CoinJar exchange: a review
Our 2020 review of the CoinJar exchange: security, the crypto debit card, and KYC.This is our 2020 review of CoinJar, the Australian exchange founded in 2013, kept as a historical snapshot, so treat its figures on fees, the CoinJar Card, the trading API, the OTC desk, and supported regions as describing the platform in 2020 rather than today. CoinJar still operates, and later updates, such as its July 2025 US launch in supported states, are dated in the review.
TL;DR: You can get a summary of this review at the last section of this document
CoinJar is a long-running exchange (est. 2013) originally from Australia, and now expanding internationally, mainly to the UK and Europe. Their platform is available on the Web, as well as mobile apps for iOS and Android. Besides a trading platform, CoinJar offers a Crypto debit card.
I will divide this review into 5 sections covering CoinJar's most salient features:
- reliability
- security and trading
- Crypto debit card
- KYC/AML
- summary.
Reliability
CoinJar was founded in 2013 in Melbourne, Australia by Asher Tan, a former financial analyst, and Ryan Zhou, a software engineer. From its beginnings as a digital wallet, CoinJar gained a reputation for a well-built product and a culture of innovating without compromising quality, and has since grown into a solid team of 15+ talented individuals and 400k+ registered users while securing venture investment from the likes of Digital Currency Group, Blackbird Ventures, and Boost VC.
Certainly, companies as durable as CoinJar are an exception in the Crypto industry.
Notably, CoinJar’s first Crypto debit card, CoinJar Swipe, launched in Australia back in 2014. That same year, CoinJar reincorporated in London as part of a move to take its services internationally. Certainly, companies as durable as CoinJar are an exception in the Crypto industry. CoinJar maintains a celebrated product, being one of the best-rated exchange apps in the App Store. Moreover, CoinJar is categorized as Great by Trustpilot with over 1,000 reviews, many praising its support.
Security and trading
There have not been any reported hacks on CoinJar since its launch.
A number of security measures are described in CoinJar’s marketing. CoinJar claims to store 90% of their funds in cold wallets, also using multi-sig wallets “wherever practicable” and extending its security to their hiring practices as well as running both a Status page and a Bug Bounty program. There have not been any reported hacks on CoinJar since its launch.
Noticeably, CoinJar presents itself very transparently, guiding users and letting them know of common security vulnerabilities and how to address them on their own.
CoinJar fees
Most serious Crypto exchanges charge fees in one way or another, while zero-fee exchanges sell your data to make ends meet. CoinJar charges transparent and low fees. The figures below are from the original 2020 review; CoinJar has since revised its schedule, so check the current fee table before trading. At the time, Crypto pairings had a fee of 0.1% for market takers and 0% for market makers, at all volumes. For AUD and GBP pairings, there was a sliding scale of fees for market takers starting at 0.25% and going all the way down to 0.10% for very-high-volume accounts. Just as with Crypto pairings, fees for market makers in fiat pairings were 0%.
Trading pairs
CoinJar focuses on providing liquidity between major cryptocurrencies and the Australian dollar (AUD) market. In fact, ~95% of its volume are pairs with common Crypto like $BTC /AUD, $ETH /AUD, $ZEC /AUD, $LTC /AUD, and $XRP /AUD. CoinJar’s full list of trading pairs is on their website. These top pairs are also available to GBP, and between AUD and other stablecoins, as well as limited Crypto-to-Crypto. To better service their traders, some fiat-to-fiat pairings like GBP/AUD are provided as well.
Pro Business user support
CoinJar has expanded to the Pro trader and Business/Institutional clientele with advanced functionality in their exchange. For starters, CoinJar offers a customizable trading view with advanced analytics. There are no right or wrong ways of doing these, I recommend you go into the exchange and experience the feel of the trading view dashboard for yourself.
CoinJar also offers an extensively documented API accessible in real-time for account management, orders and trades, and public market data. The system is powerful enough for High-Frequency Trading (HFT) with low-latency strategies. Another feature for traders is a thrice-daily auction window for fairer prices.
For institutional investors, the most attractive offering is the OTC desk. CoinJar offers dedicated support and preferential rates for off-exchange trades above A$50,000.
Crypto debit card
One of CoinJar’s earliest products was CoinJar Swipe, a Crypto debit card that worked through the EFTPOS system in Australia for purchases, ATM withdrawals, and merchant cashout facilities.
CoinJar has since discontinued Swipe and replaced it with the Mastercard-powered CoinJar Card, which can be used for purchases and ATM withdrawals wherever Mastercard is accepted.
KYC/AML
Buying and selling of cryptocurrencies is available to residents of Australia, the UK, and Ireland, plus the US in supported states since July 2025.
Creating an account in CoinJar is easy and straightforward. Verification will be needed in order to buy/sell Crypto. Buying and selling of cryptocurrencies is available to residents of Australia, the UK, and Ireland, and since July 2025 CoinJar is live in the US across an initial set of supported states, with more being added.
You can use CoinJar as a digital currency wallet the world over. You need not apply for verification unless you are planning to trade Crypto, use CoinJar’s bank withdrawal services, or use the CoinJar Card.
In Summary
CoinJar is an entry-level exchange that serves residents of Australia, the UK, and Ireland, and is now live in the US in supported states. If you live in one of these markets, it covers the basics with local-currency pairings, low fees, and a solid track record.
CoinJar is also expanding into the Pro trader and institutional market as it matures its exchange. With the AUD being an important fiat currency in Oceania and South-East Asia, and given the CoinJar team's execution record, these services looked set to grow at the time of writing.