So, when I got excited about investing in cryptos, I was following a particular guy on YouTube (Bix Weir) who suggested to get started by setting up a CoinBase account.
Well, Etherium was skyrocketing, so I jumped online to get in on the action, but was not prepared for the “authentication” process required by the exchanges.
After finally submitting the photo IDs and utility bill, the system would not let me proceed for several days.
One I was approved, I tried to transfer some funds into their system, but CoinBase was having some dramas related to processing new cards. So, I’m now one week into the application process and Etherium was up over $100.
Damn It! Ok, so since I live in Australia, I searched for an exchange with a com.au TLD and found CoinSpot.
They also required the same authentication process and then I received a confirmation email stating someone would call me to confirm the account application.
Seriously?
After another 4 days (and another $50+ pop in Etherium), I did get a call from a local mobile number and a very nice lady just wanted to confirm that I was not creating the account on someone else’s behalf and that the bank account I was using was correct.
She then clicked a button and I was approved and logged in on the spot.
The exchange uses the Poli payment system, which allows you to login to your AU bank account (most of the big Aussie banks are on their list) through a secured gateway and transfer funds into your trading account.
They have an AU $5000 deposit limit per account per day.
In the past month, the exchange has added an number of coins available for purchase and I’m assuming more will continue to be added (but this is an assumption).
See screen shots below for list as of June 28 2017:
CoinSpot has a potentially awesome referral system, where you get on-going commissions from anyone referred.
Copied from their website:
“CoinSpot Affiliate Program
We know the value that you can bring to CoinSpot and reward you with leading commissions which are among the highest we could find anywhere online. Best of all, the commission is paid on the lifetime of the customer which could create a growing revenue stream for you.
To date, some of most successful affiliate program members are earning in excess of $5000 per month.
Our commission structure is simple and straight forward. CoinSpot profits from customer transactions by charging fees on each Buy and Sell that customers conduct on our site. These fees are currently 2%.
We will pay you 25% of the fees we collect.
For example:
During a calendar month, one of your affiliated customers transactions on our site might look like this.
BUY $5000 ETH Fee: $100
BUY $3000 LTC Fee: $60
SELL $9000 ETH Fee: $180
Total Fees for the month: $340
Payment to you is $340 x 25% = $85.
Remember, you will receive a payment for customer transactions each month for the lifetime of the customer.
Our fees and the commissions paid, are subject to change. From time to time we may offer incentives above and beyond this structure for high performing members of our affiliate program and will contact you to advise of this in advance.”
End Copy
I‘ve noticed, when comparing prices on CoinSpot to other exchanges (CoinBase in particular), that they are often (always for the past month) having higher prices for both buying and selling.
Yesterday there was a $50 spread between Etherium on CoinSpot vs CoinBase with CoinSpot having the higher price.
However, they also seem to provide a premium when selling as well, so there would be a nice arbitrage opportunity except for some small details like CoinBase does not allow selling crypto currencies for cash in Australia….doh!
So that keeps you from selling for the high price on CoinSpot then transferring coins to CoinBase and cashing out for a profit as CoinBase does not allow cashing out in AU.
My guess is these premiums are one reason why CoinSpot has higher prices, as they have to potentially pay out 25% as commissions. In any case, you pay a premium to buy in, but you get a higher price when selling so its pretty much a wash.
The biggest positive I have noticed so far is the exchange has not gone down once in the past month, and has not had any issues with Etherium transactions.
CoinBase has been guilty of both issues in the same recent time period.
On the negative side, CoinSpot does not allow sending Etherium into their system from another exchange or wallet. You can buy there and transfer out, but not in.
You can transfer in Bitcoin and Litecoin, but not any others.
They also don’t have any price graphs or other measuring and/or monitoring tools except the wallet view which shows number of shares and their value on CoinSpot.
The do have a full-on Bitcoin exchange with limit buy and sell orders like some of the bigger exchanges, but again at a big premium to those other exchanges.
Of course, all prices are in AU dollars so you have to take that into consideration as well. Most Aussies probably wouldn’t care, but as a Yank I do.
So, if you are looking for an alternative exchange that has not gone down once in the past 30 days, or simply live in Australia, CoinSpot could be a good alternative for you.
My advice is always to have several exchange accounts approved and open just in case one or two of them go down in a market meltdown like we’ve had this past week.
My affiliate link is - https://www.coinspot.com.au?affiliate=QUC92 so if you do set up an account, please help a brother out and sign up via that link.
I hope this helps anyone in Australia get in on the cryto action asap!
Write On!