Cointree review

• No prior experience required on Australia's simplest cryptocurrency exchange.
• Assisting Australians in understanding and trading cryptocurrencies since 2013.
• Get fresh trading ideas by looking at the most successful portfolios.

Cointree is a cryptocurrency exchange based in Australia, allowing customers to purchase bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using Australian dollars. Its exchange provides a simple and effective service for newcomers while also providing some complex features for seasoned cryptocurrency traders, such as the opportunity to trade bitcoin for a range of altcoins.

Cointree has a strong focus on bitcoin beginners. Users may try out a demo version of the complete site and experiment with features such as making a dummy bitcoin purchase before committing real cash.

What is Cointree?

Cointree was founded in 2013 and is based in Melbourne. It currently has over 80,000 member accounts trading in over 260 cryptocurrencies, with more than $250 million traded to date.

Is Cointree safe?

Cointree safeguards transactions and users’ personal information using 2-step verification, encrypted SSL, a hot/cold wallet system, and a secure server and closed network environment.

Cointree Pty Ltd (ACN 167 203 303) is licensed by AUSTRAC and is bound by Australian laws covering anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC).

Who is Cointree aimed at?

Cointree is a suitable platform for Australians who are new to cryptocurrencies, since its website is very straightforward and easy to use. There are also various educational tools and articles to assist beginner traders.

Notable features

Some of Cointree’s most useful features include the following.

• SMSF compatible. Cointree assists Australian investors who wish to invest in digital currency such as bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and other cryptocurrencies, using their Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF).
• Pay bills with crypto. Cointree has partnered with AI bill payment company Gobbill to allow users to pay bills using any of its 260+ supported currencies.
• Copy portfolios. View the best performing portfolios on the site in the last seven days and automatically copy their cryptocurrency spread.

Tradable coins

There are 260+ tradeable coins at Cointree, including these more popular ones:

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Litecoin (LTC)
• Ripple (XRP)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
• EOS (EOS)
• Cardano (ADA)
• Stellar (XLM)
• Bitcoin SV (BSV)
• Binance Coin (BNB)
• Dogecoin (DOGE)

Charting

Clicking on a particular cryptocurrency name on the ‘Coins and prices’ page takes users to its individual price chart, which can be viewed in one-week, one-month and three-month time ranges. You can also see a brief explanatory overview of each coin, and compare its performance chart for the last seven days side-by-side with any of the other coins on offer.

Fees

Cointree has a tiered fee structure, ranging from 0.5% to 0.9% of the transaction amount for both buying and selling cryptocurrency. The more you trade, the higher your tier and the lower your fees. You would need to trade AUD1 million in 30 days to unlock the highest tier (Diamond) and lowest fee (0.5%), so beginners are going to start by paying 0.9%.

Coin-to-coin trades (rather than AUD to coin, or coin to AUD trades) attract a lower fee, ranging from 0.05% to 0.25%).

These trading fees, however, are not the lowest in Australia for newcomers wanting to make their first cryptocurrency trade.

Cointree charges no fee for making an AUD or cryptocurrency deposit to begin trading, and no fee for an AUD withdrawal. There may be a fee payable for a withdrawal in cryptocurrency, depending on the cryptocurrency involved. There may also be third party fees payable for your deposit, depending on the method (e.g. online banking) you choose.

Withdrawals

In order to withdraw cash from your Cointree account, you'll need to link a bank account. Withdrawals are currently limited to AU in Australia. You can also send your crypto to another wallet.

I did, however, run into a small problem when trying to withdraw a small amount of the altcoins I was holding: there is a minimum requirement in order to transfer some coins out of your account. In my case, I was trying to clean up my wallet and consolidate several small holdings of altcoins elsewhere. However, I couldn't send them since I was not a Gold tier member, meaning I can either become Gold by trading $50,000 of crypto on Cointree inside 30 days (not going to happen) or sell on the market and withdraw as cash. Notably, this restriction is not in place for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other "popular" coins.

Pros and cons

Alternatives

• CoinSpot. Over 300 cryptocurrencies available to trade, with one of the lowest fee structures in Australia.
• CoinJar. The exchange is recognized for its simple and user-friendly features and innovations, including crypto debit card, crypto EFTPOS card, and the secure CoinJar wallet software for mobile devices.
• Independent Reserve. Independent Reserve is a well-known cryptocurrency exchange developed in Australia, with low trading costs but a limited selection of cryptocurrencies when compared to other exchanges.
• Binance. This is one of the best-known cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, with over 220 cryptocurrencies available, plus low fees coupled with advanced features.
• Coinbase. This popular US-based exchange offers trading in around 70 cryptocurrencies, with a trading volume exceeding USD450 billion each quarter.

Comparisons

Want to see how Cointree compares directly against other crypto exchanges? Find out with our side-by-side comparisons.

• Binance vs Cointree
• BTC Markets vs Cointree
• Coinbase vs Cointree
• CoinJar vs Cointree
• CoinSpot vs Cointree
• Cointree vs Coinstash
• Cointree vs Easy Crypto
• eToro vs Cointree
• Gemini vs Cointree
• Independent Reserve vs Cointree
• Kraken vs Cointree
• KuCoin vs Cointree
• Swyftx vs Cointree

FAQs

Is there a demo account?

Yes. This means that, as a newcomer, you can get used to trading cryptocurrencies without using real money.

Is Cointree crypto insured?

Not as far as we are able to ascertain, but cryptocurrency insurance is still in its infancy. However, Cointree supports both hot (connected to the internet) and cold (not connected to the internet) storage, and SMSFs are legally obliged to use cold storage.

Do I need a crypto wallet with Cointree?

No, you don't need a crypto wallet or prior knowledge to get started. All coins acquired are promptly sent to your Cointree account. But Cointree will help you set up a multi-coin wallet if you wish.

How do I fund a Cointree account?

You can use PayID for instant funding, online and mobile banking transfers (processed in 1-2 business days, or instant cash deposits at 1200+ Australian retail outlets via Cointree’s partnership with Blueshfyt.

How do I withdraw funds from Cointree?

1. Click on the 'Wallet' tab and select the 'Withdraw Cash' page.
2. Enter the amount of AUD you would like to withdraw.
3. Review your transaction and accept the T&Cs.
4. Funds should arrive in your bank account in 3-5 business days.

There is also a process for withdrawing the more popular cryptocurrencies to an external wallet, by using the ‘Send coin’ option on the Account page and entering the wallet address.

Verdict

Cointree provides a simple and effective service for newcomers – especially in providing a demo account – while also offering some more complex features for seasoned cryptocurrency users.

Its fees are not the lowest in Australia but are still fairly competitive, and the option to pay bills using cryptocurrency will make it popular with users who want to use their cryptocurrency account as an addition to their banking arrangements.