • EOS (EOS)
  • Ripple (XRP)
  • Litecoin (LTC)

As for country support, the trading platform is only accessible in Australia for now.

Payment Methods

Deposit methods are not the exchange’s strong forte as it doesn’t allow credit card and debit card payment options. Additionally, Digital Surge is not compatible with e-wallets such as PayPal and cash investment. But, it still accepts a number of well-known payment methods to deposit funds which include cryptocurrency deposit and fiat deposits via POLi, Osko, and PayID payments.

Investing funds via fiat currencies is instant buy. Meanwhile, bank transfers can take one to two days for the payment to reflect.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Great learning resources
  • User-friendly and streamlined interface
  • More than 300+ coins available
  • Australian-based, live customer support
  • Bitcoin bill pay, a unique and progressive feature
  • Lowest fees and spreads (0.71%)
  • Instant deposits (AUD) using POLi or PayID payments
  • Quick to price alerts and withdrawals
  • Compatible with SMSF investors
  • Comes with automatic buy feature for dollar cost averaging

Cons

  • No staking available
  • Only available to Australians

FAQs

Whether you’re an experienced digital currency trader or a cryptocurrency novice, you likely have many questions about the exchange platforms you’ve never used. Below, we will answer a few of those questions and clear up any lingering concerns you might have about Digital Surge.

Is there a Digital Surge mobile app?

Yes! Digital Surge has a mobile app available on iOS and Android nearly identical to their website. In addition, the application offers the same features and user-interface advantages that the website does as well.

Does Digital Surge offer a crypto wallet?

Digital Surge does have an option to store your digital currencies in their Digital Surge wallet. These wallets make buying, selling, and keeping track of your crypto a breeze. However, even on a largely secure cryptocurrency exchange like Digital Surge, storing digital currency in a wallet long-term leaves you vulnerable to losing it in a cyberattack.

Can users outside Australia access Digital Surge?

Right now, you must live in Australia to use Digital Surge and download the mobile application. However, the app’s geographical restrictions allow the developers to optimise the platform for an ideal user experience. For example, focusing on the Australian market allowed Digital Surge to partner with BPAY and enabled users to pay bills online with their Bitcoin.

Major Takeaways from Our Digital Surge Review

Digital Surge isn’t a cryptocurrency exchange without its flaws. There are plenty of transaction and deposit fees, and the low number of features might aggravate some users. However, Digital Surge’s strengths more than make up for the drawbacks.

It’s a highly user-friendly platform equipped with a helpful staff and plenty of unique tools and educational resources to make buying digital currencies a breeze. That user experience combined with its robust safety focus and low fees makes Digital Surge one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia.

If you have already tried Digital Surge but not satisfied for some reason, then you should check out our Best Crypto Exchanges in Australia for 2024 article for more options!

author Marco Vela

A crypto obssessed digital marketer passionate about making a difference in the world. When he's not behind the computer he can be found hiking, camping and relaxing with his dog.