Markets open · 24/7 Sydney - AEST
AUD/USD 0.6712 Display
BTCA$88,557+2.14%
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SOLA$241.30-0.62%
HYPEA$38.74+5.31%

BTC Markets vs Digital Surge

BTC Markets and Digital Surge compared on what decides the bill for an Australian: the real cost of an AUD buy, whether there is an AUD book to trade against, and who you are contracting with.

Trade on BTC Marketsbtcmarkets.net Trade on Digital Surgedigitalsurge.com.au Both links are affiliate links. They never change the ranking, the scores or the data on this page.
BTC Markets Melbourne · est 2013 · AUD order book
AUSTRAC RegisteredAU Order BookAU Native · Est 2013
Coindaily Score 80/100
btcmarkets.net BTC Markets homepage as served to Australian visitors
VS
Digital Surge Brisbane · est 2017 · Brokerage
AUSTRAC RegisteredPast Administration (2022)AU Brokerage
Coindaily Score 72/100
digitalsurge.com.au Digital Surge homepage as served to Australian visitors
64
Costwhy
76
BTC Markets · 64
  • Effective cost of the default route is about 1.05% (order book: taker plus spread)
  • 50% of the cost facts on our btc-markets review read as favourable
Digital Surge · 76
  • Effective cost of the default route is about 0.50% (brokerage: the spread is the cost)
  • 58% of the cost facts on our digital-surge review read as favourable
75
Liquiditywhy
21
BTC Markets · 75
  • Crossing its AUD book costs a measured 0.030% on a A$10,000 order
  • A$298,789 of asks inside 1% of mid, top order 21% of that
  • Global liquidity standing 60/100 from the Coindaily exchanges table
Digital Surge · 21
  • No public order book to measure: this is a brokerage that quotes you a price
  • There is no depth behind a quote, only the platform's willingness to fill it
  • Global liquidity standing 38/100 from the Coindaily exchanges table
77
AUD accesswhy
60
BTC Markets · 77
  • Its AUD book is real and measurable: BTC/AUD at a 0.060% touch spread
  • 2 documented AUD deposit rails: PayID, OSKO
  • 62% of its money-in-and-out facts read as favourable
Digital Surge · 60
  • No AUD order book, so every AUD trade routes through a conversion or a quote
  • 2 documented AUD deposit rails: PayID, OSKO
  • 71% of its money-in-and-out facts read as favourable
56
Trust & regulationwhy
45
BTC Markets · 56
  • AUSTRAC-registered, and holds no AFSL
  • 58% of its custody and regulation facts read as favourable
  • Operating since 2013
Digital Surge · 45
  • AUSTRAC-registered, and holds no AFSL
  • 42% of its custody and regulation facts read as favourable
  • Operating since 2017
61
Asset rangewhy
82
BTC Markets · 61
  • 43 assets listed
  • 52% of its what-you-can-trade facts read as favourable
  • Not every listed asset is reachable in AUD
Digital Surge · 82
  • 400 assets listed
  • 62% of its what-you-can-trade facts read as favourable
  • Not every listed asset is reachable in AUD
71
Features & supportwhy
87
BTC Markets · 71
  • 66% of its trading, support and tax facts read as favourable
  • Drawn from 24 sourced facts across three sections
  • Scored on what is documented, not on marketing claims
Digital Surge · 87
  • 82% of its trading, support and tax facts read as favourable
  • Drawn from 24 sourced facts across three sections
  • Scored on what is documented, not on marketing claims
Honours even, 3 pillars each. Scores are the desk's assessment of the evidence on this page, judged for an Australian buying in Australian dollars.
The Coindaily Score above ranks a venue globally: liquidity, cost and standing across every market it runs. The six pillars re-weight the same evidence for one specific job, an Australian funding an account in AUD. That is why a venue with a lower headline score can win pillars here. Full method on the exchanges table.

What a trade actually costs

Cost calculator

Three costs kept apart, because they are not the same thing: the published trading fee, the AUD conversion a venue with no AUD book forces on you, and the measured cost of crossing its order book. Click any route for the detail.

Scenario
RouteTrading feeAUD conversionCrossing the bookAll inOn A$1,000

Execution. Crosses its own AUD book, measured below.

Taker rate plus the measured cost of crossing the book.

Execution. Posting rather than taking avoids the crossing cost entirely.

You pay the maker rate and no spread, at the price of an uncertain fill.

Execution. Priced by quote, not a book. The margin is inside the rate you are shown.

A brokerage prices the spread into the quote, so the spread is the cost.

Execution. This platform publishes no route below its quoted price.

Where a platform runs a cheaper order book, it appears here. This one does not.

On A$1,000 bought and held, the lowest all in cost is Digital Surge · PayID, then buy at the quoted price at A$5.00, of which 0% is crossing the book, not fee. That is A$3.80 below the dearest default route.

The books behind those numbers

Both sides of both public books, walked 26 July 2026. Top order is the share of that side held by a single resting order: depth that is one order can leave. Anything above 25% of visible depth is marked too big rather than given a price it would not get.
VenueDepthTop orderA$1kA$5kA$10kA$25kA$50kA$100k
BTC Marketsbuying A$299k 21%0.030%0.030%0.030%0.075%0.093%too big
BTC Marketsselling A$126k 22%0.030%0.030%0.030%0.030%too bigtoo big
Trading fees are the platforms' own published rates. Crossing costs are walked from the live order book. The AUD conversion is the one figure here we cannot verify from a public book, so it is modelled from the exchanges table and marked with a dotted underline; it is also the number that decides the Binance result, so treat it as an estimate rather than a quote. It applies only from an AUD start: if you already hold USDT, ignore that column and Binance's cheap route is 0.075%. Posting a limit order avoids the crossing cost at the price of an uncertain fill. Network fees are excluded, they depend on the chain rather than the venue.

Which one is for you

Choose
BTC Markets
  • Twelve-plus years of continuous, incident-free AU operation
  • Real order book and local institutional support
  • Clean regulatory record
But go in knowing
  • 0.85% retail headline fee is the highest of the local books
  • ~30 assets only
  • Books are thinner than global venues - size orders accordingly
Choose
Digital Surge
  • Chose repayment over liquidation after FTX - rare follow-through
  • Simple, clean AU brokerage with good rails
  • Wide asset range for a small venue
But go in knowing
  • 2022 administration is a permanent counterparty-risk lesson
  • Brokerage spreads around 0.5% each way
  • Smallest scale of the platforms listed here
The call

For an AUD buy, Digital Surge. Past that it depends on what you are doing.

These two are scored here for one job: an Australian funding an account in Australian dollars. The pillars above re-weight the same evidence for that reader, which is why they can disagree with the global Coindaily Score.

Buying with Australian dollars
Digital Surge
Its default route lands at about 0.5% all in, against 0.85% on BTC Markets.
You want to trade against AUD directly
BTC Markets
We could walk its live AUD book. Digital Surge has none, so AUD converts first.
You want the stronger regulatory standing
BTC Markets
Scores 56 against 45 on licensing, custody and enforcement history.
You want the widest asset menu
Digital Surge
Scores 82 against 61 on how much is listed and reachable.
Tooling, tax reporting and support
Digital Surge
Scores 87 against 71 across trading features, support and tax.
What would change it

Order book depth is the least stable figure on this page and the easiest to re-check: the measurements here are a single snapshot. Fees and licence conditions change too, so click through to a source on any row that matters to your decision.

Common questions

Is BTC Markets or Digital Surge cheaper in Australia?

On the default route each one puts in front of you, Digital Surge. It lands at about 0.5% all in against 0.85%. Those figures are the published fee plus, where the platform has no AUD order book, the cost of converting Australian dollars first. Where we could walk a live book, the measured cost of crossing it is included too.

Which has better execution, BTC Markets or Digital Surge?

BTC Markets is the only one of the two with a public AUD order book we could measure. It shows a 0.060% touch spread with A$298,789 of asks inside 1% of mid. Digital Surge gives an Australian no AUD book to execute against, so the price you get is a quote or the result of a conversion.

Which is more regulated, BTC Markets or Digital Surge?

Both are on the AUSTRAC register. On our trust pillar, which weighs licensing, custody, audits and enforcement history from the sourced facts on each review, BTC Markets scores 56 and Digital Surge scores 45. AUSTRAC registration is anti-money-laundering registration, not a financial services licence, and it says nothing about whether your balance is protected.

Which lists more assets, BTC Markets or Digital Surge?

BTC Markets scores 61 and Digital Surge scores 82 on asset range, which counts what is listed and weighs how much of it is actually reachable in Australian dollars. A large catalogue priced only against USDT is worth less to an Australian buyer than a smaller one priced in AUD.

Can I use both BTC Markets and Digital Surge?

Yes, and plenty of Australians do: one platform as the AUD door, the other as the trading venue. Moving crypto between them costs a network fee, so it is only worth the extra step if the fee gap covers it. Both report to AUSTRAC and the ATO's data matching program either way.

Every fact we hold, side by side

All 159 researched facts from the BTC Markets and Digital Surge reviews, grouped by the ten sections both pages share. Rows are shown as each platform documents them rather than forced into shared labels, so nothing is re-interpreted on the way here. Every row keeps its own source.

Section
BTC Markets
Digital Surge
What it costsTrading fees, subscriptions, deposits and withdrawals 8 vs 8 facts
AUD deposit feePayID/Osko and direct bank transfer by BSB and account number are both listed as free on the published fee schedule.
FreePayID/Osko and bank transfer
$0Free for both PayID and standard bank transfer
AUD withdrawal feeWithdrawals to an Australian bank account held in your own name are free of charge, with no cap on how many you make.
Free
$0Digital Surge states there are no fees on AUD withdrawals
Crypto withdrawal feesFlat per-asset amounts rather than a percentage. Crypto deposits are free. Published examples include Bitcoin, Ethereum and the stablecoins.
0.0002 BTC, 0.005 ETH, 5 USDTFull table published per asset
0.00003 BTC, 0.00013 ETH, 1 USDT, 0.01 SOL, 0.2 XRPPublished on a live fee table that Digital Surge notes is subject to change
Exchange trading fee, AUD and USDT pairsA single percentage applied to both sides of the trade. There is no maker discount on AUD pairs - the same rate is charged whether you add or remove liquidity.
0.85% entry tierAll fees include GST for Australian residents
Volume tier scheduleTwenty tiers based on a rolling 30-day total of AUD and USDT trading volume across all trades. Volume is recalculated hourly and the rate is locked in when the order is created.
0.85% down to 0.10%0.10% applies above $5,000,000
What it takes to beat 0.50%The stale 0.85% headline is the entry rate only, but the discount curve is slow at the retail end. You need $70,000 of 30-day volume to reach 0.50% and $200,000 to reach 0.25%.
$70,000 per 30 daysFor the 0.50% tier
BTC-quoted pairsETH-BTC, LTC-BTC and XRP-BTC use a genuine maker-taker model with a maker rebate. These trades do not count towards your AUD and USDT volume tier.
-0.05% maker / 0.20% takerThree pairs only
Simple TradeThe beginner buy/sell flow charges no trading fee. Instead a spread is built into the quoted price, and BTC Markets does not publish what that spread is.
No fee, spread insteadSpread size not disclosed
Standard trading feeThe rate you pay before any volume discount kicks in. It applies to buys, sells and swaps.
0.5%Digital Surge describes 0.5% as the standard rate for users who have not reached a higher volume tier
Best advertised trading feeThe floor of the volume-based schedule, reached only by high volume traders.
0.1%The headline "fees from 0.1%" on the fees page is the bottom tier, not the rate a new account pays
How the discount worksFees step down automatically based on your trading volume, with nothing to opt into.
Rolling 30-day volumeAutomated volume-based fees were introduced in January 2026 and apply to buys, sells, swaps, trigger orders and recurring buys
Crypto to crypto swapsWhether swapping one coin for another costs you two trades or one.
Single trading feeDigital Surge charges one fee on a swap rather than a sell plus a buy
Card depositsWhether you can fund with a debit or credit card, which usually carries a surcharge.
Not offeredFunding is bank transfer, PayID or crypto only, so there is no card surcharge to worry about
Limits and the costs that hideSpreads, deposit caps and charges that do not appear on a fee page 8 vs 8 facts
Simple Trade spread is unpublishedThe terms of service confirm the spread is payable to BTC Markets as compensation and varies by market conditions, asset, order size and liquidity. No indicative range is given anywhere on the site.
Not disclosedVaries per order
OTC spread is disclosedUnusually for an Australian desk, BTC Markets publishes an indicative OTC spread band. There are no separate trading fees on OTC, the spread is the whole cost.
0.75% to 1.0%Quote is inclusive of spread
Card deposit feeThe fee schedule lists AUD deposits as free, but the card deposit guide tells you to review the fee shown at checkout. The percentage is never published.
Charged, amount not publishedShown only at checkout
Card deposit minimumCard deposits have a floor as well as a daily cap. Only Australian-issued Visa and Mastercard debit or credit cards in your own name are accepted.
$30 minimum
Daily deposit limits are not publishedNew accounts start on the lowest tier unless pre-arranged with onboarding. The actual dollar amounts are only visible inside your account, and raising them needs a request that may require extra documents.
Account-specific, undisclosedDeposits over the cap are delayed
AUD withdrawal limits are not published eitherAccounts open on the default minimum withdrawal tier. A higher limit requires a support ticket and you may be asked to justify it.
Support ticket to raise
Returned crypto deposit feeIf a crypto deposit cannot be completed and has to be sent back to an external wallet, a flat charge covers the network fee and reversal processing.
AU$10 or equivalent
Interest on your AUD balanceThe terms of service require you to waive any right to interest earned on fiat sitting in your account. BTC Markets keeps whatever the bank pays on customer money.
Retained by BTC MarketsYou waive the right
Fee tier tableThe volume thresholds that decide which fee you actually pay.
Not published publiclyThe help centre explains the mechanism but directs you to your own profile to see your current tier, so you cannot compare tiers before signing up
SpreadThe gap between the price you get and the market mid price. This is where brokerage-style platforms make quiet money.
Not quantifiedDigital Surge markets "tight spreads" and criticises rivals for hiding costs in spreads, but publishes no spread figure of its own
Crypto withdrawal fee is inclusiveHow the network fee is taken out of a send.
Deducted from the amount you enterEnter 0.05 BTC with a 0.00003 BTC fee and the destination receives 0.04997 BTC
Network fee mark-upWhether the withdrawal fee is the true chain cost or includes a margin.
Not disclosedDigital Surge shows the exact fee before you confirm but does not say whether it passes the network cost through at cost
Maximum single orderThe cap on one instant buy or sell.
Up to $100,000 AUD per transactionVaries by asset, and you can place as many instant orders as you like
Daily AUD limit, personal accountsHow much cash can move in or out of a personal account in a day.
$20,000 per dayApplies to both deposits and withdrawals
Daily AUD limit, corporate accountsThe higher cap for SMSF, business and trust accounts.
$50,000 per dayCovers SMSF, business and trust structures
Limit increase requestsThe rule that governs how often you can ask for more headroom.
One request per 30 daysYou can request either a limit increase or the enabling of crypto sends in a 30-day window, not both
What you can tradeAssets, Australian dollar pairs, staking and derivatives 8 vs 7 facts
Staking and earnThe staking page is explicit: BTC Markets cannot offer staking under the current Australian regulatory regime. The earlier Algorand rewards program was suspended for the same reason.
Not availableWithdrawn on regulatory grounds
Not part of the current feature setDigital Surge previously ran an Earn product, but staking does not appear among its listed trading features today. Confirm with support before relying on it
Tradeable assetsCounted live from the public markets endpoint. This is a deliberately narrow list next to the 400-plus menus at CoinSpot or Swyftx.
43 assets50 markets in total
Direct AUD pairsEvery single listed asset has a native AUD order book. Nothing is routed through a stablecoin or a conversion step, which is the core reason to use this exchange.
43 of 43100% AUD coverage
Non-AUD order booksA small number of crypto-quoted and stablecoin-quoted markets sit alongside the AUD books for traders who want to rotate without touching fiat.
3 BTC-quoted, 4 USDT-quoted
Algorand rewards endedThe one earn product BTC Markets did run was shut down when Algorand moved to a governance model the exchange said it could not support in Australia.
SuspendedNo replacement yet
DerivativesThe markets endpoint returns spot order books only. There are no perpetuals, futures, margin or leveraged products anywhere in the product set.
Spot onlyNo margin or leverage
Tokenised gold and AUDAn unusual corner of the listing set. Meld Gold and Tether Gold are gold-backed tokens, and Macropod is an AUD-denominated token, all with AUD order books.
MCAU, XAUT, AUDM
Minimum order sizesSet per market in base-asset units rather than as a flat dollar floor, and they are very small. Bitcoin and the majors can be bought in tiny fractions.
Per market, fractionalFor example 0.14 ADA, 0.005 AAVE
Assets listedHow many coins you can buy, sell and swap.
400 plusDigital Surge advertises over 400 cryptocurrencies across its site and help centre
Australian dollar pairsWhether you trade directly against AUD or have to route through a stablecoin.
Direct AUD buy and sell on listed assetsBuying converts AUD to crypto and selling converts crypto back to AUD without an intermediate leg
Crypto to crypto swapsDirect coin-for-coin trades without cashing out to AUD.
SupportedCharged as one trade rather than two
Asset categoriesHow the listings are grouped for browsing.
AI, DeFi, gaming, Layer 1, meme, metaverse, NFT, RWACategory browsing is built into the platform
Derivatives, margin and leverageWhether you can trade with borrowed money or take short positions.
Not offeredThe platform offers instant orders, trigger orders and recurring buys only
Fiat currencies acceptedWhich national currencies you can fund with.
Australian dollars onlyFunding is AUD via PayID or bank transfer, or a crypto transfer in
How your assets are heldCustody, reserves, insurance and self-custody 8 vs 8 facts
Proof of reservesThe regulation page sets out AUSTRAC registration, ADCA certification and ISO 27001, but no reserve attestation or Merkle-tree proof is published anywhere on the site.
Not publishedNo attestation found
None publishedNo proof of reserves report or third party attestation appears on the security page or elsewhere on the site
Custody modelFully custodial. BTC Markets describes it as a managed service and holds your coins for you, while recommending you withdraw to a personal wallet after purchase.
Custodial, exchange-heldSelf-custody encouraged
Third-party custodianBTC Markets has integrated BitGo, a regulated qualified custodian, for digital asset transaction processing and wallet infrastructure.
BitGoCCSS and SOC2 accredited
Cold storageThe terms of service commit BTC Markets to moving digital assets into and out of secure storage including cold storage under internal risk policies. No hot/cold split ratio is published.
Off-site cold wallet storageRatio not disclosed
How your AUD is heldCash sits with an Australian financial institution in BTC Markets' name or a third party's name. Critically, the terms let BTC Markets choose segregated or pooled accounts at its own discretion.
Segregated or pooled, at their discretionNot a client trust account
No commingling with company fundsWhichever structure is used, the terms commit BTC Markets to keeping records identifying assets attributable to each user and to not mixing its own money with customer money.
Contractually committed
Insurance for customersNo customer-facing insurance policy is offered. The terms disclaim liability for loss from cyberattack, unauthorised access or third-party failure except where caused by BTC Markets' own fraud or wilful misconduct.
None offeredBroad liability disclaimers
If the custodian failsWorth reading closely. Your claim is limited to a pro-rata share of whatever BTC Markets recovers from the custodian, after it first deducts its own legal, enforcement and adviser costs.
Pro-rata share of net recoveryRecovery costs deducted first
Who owns the coinsThe single most important line in the terms. It decides where you stand if the business fails.
Digital Surge holds legal titleThe terms state Digital Surge holds legal title to all fiat and digital assets it holds to your account
Segregation of client assetsWhether your holdings sit in an account identified as yours.
Not segregated per accountDigital Surge states account balances are not segregated on a per-account basis
Custodian statusWhether the platform holds itself out as a custodian or trustee for you.
Expressly not a custodianThe risk disclosure says Digital Surge does not provide custodial or fiduciary services and does not hold your digital assets for you or on your behalf
InsuranceWhether your holdings are covered by a policy if something goes wrong.
No insuranceDigital Surge tells users their digital assets are not insured and suggests they consider obtaining their own cover
Assurance FundAn internal pool intended to help cover a counterparty failure.
Exists, but is not insuranceHeld in Australian dollars, sized at Digital Surge's discretion from time to time, with no guarantee it will mitigate a loss
Storage modelHow the keys are actually managed day to day.
Majority cold storage, Fireblocks MPCA dual hot and cold wallet strategy with multi-party computation key management and annual external penetration testing
Self-custody withdrawalsWhether you can move coins to your own wallet.
Supported, fee per assetCrypto sends may need to be enabled on your account first, and that request counts against the one-per-30-days rule
Who can open an accountEntity types onboarded in Australia 8 vs 8 facts
IndividualThe standard retail account, open to Australian residents aged 18 and over with a valid government-issued ID.
Yes
YesThe default account type
SMSFA designated SMSF account type, kept separate from members' personal holdings, which matters for the annual audit. This is one of the platform's genuine differentiators.
YesDesignated SMSF account
YesA dedicated SMSF account type with its own onboarding path
Joint accountsNot listed among the four supported entity types and not covered anywhere in the help centre. Treat as unavailable until BTC Markets confirms otherwise.
Not listedUnconfirmed
Not listedDigital Surge's account types article names personal, SMSF, trust and business only
CompanyCompany accounts are onboarded, including corporate trustee structures used by self-managed super funds.
Yes
Family trustTrust accounts are explicitly listed among the supported entity types alongside individual, SMSF and company.
Yes
MinorsThe eligibility clause requires an individual to be at least 18 years of age. There is no minor or custodial account product.
No18 and over only
ResidencyAustralian residents only for standard onboarding. Non-residents must contact support and are accepted only as approved overseas users at BTC Markets' discretion.
Australian residentsOverseas by exception only
Identity verificationKYC runs through FrankieOne, with all customers screened against global sanctions and politically exposed person lists as part of AUSTRAC obligations.
FrankieOne, plus sanctions and PEP screening
TrustFamily and discretionary trusts trading in the trust's name.
YesSupports both individual and corporate trustees
Company or businessRegistered companies and organisations trading as a corporate entity.
YesRequires an ASIC company extract as part of verification
Minors and under 18sAccounts held for or by children.
Not listedNo minor or custodial account type appears in the supported list
SMSF paperworkWhat you need to hand over to get a fund account open.
Full trust deed, ABN, trustee proofDigital Surge states SMSF approvals are usually completed within 24 hours
Funding source ruleWhose bank account the money is allowed to come from.
Own name onlyThird party deposits are rejected and returned
Trading featuresOrder types, recurring buys, tooling and access 8 vs 8 facts
API accessA properly documented v3 REST API with batch order placement and client order IDs, plus WebSocket streaming and a FIX gateway. Free and public documentation.
REST v3, WebSocket and FIXFIX access is VIP Tier III
Read-only API keysDocumented for connecting tax and portfolio tools rather than for algorithmic trading
Order types on the exchangeA real trader's set for an Australian venue: market and limit plus three conditional types, all placed against a live AUD order book rather than a broker quote.
Market, limit, stop, stop limit, take profit
Trailing stopsNot among the documented order types. If you want a trailing exit you have to manage it manually or through the API.
Not offered
Stop orders are sell-onlyAn easy trap. The FAQ states stop orders are currently available only for sell orders, so you cannot use one to enter a long position on a breakout.
Sell side only
Advanced limit order controlsTime-in-force settings and a post-only flag let makers guarantee they never cross the spread, which matters on the BTC-quoted books where makers earn a rebate.
Time-in-force and post-only
Recurring buysDaily, weekly or monthly automated purchases with a chosen date, time and time zone. Available on the majority of major listed assets.
$10 minimum per buyDaily, weekly or monthly
Recurring buy ceilingThe cap is low enough to matter for anyone dollar-cost-averaging a meaningful amount. Above it you have to place orders manually or stack multiple schedules.
$1,000 maximum per buy
Mobile order typesThe app is a cut-down version of the web exchange. Stop and take-profit orders are web-only, so conditional exits cannot be set from your phone.
Market, limit and stop limit only
Instant ordersBuy or sell straight away at the best available price.
YesRouted through Digital Surge's smart routing rather than a public order book
Trigger ordersSet a price and let the platform execute when it is hit. Used for take profit and stop loss.
YesFunds are not locked while the trigger waits, and fees apply only to trades that actually fill
Recurring buys and DCAAutomatic scheduled purchases, the feature Digital Surge is best known for.
Yes, daily, weekly or monthlyCharged at the same volume-based trading fee as any other order
Limit orders on an order bookResting orders that add liquidity and usually earn a maker discount.
NoOnly instant orders, trigger orders and recurring buys exist, so there is no maker and taker distinction
Price alertsNotifications when an asset reaches a level you care about.
YesSet per asset and delivered automatically
ChartingThe quality of the price charts you get inside the app.
TradingView powered chartsListed as a feature of the mobile app
Demo or paper tradingA practice mode to learn on before risking real money.
Not offeredNo demo account appears in Digital Surge's trading features or education material
Money in and outMinimums, methods and settlement speed 8 vs 8 facts
PayID and OskoThe default funding route. Free and instant from any Australian bank account that supports Osko/NPP, using the PayID payments@btcmarkets.net plus your unique reference.
Free, instantFirst payment can take 24 hours
Bank transfer by BSBA direct deposit option using an account name, BSB, account number and reference. Fast if your bank supports fast payments, otherwise it is a business-days wait.
Free, 1 to 2 business daysFaster if your bank supports NPP
Card depositsAustralian-issued Visa and Mastercard debit or credit only, in your own name. International cards, Amex, JCB, crypto cards, prepaid and gift cards are all rejected.
Usually instantFee applies, amount unpublished
Third-party payments blockedDeposits are accepted only from a bank account in your own name. Paying in from a partner's or a company's account will not be credited.
Own accounts only
AUD withdrawalsFree domestic bank transfer to an Australian account in your name. If you hold only crypto you must sell to AUD first before any cash withdrawal is possible.
FreeYour own Australian bank account
Crypto withdrawals need manual enablingA real friction point. On Complete Trading Access accounts you must lodge a support ticket naming the destination wallet or exchange, its website and the public address before crypto withdrawals are turned on.
Support ticket requiredDestination details must be supplied
Seven-day withdrawal freeze after 2FA removalIf two-factor authentication is removed from your account, withdrawals are automatically disabled for seven days. Lifting it early needs a support ticket and identity checks.
7 daysAnti-takeover control
Travel Rule from 1 July 2026Now live. Every crypto withdrawal must carry the recipient's full legal name and whether they are an individual or non-individual. Nicknames or initials that do not match records will see the transfer rejected.
Beneficiary details mandatoryAUSTRAC requirement
PayID and Osko depositsThe fast rail for getting cash in.
Usually under 60 secondsSome banks may hold a first PayID deposit for up to 24 hours
Standard bank transferThe fallback if your bank does not do PayID.
1 to 2 business daysNear instant if your bank supports Osko or the New Payments Platform
Minimum depositThe smallest amount you can put in.
$20 AUDApplies to fiat deposits
Minimum AUD withdrawalThe smallest amount you can take out.
$20 AUDYour bank account links automatically after your first AUD deposit
AUD withdrawal speedHow long the cash takes to land back in your bank.
Instant on Osko and NPP banksUp to 24 hours where the bank does not support fast payments
First withdrawal delayA security hold applied the first time you cash out.
24 hour delayApplies to your first AUD withdrawal only
Cancelling a withdrawalWhether you can pull back a request after you send it.
Not possibleDigital Surge states withdrawals cannot be cancelled once submitted
Crypto depositsBringing coins in from an external wallet.
SupportedTiming depends on the blockchain network, and an AUD deposit is still needed to link your bank account
Tax and reportingWhat you get at tax time, and what you do not 8 vs 8 facts
No capital gains calculationsBTC Markets withdrew estimated taxable event reporting from 1 July 2022. It no longer estimates capital gains, losses or taxable income for you.
Discontinued in 2022
What you actually getTwo raw reports: an end-of-financial-year wallet balance snapshot and a full transaction history for the tax period. You or your accountant do the rest.
Wallet balance and transaction historyUnder Account then Reports for Tax
How far back reports goUseful for anyone reconstructing an old position. Both report types are available for every financial year from 2017/2018 onwards, and full transaction history runs from account opening.
Back to 2017/2018
End of financial year price listA genuinely handy extra. BTC Markets publishes the closing AUD price of every listed asset at 23:59:59 AEST on 30 June, with tables going back to 2015/2016.
Published every yearEleven financial years listed
KoinlySupported as a tax integration, with a BTC Markets discount code promoted each financial year for Australian customers.
Supported, with discount
Crypto Tax CalculatorAlso supported, with a promoted discount on paid plans. Generates ATO-compliant reports covering DeFi, staking and NFT activity from imported data.
Supported, with discount
SylaThe Australian-built option, and the one that matters most here because it handles company, trust and SMSF reporting - the entity types BTC Markets actually onboards.
Supported, with discountHandles SMSF and trust reporting
No tax adviceStated plainly and repeatedly. BTC Markets does not provide tax advisory services and directs you to a qualified adviser or the ATO.
None given
Capital gains reportWhether the platform itself works out what you owe.
Not produced in-platformDigital Surge relies on third party tax providers, and their full capital gains and income reports sit behind paid plans
Tax software integrationsWhich crypto tax tools you can connect to.
Koinly, Syla, Summ, CoinLedger, CoinTrackingConnect by read-only API key or CSV export. Summ was formerly Crypto Tax Calculator
EOFY prices statementA 30 June valuation of your holdings, useful for fund and company reporting.
Available to downloadDocumented as a standard end of financial year download
Transaction history exportThe raw data your accountant will ask for.
CSV, date range selectableAvailable alongside a downloadable account statement
BGL data sharingDirect feed into the SMSF administration software most Australian funds use.
SupportedA meaningful advantage for SMSF trustees over exchanges that require manual imports
Accountant accessLetting your adviser see the account without handing over your login.
Built-in data sharingCovers accountants and SMSF providers
Portfolio return trackingWhether the app shows realised as well as unrealised gains.
Both, and you choose the methodYou can set a preferred wallet return calculation
Australian tax guidancePlain English help on how the ATO treats crypto.
In-house guideCovers capital gains and treatment of staking rewards as income
Platform and supportApps, account security and how you reach a human 8 vs 8 facts
Mobile appsNative iOS and Android apps with deposits, Simple Trade, portfolio and profit-and-loss tracking. Device requirements are relatively aggressive.
iOS 17+ and Android 8+Australian app stores only
iOS and AndroidThe iOS app is published by Digital Surge Pty Ltd and rated 4.1 from 423 ratings on the Australian store
Two-factor authenticationTOTP authenticator apps only, such as Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator or Authy. There is no support for hardware security keys or passkeys.
Authenticator app onlyNo hardware key or passkey
Compulsory for all usersA second verification step is also required on withdrawals
Withdrawal address allowlistWorth knowing before you compare. Whitelisting of withdrawal addresses is listed as a VIP Tier I benefit, meaning it is tied to $500,000 of 30-day volume rather than being a standard retail control.
VIP tiers onlyNot a standard retail feature
App-level securitySix-digit PIN or device biometrics, auto-lock after two minutes idle or backgrounded, three PIN attempts before a full login, and enhanced MFA on withdrawals.
PIN, biometrics and auto-lock
How you reach supportTicket-based through the help centre. No phone number, live chat or published support hours appear anywhere on the site or the help centre.
Support ticketsNo published phone or chat
OTC desk hoursThe one part of the business with published hours and named human contact. Minimum trade size is AU$100,000, with no maximum, and settlement is same-day into your account.
9am to 5pm, Mon to FriAU$100,000 minimum
Security incident historyNo custody breach or loss of customer funds in twelve years. The one reported incident was a December 2020 privacy failure where a mass email exposed names and email addresses of about 270,000 users.
One 2020 privacy incidentNo funds lost
Bug bounty and status pageA responsible disclosure programme runs through the support page, and a public status page reports platform uptime and incidents.
Both published
Android appThe Google Play listing.
AvailablePublished under the package au.com.digitalsurge
Live chatThe fastest way to get a person.
365 days a yearAustralian-based team, with response times typically within a few minutes
Tickets and emailThe slower channel for anything that needs a paper trail.
24/7 ticket submissionAnswered by the same Australian support team
Phone and account managersWhether you can actually speak to someone.
Specialist appointments availableYou book a time with an account manager rather than calling a general hotline. The app listing also lists phone support
Withdrawal address controlsProtection against an attacker sending your coins somewhere new.
New addresses need email confirmation and 2FAYou can also restrict external transfers entirely, and accounts can be locked instantly if unauthorised access is detected
EducationLearning material for people new to crypto.
In-house guides hubBeginner guides on blockchain, research, strategy and portfolio diversification
Trust and regulationThe entity you are actually contracting with 8 vs 8 facts
Legal entityAn Australian private company registered since June 2013 and GST-registered, with its main business location in Victoria, postcode 3121, in inner Melbourne.
BTC Markets Pty Ltd, ACN 164 093 887ABN 45 164 093 887
Digital Surge Pty Ltd, ACN 620 473 109ABN 89 620 473 109, an active Australian private company registered in Queensland since July 2017
AUSTRAC registrationA registered digital currency exchange operating under Australian AML/CTF law, with mandatory KYC, ongoing due diligence and suspicious matter reporting.
Registered DCE
Registered, number 100576214Stated in Digital Surge's own terms and conditions
The exchange does not hold the AFSLThis is the detail most comparisons get wrong. BTC Markets Pty Ltd is an authorised representative, number 1297122, of a separate licensee. The trading entity is not itself licensed.
Authorised representative onlyAR No. 1297122
Who holds the licenceThe AFSL sits with a sister company, not the exchange. Both entities are under the same group but they are legally distinct.
BTCM Payments Limited, AFSL 525840ACN 643 241 829
What the AFSL actually coversExactly the pattern seen across Australian crypto exchanges. The licence covers non-cash payment products and general advice. Buying and selling spot crypto on the order book sits outside it.
Non-cash payments and general adviceNot spot crypto trading
External dispute resolutionInternal complaints are answered within 10 business days. Unresolved matters can be escalated to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority as the external ombudsman.
AFCA memberEscalation after 30 days
Independent certificationsISO 27001 for information security management, audited by BSI, plus gold certified membership of the Australian Digital Commerce Association assessed by independent audit.
ISO 27001 and ADCA goldBSI certificate IS 737848
Track recordFounded 2013 and continuously operating since, now reporting over 362,000 Australian traders and $28 billion traded. No ASIC enforcement action against BTC Markets was found.
Operating since 2013362,000+ traders, $28B traded
Australian Financial Services LicenceWhether the platform is licensed by ASIC to deal in financial products.
No AFSLThe terms state Digital Surge does not hold or operate under an AFSL and does not offer financial advice. AUSTRAC registration is an anti money laundering measure, not consumer protection
Voluntary administration, December 2022The event that matters most in this platform's history.
Administrators appointed 8 December 2022Digital Surge froze customer accounts from 16 November 2022 with roughly A$33m of customer-related assets trapped in the FTX collapse. About 22,000 to 22,500 customers were affected. KordaMentha was appointed administrator
Deed of company arrangementThe rescue deal creditors voted for instead of liquidation.
Approved January 2023, signed 15 February 2023Creditors voted it up with about 90% support, backed by a A$1.25m loan from related business Digico. The exchange resumed trading rather than being wound up
What customers actually got backThe recovery rate, which is the number that matters. Customers were not made whole.
Estimated 55% of claim value, plus the rest over five yearsATO class ruling CR 2024/50 records that the DOCA provided customers and unsecured trade creditors an estimated 55% of the AUD value of their claim as at 8 December 2022. Balances under A$250 were repaid in full. The remainder was to be paid from company profits over five years
Where the DOCA stands nowWhether the company is still under external administration.
DOCA terminated, claims moved to a Creditors' TrustOn termination Digital Surge was released from participating creditors' claims and each creditor became a beneficiary of a Creditors' Trust instead. The trading company is no longer in external administration
Ownership todayWho controls the business now.
Privately held, Australian owned and operatedBrisbane based and still run by its founders. It was not acquired or absorbed by a larger group after the administration
Checked on 26 July 2026. 13 facts happened to line up by name and are shown as single rows; the rest sit in each platform's own column. Hover a row: src opens the primary document, flags that platform's value as wrong.
VisitBTC Marketsbtcmarkets.net VisitDigital Surgedigitalsurge.com.au
Registrations, licences, fees and product availability change. Check the current AUSTRAC Virtual Asset Service Provider Register and each platform's own disclosures before depositing. This page is general information only, not financial advice, and contains modelled figures where a platform does not publish a rate. Coindaily may earn a commission from links marked as such - it never changes the ranking or the data.

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