Where & How to Buy USD Coin (USDC) in Australia for Beginners in 2025

Use our step-by-step guide to learn how and where to buy USD Coin in Australia on 5+ highly rated crypto platforms.
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Updated on Jul 11, 2024
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You can buy USD Coin in Australia via a cryptocurrency exchange. It takes just a few minutes to buy USD Coin this way. Follow our quick step guide for Australian investors and compare the best places to buy USD Coin in Australia below.

How to buy USD Coin from Australia quickly in 3 steps

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To buy USD Coin from Australia, you need a smartphone or a computer and an internet connection. It takes 10-15 minutes the first time and you should have some photo ID to hand. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1. Sign up to a crypto platform

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We’ve ranked Coinbase as the best crypto platform in Australia to get started with. Alternatively, here are several other platforms that allow you to buy USD Coin from Australia.

We found 14 crypto platforms for users based in

Coinbase review
4.2
Coinbase
Min. Deposit $10
Fees Up to 0.6%
No. assets 150+
Demo account No

Coinbase review

Kraken review
3.9
Kraken
Min. Deposit $10
Fees 0.10% – 0.26%
No. assets 90+
Demo account Yes

Kraken review

Uphold review
4.3
Uphold
Min. Deposit $1
Fees $0.99
No. assets 250+
Demo account Yes

Uphold review

Terms Apply. Cryptoassets are highly volatile. Your capital is at risk.

Australian exchanges have to be registered with AUSTRAC in order to operate and comply with Australian regulations. We only recommend platforms which are registered in order to protect you from frauds and scams.

Typically, it’s a good idea to go with a locally-registered exchange anyway. That way you can be sure the exchange is in compliance with local laws, and it’s much more likely to accept AUD deposits and accept local payment methods.

 

Step 2. Deposit AUD

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Add Australian Dollars via a card payment, bank transfer or an alternative payment method. You can start with as little as $100 AUD on most services.

Step 3. Purchase USDC token

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Locate the search box and type USDC. Once you locate the coin trading page, enter how much money you want to spend and hit ‘trade now’.

Now you own USD Coin tokens! Not a big deal, right?

Where can I buy USD Coin?

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The overall best platform to buy USD Coin for beginners in Australia is Coinbase .

Here are the top five places to buy USD Coin from Australia, ranked according to their simplicity for beginners, fees, customer reviews, and safety ratings.

  1. Coinbase: Best secure trading platform for all types of trader
  2. Kraken: Best for simple, global cryptocurrency trading from your phone
  3. Uphold: Best for building long term wealth
  4. KuCoin: Best social trading altcoin exchange
  5. Bybit: Best crypto exchange for derivatives & margin trading

Read more about how we rate, rank and review platforms.

Best Australian exchanges to buy USD Coin (USDC), reviewed

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We found 14 crypto platforms for users based in

1. Coinbase. Best secure trading platform for all types of trader

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4
Ratings

$10

Min. deposit

Up to 0.6%

Fees

200

No. assets

No

Demo account

Overview

We love Coinbase because it’s the leading public crypto platform. Coinbase offers more than 170 cryptocurrencies to trade, a secure wallet to store your coins in, and automatic staking rewards on 10+ cryptos through Coinbase Earn.

Coinbase’s user-friendly platform simplifies the buying, selling, and trading processes, making it one of the top crypto exchanges for all levels of trader. But, Coinbase isn’t just an easy to use platform, it’s one of the safest and most secure. 

A public company brings transparency and renown, so you can trust that any money on Coinbase is safe and you’re sharing the platform with over 100 million other users. It stores 98% of customer assets offline in cold storage, minimizing the risk of theft. There is also insurance on all cash balances up to $250,000

The fees: Trading fees start from 0.6% but reduce the higher your trading volume. Bank transfer deposits and withdrawals are free, other payment methods may be charged. There is no fee for wallet-to-wallet crypto transactions but you will have to pay blockchain fees. Coinbase charges a 25% fee for its staking services.

Highlights

Fees & Costs

Pros & Cons

2. Kraken: Best for simple, global cryptocurrency trading from your phone

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3.5
Ratings

$10

Min. deposit

0.10% – 0.26% (volume dependent)

Fees

90

No. assets

Yes

Demo account

Overview

We love Kraken because it’s a beginner-friendly crypto trading platform, one that’s designed to make it quick and convenient to buy and sell crypto on the go. The Kraken mobile app provides access to over 200 cryptocurrencies making it one of the most diverse platforms around. 

With an intuitive interface and many advanced features, the Kraken crypto app is suitable for those just starting, or experienced traders wanting to enhance their trading experience. The Kraken mobile app caters to different trading styles and preferences with spot, margin, and futures all available. 

Kraken’s mobile app also supports up to 5:1 leverage allowing you to amplify your position and potentially increase your returns. With such a wide selection of tokens available and a solid range of features and tools, the Kraken app is one of the top cryptocurrency trading platforms while on the go. 

The fees: Kraken charges a fee of between 0-0.26% on every crypto trade. There are no costs to set up an account and no flat trading fees.

Highlights

Fees & Costs

Pros & Cons

3. Uphold. Best for building long term wealth

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4
Ratings

$1

Min. deposit

$0.99

Fees

300

No. assets

Yes

Demo account

Overview

We love Uphold because it’s a regulated and transparent digital asset platform. Uphold is an excellent platform for discovering important new tokens early, making it ideal for investors looking to get in on the ground floor of emerging cryptocurrencies. 

Uphold offers a broad selection of coins, with over 250 tokens available catering to both seasoned and novice crypto traders. The platform regularly adds new assets allowing users to invest in promising projects before they gain mainstream attention. 

Uphold isn’t just a platform for investing early. One of the main advantages of using Uphold is its transparent and competitive fee structure. The platform does not charge for deposits or withdrawals, and trading fees are clearly stated. You can also trade between different asset classes including fiat currencies. 

The fees: Crypto spreads start from 0.9% and are usually lower than 1.3% for BTC and ETH. Other cryptocurrency spreads are higher. Average spreads on fiat currency are 0.2%. There is a $0.99 fee for transactions under $100 made with the Uphold card.

Highlights

Fees & Costs

Pros & Cons

Terms Apply. Cryptoassets are highly volatile. Your capital is at risk.

4. KuCoin. Best social trading altcoin exchange

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4
Ratings

$-

Min. deposit

Fees

No. assets

No

Demo account

Overview

We love KuCoin because it’s a great place for beginners to trade more than 700 altcoins. Kucoin offers a vast range of cryptocurrencies including all the big names like Bitcoin and Ethereum, together with hundreds of altcoins and newly released tokens. 

The exchange gives you multiple ways to trade and invest in crypto, including spot trading, futures trading, margin trading, and staking. This choice allows you to choose the method that best suits your trading strategies and risk tolerance. 

Kucoin is a top platform for both beginners and experienced traders. Its intuitive interface is easy to get to grips with and its advanced trading features mean even high volume traders can make use of it. Kucoin also offers an earn feature, where you can generate passive income through staking and lending, making it one of the best all round crypto exchanges. 

The fees: Trading fees are charged on a sliding scale. Fees are 0.1% on trading volumes below 50 BTC in a 30 day period. Discounts are available if you pay fees in KCS or store more than 1000 KCS in your account.

Highlights

Pros & Cons

5. Bybit: Best crypto exchange for derivatives & margin trading

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bybit_logo
4
Ratings

$10

Min. deposit

0.1000%

Fees

100

No. assets

Yes

Demo account

Overview

We love Bybit because it offers a range of advanced trading tools and competitive rates on crypto derivatives. It’s a rapidly growing crypto exchange, perfect for experienced traders looking for leveraged trading opportunities.

Boasting a wide range of crypto products, from buying and selling to staking and borrowing, Bybit is at the forefront of the next generation of crypto services, shaking up the traditional financial system and offering different ways to put your crypto to good use.

Bybit is primarily designed for more advanced traders, with integrated charts from TradingView that allow for extensive technical analysis across 100+ indicators. It’s highly secure, too, with regulatory approval in Europe and the Middle East, and it offers a comprehensive service to users around the world (except the US).

The fees: Fees are charged through a maker and taker system, so that there are cheaper fees to those who provide liquidity. ByBit’s fees start from 0.020% for makers and 0.055% for takers, which are highly competitive and match them up to any of the big players in the exchange game.

Highlights

Fees & Costs

Pros & Cons

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Yes, it’s completely legal to buy, sell, or trade USD Coin in Australia. The Australian government is relatively crypto friendly. Though it has put in place some money laundering regulations (known as AML) and provided warnings about crypto as a highly volatile investment, it has taken a hands-off approach to crypto regulation in general.

These regulations are enforced through AUSTRAC, a government agency which keeps exchanges in line. Exchanges must be licensed in order to operate in Australia, and that license ensures they comply with Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) regulations.

You can search the AUSTRAC database to find out whether your exchange is registered, or you can simply search for the exchange name and ‘AUSTRAC’ online and get the information you need.

What is the best way to pay for USD Coin (USDC)?

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The simplest way to buy USD Coin cryptocurrency in Australia is with your bank card. However, you can make a deposit in other ways, though there are fewer options if you want to make a deposit in AUD. Here are some of the top ways to pay for USDC.

  • Buy USD Coin with a credit card or debit card. Card payments are convenient and instantaneous but you may have to pay a higher fee to make a deposit this way, or it simply may not be available. Binance, for instance, charges a 2% fee to buy crypto with AUD and you can’t make a withdrawal in that currency.
  • Buy USDC with bank transfer. A bank transfer is usually the cheapest way to buy crypto. Crypto platforms like Crypto.com and Coinbase do not charge for bank transfer deposits, while Binance only charges a $1 fee, and these transactions are more or less instant. However, some banks might limit how much you can invest in crypto. For example, last year Commonwealth Bank put a limit of AUD $10k per month on crypto purchases.
  • Alternative payment methods. Crypto brokers often let you buy USDC and pay with other providers or international money transfer services, like Neteller, PayID, Poli, or Payoneer. The options vary by broker, though, so check what’s accepted before you sign up.

How to trade USDC

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You can trade USD Coin on a Australian cryptocurrency exchange using a few simple steps.

Here’s a quick example that clearly lays out how USDC crypto trading works. Most crypto trading uses USD as a base currency, rather than AUD, so we’ll use that for our example:

  1. Monitor the price: For simplicity, let’s say the price of USDC/USDT is $1. You read the price charts and decide that now is a good time to start purchasing USDC.
  2. Open a trade: You trade one USDT for one USDC ($1 USD for 1 USDC).
  3. Continue to monitor the price: The following month, one USDC token is now worth $2, a 100% increase.
  4. Close your trade: You trade your USDC token back to USDT for $2.

In this example, you buy and sell USD Coin, doubling your money (trading). While the steps are simple, executing them in a profitable way is not so easy. You need to spend countless hours learning to trade in order to be successful.

How do I store USD Coin (USDC) in Australia?

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Most Australian crypto investors keep their crypto on the exchange they used to buy it. If you plan to hold onto it for only a little while, that’s a perfectly acceptable option. If you want to hold it for years or you own a lot of USD Coin, you should move it to a crypto wallet.

A crypto exchange is similar to a bank account, in that it means trusting a company to protect your funds for you. A wallet is like your personal wallet, or a safe, where you take responsibility for it yourself. Crypto wallets are available wherever you are in the world, they don’t suffer from the same geographic restrictions as an exchange or trading platform might.

Two of the best USD Coin wallets for Australia, or anywhere else in the world, are MetaMask and the Ledger Nano S.

Is now a good time to buy USD Coin?

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The answer depends on the current USDC/AUD price and your own investment goals. Put simply, buying USD Coin, selling USD Coin, and trading USDC are all the exact same process in literal terms. It’s really just your personal investing intentions that defines whether ‘now’ is a good time to invest or not.

  • If you’re a trader: as a cryptocurrency trader, your goal is to make money trading regularly. What do we mean by regularly? Hourly, daily, weekly. Traders buy and sell a coin quickly to secure their profit (or to avoid a loss). They don’t #HODL a coin long term in the hopes of larger profits. In this sense, any time is a good time to trade USD Coin.
  • As a long-term investor: a long term investor is not concerned if the price is up or down 10% on any given day. Rather, they care that the price of the native token is overall up months or years later, when they’re ready to sell that investment. So if you’re a firm believer in the foundations of USDC, then a good time to purchase USD Coin is on any major dip.

In our experience, most newcomers to the crypto market sit between the two. You don’t want to wait several years for a return, but buying USD Coin and selling it the next day probably isn’t why you’re here either.

How has USD Coin (USDC) performed this year?

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The current USD Coin price today is $1.00, which is -57.44% versus its all time high of $2.35, which it reached on 16 November 2021. USDC is -0.02% this year, with a 52 week high of $1.00 and a 52 week low of $1.00. 

Regardless, closely following USD Coin price news & analysis will help you decide when to pull the trigger.

FAQs

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01

Can I buy USD Coin for fiat?

02

What is the best way to buy USD Coin in Australia?

03

Which Australian bank is the most crypto-friendly?

04

Where can I buy USDC with AUD?

05

Do I have to pay tax on crypto in Australia?


Sources & references

James Knight

James Knight

Editor of Education

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James is the lead editor of education for Invezz. He's an avid trader and golfer, who spends an inordinate amount of time watching Leicester City and the Jacksonville Jaguars. His biggest claim to fame is that he once fed, rode, and ate an ostrich all on the same day....