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You'll need a Bitcoin wallet before you buy since some exchanges require one.
Don't have a wallet? Read our guide on the best Bitcoin & cryptocurrency wallets.
Coinbase Popular Buy Bitcoin Read Review
Residents of Australia can use Coinbase to purchase bitcoins with a debit card. The fees are 3.99% per purchase, and your bitcoins are delivered instantly.
If you purchase more than $100 USD (~130 AUD) worth of bitcoins through this link then you get $10 USD (~13 AUD) worth of bitcoins for free!
We may receive compensation when you use Coinbase. Please visit Coinbase for its exact pricing terms.
- High liquidity and buying limits
- Easy way for newcomers to get bitcoins
- "Instant Buy" option available with debit card
- Purchases made with bank transfer can take up to 5 days to complete
- Coinbase may track how and where you spend your bitcoins
Coinmama Popular Buy Bitcoin Read Review
Coinmama allows customers in almost every country to buy bitcoin with a credit or debit card. They charge a ~6% fee on each purchase.
Customers in Europe can also purchase bitcoins with SEPA transfer for a lower fee.
Want to buy using Coinmama? This step-by-step guide will show you how to use Coinmama.
We may receive compensation when you use Coinmama. Please visit Coinmama for its exact pricing terms.
- Works in almost all countries
- Highest limits for buying bitcoins with a credit card
- Reliable and trusted broker
- Some of the highest fees among credit/debit card bitcoin brokers
Coinbase Pro Popular Buy Bitcoin Read Review
Coinbase's exchange, Coinbase Pro, is one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges in the United States. Users can fund their accounts via bank transfer, SEPA, or bank wire. Coinbase Pro offers good prices and low fees, but their confusing user interface may initially prove difficult to navigate.
We may receive compensation when you use Coinbase Pro. Please visit Coinbase Pro for its exact pricing terms.
- Some of the lowest fees available for US and EU customers
- Possible to buy bitcoins for 0% fees
- User interface is confusing for first time buyers
LocalBitcoins Popular Buy Bitcoin Read Review
LocalBitcoins is an escrow service which also helps to match bitcoin buyers and sellers. The most common method of payment for purchase is cash deposit. However, users may advertise trades for whichever payment method they prefer.
Buying bitcoins via an in-person meeting, secured and facilitated by LocalBitcoins, may be one of the fastest and most private ways to buy bitcoins in any country.
We may receive compensation when you use LocalBitcoins. Please visit LocalBitcoins for its exact pricing terms.
- Can be private, fast and easy
- In-person trades require no personal information
- Purchases of bitcoin can be made quickly via cash deposit
- Beware of scams; always follow the rules!
- Harder to buy large amounts of bitcoins compared to large exchanges
- Slightly to significantly higher prices than regular exchanges; premium for higher privacy
CoinJar Buy Bitcoin
CoinJar is the most well-known Australian Bitcoin platform and broker. You can purchase bitcoin via BPAY for a 1% fee.
- Low fees at just 1%
- Clean interface makes it easy for first-time buyers
- Supports several fiat currencies
- Offers a Bitcoin wallet that should not be used to store bitcoins
BuyaBitcoin Buy Bitcoin
BuyaBitcoin is Australian Bitcoin broker. You can use the service to buy bitcoin via cash deposit for 4.9% fees. Your coins are usually delivered within an hour.
- Fast delivery of bitcoins
- Only verification required is a mobile phone number
- High fees for buying bitcoins with cash
Independent Reserve Buy Bitcoin
Independent Reserve is an Australian Bitcoin exchange, geared towards traders and corporations. You can fund your account with EFT, SWIFT, POLi, or Crypto Captial. All these methods are free above certain minimums.
- Great liquidity means good prices close to market rate
- Fair range of payment methods
- Support for AUD, NZD, and USD
- Fees start at 0.5% but may fall as low as 0.1%, depending on trading volume
- User interface is confusing for first time buyers
Coin Loft Buy Bitcoin
Coin Loft is an Australian Bitcoin broker. You can buy bitcoin with cash deposit, credit card, Flexepin, and POLi. If you purchase with cash, your coins are delivered within an hour.
- Established and trusted broker
- Wide range of payment methods
- Only Australian service accepting Flexepin
- 4% fee is rather steep for cash purchases
- 9% cumulative fee for credit card purchases is very high
- Identity verification is required, even for cash payments
CoinCorner Buy Bitcoin
CoinCorner is a Bitcoin exchange based on the Isle of Man. They cater to first-time buyers in the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, and certain African, Asian, and South American countries. CoinCorner users may purchase bitcoins with SEPA, credit/debit card, GBP bank transfer, and now Neteller too. No verification required for purchases under £100.
We may receive compensation when you use CoinCorner. Please visit CoinCorner for its exact pricing terms.
- Trusted and regulated company in the UK
- Wide range of payment options
- Good customer support
- Instant credit card purchases
- Supports a very wide range of countries
- Video tutorials covering the basics of Bitcoin and buying and selling
- Multi-sig security features
- 1% trading fee slightly high by European standards
- Offers a mobile wallet but this is not ideal for bitcoin storage
- Requires ID verification, so not private
- Does not provide exchange prices for comparison without sign-up
Bitcoin ATMs Buy Bitcoin
You can use our Bitcoin ATM map to buy bitcoins with cash. Bitcoin ATMs can be a quick and easy way to buy bitcoins and they're also private. That convenience and privacy, however, comes with a price; most ATMs have fees of 5-10%.
- Our map makes it super easy to find a Bitcoin ATM near you
- Bitcoin ATMs often have 5-10% fees per purchase
Bitit Buy Bitcoin Read Review
Bitit lets you purchase bitcoin online with a 3DS-enabled credit/debit cards or with cash via Neosurf, Flexepin (coming soon) and Cashlib vouchers, available in over 150,000 local stores across Europe.
We may receive compensation when you use Bitit. Please visit Bitit for its exact pricing terms.
- Unique way of purchasing offers extra privacy over other methods
- 8% Neosurf fee is slightly better than Coinhouse's 10%
- Available in 50 countries
- €10,000 initial weekly Neosurf cash payment limit
- Bitcoin gift cards also available; more expensive than other options
- In-person buying methods offer more privacy but can be confusing
- Identity verification required for buying amounts over €25
- €500 initial weekly credit/debit card limit
Mycelium Local Trader Buy Bitcoin
Mycelium Local Trader helps you find local Bitcoin sellers. Once you locate a seller, you meet up in-person and conduct the trade. Mycelium charges absolutely no fees. While Mycelium Local Trader works great in highly-populated areas, users in low population areas will have trouble finding sellers.
- Easy and cheap way to buy bitcoins with cash
- Private way to buy bitcoins, no personal information required beyond cellphone number
- Users in sparsely populated areas will have trouble finding sellers
Changelly Buy Bitcoin
Changelly lets you buy bitcoin with Litecoin, Dogecoin, altcoins and many other digital tokens. Changelly works in nearly every country but you will need another cryptocurrency in order to purchase bitcoins. Exchanges happen almost instantly because Changelly never actually controls your tokens but just exchanges them.
- Easiest and fastest way to buy bitcoins with altcoins
- Fees are reasonable for larger traders
- Need altcoins or other digital tokens to use
The State of Bitcoin in Australia
Bitcoin adoption in Australia has been on the rise of late thanks to the government’s change in approach toward cryptocurrencies. Australia’s Bitcoin regulations, such as double taxation, were hampering the adoption of the cryptocurrency but the government has brought about a change in regulations that is now proving to be a catalyst for Bitcoin adoption.
Sydney-based Bitcoin exchange Independent Reserve was getting around 100-200 new users on a daily basis back in 2017 when the favorable regulations came into force, handling as much as AUD$4 million in transactions every day. Bitcoin received another shot in the arm last year when the government of Queensland officially announced that it has invested in a local crypto start-up to boost tourism in the state.
Let’s take a closer look at Australia’s Bitcoin regulatory environment and why it is conducive to the growth of the cryptocurrency.
The Regulatory Environment
Bitcoin exchanges in Australia are under the purview of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac), the financial intelligence agency down under. Cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia need to register with Austrac and follow the required procedures in a bid to prevent financial terrorism and money laundering.
The exchanges are required to verify the identities of their customers and also maintain certain records for a period of seven years. The Australian Bitcoin community believes that this is a positive development that could bring more people into the cryptocurrency ecosystem, as Bitcoin exchanges in the country now operate under rules that should deliver protection to investors and users alike.
As it turns out, Austrac has officially registered 246 cryptocurrency exchanges across the country since the regulations came into effect in April 2018. At the same time, 11 cryptocurrency trading platforms have been investigated, while two have been declined registrations through January 2019. Austrac is reportedly strict when it comes to willful non-compliance of its regulations, a philosophy that should boost confidence in Bitcoin as buyers will know that the authority will weed out the illegitimate players.
Additionally, a few government agencies in the country have been taking steps that should increase Bitcoin adoption. We already saw that Queensland has made an investment in a crypto start-up, but that’s not an isolated case when it comes to government-sponsored adoption of Bitcoin in Australia.
The country’s post office, a 200-year-old organization, recently took a step that could bring Bitcoin to a massive customer base of more than 11 million Australians. Australia Post launched Digital iD in October last year to facilitate easier purchase of Bitcoin. This is a digital identity service that will allow customers to quickly and easily sign-up with Bitcoin exchanges in Australia, cutting out the verification period that could sometimes take up to days.
In all, Bitcoin faces a favorable environment in Australia and is reportedly one of the leaders in the adoption of this cryptocurrency.
Buying and Spending Bitcoin in Australia
We have already seen that there are hundreds of registered exchanges in Australia from where you can buy Bitcoin. However, one needs to zero in on a cryptocurrency exchange depending on several factors such as fees, convenience, withdrawal limits, verification requirements, anonymity, and payment modes.
You can use our guide that lists the pros and cons of various Bitcoin exchanges in Australia to choose an option that best suits your needs. However, it is advisable to get a wallet before purchasing Bitcoin from one of the exchanges, as that’s the place where you will store the digital currency in case the cryptocurrency exchange doesn’t provide one. You can refer to our guide on the best Bitcoin and cryptocurrency wallets if you don’t have one already.
Another way Australians can buy Bitcoin is through automated teller machines (ATMs). As it turns out, Australia’s Bitcoin ATM count is quite respectable at 54 with presence across major cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Brisbane. The advantage of using a Bitcoin ATM is that they provide a quick and easy way of buying the cryptocurrency through cash, and most of them don’t require the buyer to go through a verification process.
However, the downside is that they charge high fees that might range between 5% and 10%. You can easily locate a Bitcoin ATM using our map.
Once you have purchased Bitcoin in Australia, you can use the digital currency to make payments at several vendors that include cafes, bookstores, and fruit and grocery suppliers. Of course, one can use Bitcoin as an investment vehicle or as a means of peer-to-peer payment as well.
In the end, it can be easily said that the future of Bitcoin in Australia looks bright thanks to the government’s moves that are promoting adoption of the cryptocurrency.
