Cointree Review

Hedge with Crypto aims to publish information that is factual and accurate as of the date of publication. For specific information about a cryptocurrency exchange or trading platform please visit that provider’s website. This information is general in nature and is for educational purposes only. Hedge with Crypto does not provide financial advice nor does it take into account your personal financial situation. We encourage you to seek financial advice from an independent financial advisor where appropriate and make your own enquiries.

Bottom line:

Cointree is one of Australia’s most reputable crypto exchanges, offering an easy way for investors to access 160+ digital currencies with AUD. The platform is a little light on features, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing – as what Cointree focuses on, it does well. However, when signing up for an account, we found the verification process to be cumbersome and unreliable.

Our Cointree account is still yet to be verified, 72+ hours after submitting all the required documents. This is a bad look for a platform that wants to streamline and demystify the crypto investment process. Such an issue makes it hard to recommend Cointree until it’s resolved, in spite of its excellent track record and competitive trading fees.

How We Rated Cointree

Review Criteria	Hedge With Crypto Rating
Features	3.9 / 5
Supported Fiat and Deposit Methods	3.5 / 5
Supported Crypto & Trading Pairs	3.5 / 5
Fees	3 / 5
Ease of Use	5 / 5
Customer support	3.5 / 5
Security Measures	4 / 5
Mobile App	4 / 5

Pros Explained

• AUSTRAC licensed exchange in Australia. Cointree is registered with and abides by all the relevant Australian financial laws, including KYC and AML requirements. This allows the platform to support AUD deposits and withdrawals and aids its reputation.
• Beginner-friendly user interface. Although most exchanges these days offer a streamlined navigational experience, Cointree is one of the best going around. Beginners will find using the platform a breeze.
• Support for SMSF investors. Adding cryptocurrency to a retirement account is becoming a more popular option for Australians. Cointree is renowned in the industry for its excellent support in this area.

Cons Explained

• Not suitable for professional traders. Although the platform isn’t aimed at this audience, Cointree lacks several of the features a pro trader would be searching for – such as margin trading, derivatives, and advanced order types.
• Not the cheapest exchange in Australia. Cointree’s trading fees are 0.9% per order, and 0.5% for crypto-to-crypto swaps. These fees are quite competitive but are ultimately more expensive than Swyftx, Binance and other popular exchanges.
• AUD deposits incur a fee. Depositing AUD is one of the best ways to add money to a crypto trading platform. However, Cointree is not transparent with the fees that will be charged for doing so. Although these costs will likely be less than a few dollars, certain competitors offer free AUD deposits.

Cointree Compared and Alternatives

EXCHANGE	CRYPTO ASSETS	TRADING FEES	RATING	PROMOTION	WEBSITE	REVIEW
Swyftx	422	0.6%	Rating We provide an overall weighted average rating out of 5 stars. Our ratings are based on objective criteria like the ease of use, fees, deposit methods, customer support and availability. Our reviews are not influenced by 3rd parties. Click here for further information about our rating methodology and a full list of categories we review against. 4.9 / 5	$20 Bitcoin for creating a verified account	Visit Swyftx	Swyftx Review
Binance	385	0.1% (spot) and 0.02% / 0.04% (Futures)	Rating We provide an overall weighted average rating out of 5 stars. Our ratings are based on objective criteria like the ease of use, fees, deposit methods, customer support and availability. Our reviews are not influenced by 3rd parties. Click here for further information about our rating methodology and a full list of categories we review against. 4.8 / 5	Up to $100 welcome bonus	Visit Binance	Binance Review
CoinSpot	380	1% (instant), 0.1% (spot)	Rating We provide an overall weighted average rating out of 5 stars. Our ratings are based on objective criteria like the ease of use, fees, deposit methods, customer support and availability. Our reviews are not influenced by 3rd parties. Click here for further information about our rating methodology and a full list of categories we review against. 4.7 / 5	$20 Bitcoin for creating a verified account and depositing	Visit CoinSpot	CoinSpot Review

Cointree At A Glance

Exchange Name	Cointree
Features	Spot exchange, SMSF investing, Multi-token wallet, OTC trading
Fiat Currency	AUD only
Payment Type	POLI, PayID, Bank transfer, Cash Deposit, Crypto
Supported Cryptocurrencies	160+, including BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA, DOGE
Trading Fee	0.9% per fiat to crypto trade
AUD Deposit Fee	PayID: $1.30, Cash Deposit: 3%
Customer Support	Live chatbot, Ticket/email system, Support centre
Security Measures	98% of funds stored in cold wallets, 2FA for withdrawing funds
Mobile App	Yes (Android and iOS)

Cointree Overview

Cointree is a well-established crypto exchange that has been a mainstay in the Australian community. It was founded in 2013 by Shane Stevenson and is based in Melbourne, Australia. The AUSTRAC-licensed platform offers Aussie residents an easy way to build their crypto portfolios. Since its humble beginnings over a decade ago, Cointree has amassed over 80,000 registered users and avoided any major incidents.

The Cointree platform boasts over 160 assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin, for individuals to invest in crypto (and sell) at live prices with charts. Because of its user-friendly interface, competitive fees, and reputation for safety, Cointree is often the choice for beginners looking to get started in the crypto sphere.

Review of the Top Features on Cointree

Below, we've highlighted a few of the crypto exchange's most intriguing and valuable features.

Recurring buys

Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) is one of the most powerful yet simple investing strategies that are especially effective in a volatile cryptocurrency market. Although crypto DCA can (and is) employed by traders of all experience levels, it is particularly useful for beginners, given how easy it is to implement.

To match Cointree’s target audience of crypto novices, the platform offers “recurring purchases.” This allows customers to automatically make regular deposits and purchases of Bitcoin and other assets at their current price. By doing so, investors are less prone to the market’s hefty swings as they can average their purchase price over time. This is an excellent tool that customers with a long-term investment horizon should strongly consider.

SMSF support

Cointree is renowned among the Australian crypto community for being the go-to crypto SMSF platform to build a retirement portfolio. The company offers SMSF investors support seven days a week, with average response times of under four hours on business days. All the relevant tax forms and reporting requirements are readily available for those growing their SMSFs with Cointree.

The Cointree exchange has one of the fastest registration processes for new SMSF accounts, allowing users to get started within five minutes. The team can also assist individuals with setting up their fund’s trust deed and passing the sole-purpose test – requirements for operating an SMSF. The fees for using an SMSF to buy crypto can be as low as 0.5%.

Overall, Cointree is set up to help investors take their retirement funds into their own hands and have an excellent and dedicated support crew ready to simplify the process. It is one of the exchange’s standout features.

Market research

Cointree’s buy page for each of its supported assets sports various useful data, such as a customizable crypto charting platform, a basic overview of the project, and popular portfolio allocations. The integration of a chart provides a great middle ground for more advanced investors to perform technical analysis on an asset’s performance. There are 50+ indicators available, although, unlike other charting software, investors can’t add custom indicators made by the community.

A particularly unique element of the Cointree research pages is the “Top Portfolios” section. This feature shows users the best-performing portfolio that contains the specific coin being researched. Say an investor was considering buying AAVE – the Top Portfolios hub shows that AAVE’s most successful pairing over the past week was with ALGO, ADA, and CFX. It also includes information on how the portfolio is weighted so users can easily copy it. In that sense, Cointree provides a proxy social and copy trading experience, although it lacks the depth of pioneers like eToro.

Account Creation and ID Verification

AUSTRAC regulates Cointree and must collect each customer’s identity information to comply with anti-fraud and terrorism laws. New accounts can navigate the platform without passing verification but are restricted from trading digital assets, withdrawing BTC, or depositing funds. Full verification is required to cash out of Bitcoin into AUD.

Cointree has one of the market's slower and more arduous ID verification processes. Although the website claims it will only take a few minutes for a new account to be verified, our Cointree account is still unverified 72 hours after submitting all required documents. The process itself is a little convoluted too, as it requires numbers and images of a government-issued document and a thirty-second video recording. Customers who do not want to wait to start trading might have to consider other cryptocurrency exchanges with faster verification, such as CoinSpot, Swyftx, or Binance.

Supported Fiat and Deposit Methods

As an Australian crypto exchange, Cointree accepts AUD deposits. Several different deposit methods are accepted, which should satisfy most Aussie residents. The minimum deposit and purchase amount is AUD $20, while the maximum daily buy amount is $10,000. Cointree also implements a weekly maximum for buying/depositing of $20,000, although these limits can be appealed depending on each customer’s specific circumstances.

Deposit Method	Transaction speed	Daily limit	Fees
PayID	Instant	$20-10,000	$1.30
POLi	Instant	$20-10,000	None disclosed
Bank transfer	24-48 business hours	$20-10,000	None disclosed
Cash deposit	Instant once cash is deposited at physical location	$50-5,000	3%

Supported Crypto & Trading Pairs

Cointree has a solid list of prominent digital currencies and some more obscure tokens available to investors. There are over 160 trading pairs, with AUD being the base fiat currency that crypto is traded against. Most novice investors will be satisfied with popular currencies, including giants BTC, ETH, LTC, and BNB.

Cointree falls flat in comparison to Australian and international competitors like Swyftx, Binance, and Coinspot, each boasting 300+ trading pairs. The Cointree cryptocurrency exchange is missing some relatively high-demand coins, such as LEO, TON, and BIT. Each purchased coin can be stored in the Cointree wallet. Overall, the supported crypto and trading pairs should fulfill the needs of most buy-and-hold investors, while more involved traders may want to look elsewhere.

Cointree Fees

Trading Fees

Cointree uses a tiered fee structure that varies between 0.5% and 0.9% to instantly buy or sell crypto, depending on the monthly volume traded. The trading fees are quite reasonable for high-net-worth investors. However, for beginners who are looking to make their first crypto purchase, Cointree's trading fees are not the cheapest option available in Australia. 

Tier	Instant Buy and Sell Fee	Crypto to Crypto Fee	Monthly Trading Volume Required
Bronze	0.9%	0.25%	$0
Silver	0.8%	0.2%	$10,000
Gold	0.7%	0.15%	$50,000
Platinum	0.6%	0.1%	$200,000
Diamond	0.5%	0.05%	$1,000,000

We also note that the spread between the bid and ask is high compared to other cryptocurrency exchanges. At the time of writing, there is a $670 premium on the price of Bitcoin. A trader who purchases 1 BTC and immediately sells it back to the exchange will incur a considerable loss even if the price of the asset remains the same. This is a major drawback with using Cointree, as these hidden costs will accumulate over time.

Cointree Trading Fees – Compared

Considering there are no requirements to reach the Bronze tier, 0.25% for coin-to-coin crypto trades is a rather competitive rate. In comparison, most Australian cryptocurrency exchanges charge flat trading fees regardless of whether fiat or digital currencies are being transferred.

Cointree’s instant buy/sell trading fees (0.5-9%) are decent for an Australian crypto exchange, coming in cheaper than Coinspot (1%). However, Swyftx (0.6% base fee) is still cheaper, especially when spreads are considered. Higher volume traders should steer clear of Cointree and stick to international alternatives like ByBit or Binance.

Exchange	Base Trading Fee
Cointree	0.9%
Binance	0.1%
Swyftx	0.6%
ByBit	0.1%
Coinbase	1%

Withdrawal/Deposit Fees

Cointree doesn’t collect fees for AUD deposits; however, some of its partnered payment providers do. In general, the platform is rather vague about its deposit fees, and the only way to be sure about them is by creating a Cointree account and testing out payments. In general, charging a deposit fee for deposits from an Australian bank account is not the norm. Other Australian crypto exchanges like Swyftx and Coinspot offer free and instant AUD deposits. Conversely, fiat withdrawals from Cointree are free.

Digital asset deposits and withdrawals incur a standard network fee, which compensates miners/validators for their efforts in verifying blockchain transactions. This “gas fee” can vary from less than a cent to a few dollars and will depend on network congestion and the coin being sent.

Payment Type	Deposit Fee	Limit
PayID	$2.75	$25 min. $2,000 per 24 hours
POLi	$3.30	$25 min. $10,000 per 24 hours
Bank transfer	None	$20 min. $10,000 per 24 hours
Cash Deposit	$3.00	$50 min. $8,000 per transaction

Cointree Ease of Use

Cointree is an exchange aimed at beginners, and its ease of use reflects this. Navigating the platform is a seamless experience that even the least tech-capable individuals should find simple enough. Every major feature can be accessed via Cointree’s three main tabs – Dashboard, Buy/Sell/Trade, and Wallet.

The dashboard provides an overview of everything a novice investor would need – their portfolio’s performance, transaction history, and the crypto market’s movements. In that vein, placing a spot order is quite simple, too. Traders can begin the process from their dashboard (by selecting “Buy ‘x’ asset”) or by clicking on the Buy/Sell/Trade tab. Either way, this will bring up the purchase page, which is clearly labeled, de-cluttered, and easy to negotiate.

Signing up for an SMSF account is similarly straightforward. New users just need to create an account as they normally would and contact Cointree’s support team. Barring the potentially isolated example of our account not being verified, this should only take a few hours.

Cointree App Review

Cointree only recently developed and released a mobile app for iOS and Android users. The application undergoes regular updates (about one per month). Because of its newness, the app doesn’t have any reviews from customers on either the Google Play or Apple App Store. We briefly used the app, and it appeared to reflect the main platform’s ideology—an easy-to-navigate exchange with a smooth user interface and minimal clutter.

Cointree Customer Support

Cointree's website provides a comprehensive Help and Support section to assist beginners who want to buy Bitcoin or other coins for the first time. There is also the option to contact the customer service team directly by ‘Submitting a Request'. There is no live chatbot to answer any queries after hours. In search of Cointree reviews, recent feedback and comments on platforms such as TrustPilot and ProductReview are quite negative. 

Security Measures

Cointree is renowned as a safe digital currency exchange with several security measures to protect its user's personal information and keep their funds secure. These measures include SSL certification, two-factor authentication, wallet and personal information encryption. There have also been no reported hacks or theft of funds on Cointree since the cryptocurrency exchange was established.

One downside is that Cointree has not published any proof of reserves as of 2023. No information is provided on an insurance fund in case of a hack, insolvency, or other counterparty risks, which might be off-putting for the security-conscious investor.