Bitcoin Acquisition Guide, Australia and New Zealand Focused (AUD/NZD)

Hello all!

I haven't come across any succinct yet informative guides on buying Bitcoin [BTC] with AUD or NZD yet, so I threw together a summary table and some thoughts about each underneath.

If you’re looking to get into BTC or cryptocurrency trading, or just want some BTC, then this info should definitely help (if you have USD you can go straight to the big exchanges [https://steemit.com/exchange/@browncow/comparison-of-fees-of-the-major-exchanges-and-choosing-which-ones-to-use-an-exposition-of-monopoly]). The table below has the main bitcoin exchanges that deal with AUD:

What all this means-
Deposit (AUD) cost = the amount of AUD it costs to initially transfer (ie deposit) AUD onto that particular exchange site.

Deposit (BTC) cost = the amount it costs in AUD to initially transfer (ie deposit) BTC onto that particular exchange site, I'm essentially highlighting the fact that none of them have an extra charge for depositing BTC onto their site (for when you might want to change BTC back into AUD).

Buy (BTC from AUD) fee = This is the probably the main determinant in choosing which site to use, this fee is a percentage that the site will take for changing AUD into BTC; e.g if buying $1000 AUD of BTC from the 'CoinTree' exchange, with a 3% buy fee, they will take $30 of your whole transaction, meaning you will only end up with $970 worth of BTC. The red font percentages in the table is what will often apply if you're not trading large amounts.

Bonus money for you/me! = essentially referral links that give you/me some extra money for using the links (only added to the table so people who just save the table as an image can realise these exist and reap these extra benefits too).

Buy Altcoins (from AUD) = a trading percentage fee for buying altcoins (ie. coins that are not BTC) with AUD straight from a particular exchange.

Trading fee (BTC to Altcoin) = a trading percentage fee for buying altcoins with BTC, or buying BTC with altcoins.

Sell (BTC to AUD) fee = a trading percentage fee for selling your BTC and turning it back into AUD.

Transfer (to another place/wallet) = Amount of BTC it costs to transfer your BTC into another exchange site or into a wallet.

Withdraw (AUD) fee = Amount it costs in AUD to transfer AUD from the exchange site into an Australian bank

Exchange Summaries:

1. BTCMarkets- Has a fair BTC buy fee (~0.85%), and you're able to trade at a pretty good fee (~0.22%), but limited altcoins. Site has good rep., also you need to go through verification procedures that include an Aus Post letter delivery (takes time but creates good security).
   https://www.btcmarkets.net/home

2. CoinTree- Has a high buy fee (3%), but everything else is free. Has built in 'shapeshift'.
   https://www.cointree.com.au/

3. Independent Reserve- My personal preference, very good rep., very low AUD to BTC buying fee (~0.5%), however can’t trade between Altcoins (but it’s a better option for basically all of these to just buy the BTC then transfer to a major exchange to buy altcoins). Only minor inconvenience is need ID verification and that it’s transfer fee is 0.0001BTC higher than most (~$0.60 AUD). NZ can use this exchange or the Cryptopia Exchange (https://www.cryptopia.co.nz/Register?referrer=walkerk).
   https://www.independentreserve.com?invite=BJSTEF

4. CoinSpot- Pretty high AUD to BTC buy fee (2-3%) and high BTC to AUD fees. However, the website is very easy to use, and it’s a relatively easy to get verified and start using, and also an easy way of immediately getting various Altcoins. Also needs ID and custom photo verification.
   https://www.coinspot.com.au?affiliate=RK95E

5. CoinJar- Very easy to set up, multiple real world currency, only deals with BTC, has cash/BTC/Hedged accounts all within your own account. Has standard Buy/Sell fees, however also has really interesting ‘Jar Points’, essentially rewards for using their website. If you go via link below, you’ll get 500 Jar Points and I’ll earn some too, they can be used to pay for transactions on their website OR for real life goods via their exchange (includes gift cards, hard wallet, charity donations, various technologies, and other good).
   https://www.coinjar.com/_ref/@walkerk

6. CoinBase- Great option to get BTC straight away, can just use VISA/Master card, least detailed ID verification of them all, very easy to use website. However, 4% transaction fee for AUD (highest of them all) and $300 weekly cap. Saying that, using the link below it will give you and bonus $10 AUD in BTC when you spend over $100 (and it will help me out a bit too), so if you're only buying a relatively small amount, the free $10 will likely make the 4% transaction fee negligible.
   https://www.coinbase.com/join/59c05323b2ed9602d16a8457

NB:
- It is almost definitely more economical to buy BTC from one of the above exchanges, then transfer it to a more widely used exchange [follow steemit link below] to buy altcoins.
- If you have NZD then sadly only a couple of the above exchanges deal with NZD so it may probably be best to go straight to Cyptopia [https://www.cryptopia.co.nz/Register?referrer=walkerk]; it's the largest exchange that incorporates NZD and only has a 0.2% trading/buying BTC fee, so very economical)
- The major exchange sites and their fees and reviewed here: https://steemit.com/exchange/@browncow/comparison-of-fees-of-the-major-exchanges-and-choosing-which-ones-to-use-an-exposition-of-monopoly

Thanks all for reading through, I'll answer any questions as quick and as best as I can (and update the table with any new info that I'm made aware).

Happy Buying and Trading!