The Rock Published terms for Digital Surge
Product covered Digital Surge buy, sell and swap.
Fee tier Standard rate: 30-day trading volume up to A$100,000.
What we checked on Digital Surge
- Spot fee schedule: Digital Surge buy, sell and swap, Standard rate: 30-day trading volume up to A$100,000, checked 22 October 2026. Provider fee page
- Register lookup: AUSTRAC Virtual Asset Service Provider Register, 22 October 2026: listed, current. Entity: Digital Surge Pty Ltd, ABN 89620473109. Register
- Register lookup: ASIC Australian Financial Services Licensee and Representative Registers (ASIC datasets on data.gov.au), 22 October 2026: not found. Entity: Digital Surge Pty Ltd. Register
- Regulatory and reputation screen: 22 October 2026. Methodology
Not checked: opening an account, deposits, withdrawals, live orders and customer support.
Who checked this page: our research process, in which an AI language model works from the sources listed and automated checks compare figures with those sources. No named person has reviewed this page.
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Digital Surge pros and cons
Pros
- Listed on AUSTRAC's Virtual Asset Service Provider Register with no conditions shown (searched 22 October 2026)
- One trading fee of 0.5% on each buy, sell or swap, with volume discounts down to 0.10% above A$5 million of 30-day volume
- PayID and bank transfer deposits and AUD withdrawals carry no fee on the published fees
- A crypto-to-crypto swap is a single trading fee, not a sell plus a buy
- Digital Surge says it uses cold storage and Fireblocks MPC technology, and that SMS verification on every withdrawal cannot be switched off (company statements)
Cons
- Digital Surge entered voluntary administration on 8 December 2022 after the FTX collapse; under the deed of company arrangement recorded by the ATO, customers with more than A$250 in their accounts on that date were paid 57% of their claims up front, with the deed providing for further payments from a share of net profits
- Custodial: the terms say Digital Surge holds legal title to customers' fiat and digital assets, and that balances are not segregated per account
- Prices include the live spread, which is not listed as a separate rate, so the 0.5% fee is not the whole cost
- No AFS licence or authorised representative appointment on ASIC's datasets for the operator (downloaded 22 October 2026)
- No audit of reserves or proof-of-reserves report found on the pages we checked (22 October 2026)
Who runs Digital Surge and what it offers
Digital Surge is a cryptocurrency exchange operated by Digital Surge Pty Ltd, ABN 89 620 473 109. ABN Lookup shows the ABN active since 15 July 2017, with a main business location in postcode QLD 4000, and the AUSTRAC register shows a Brisbane address. Digital Surge says it was founded in 2017 by Josh Lehman and Dan Rutter as a Bitcoin-only exchange, has stayed under the same Australian ownership, and serves 50,000+ customers, a company figure. Its site lists 400+ cryptocurrencies to buy, sell and swap, recurring buys, trigger orders, and SMSF and business accounts. The terms say the services are only available to residents of Australia, with Digital Surge keeping a discretion to admit others, are designed for people 18 or older, and that under-18s may use them only with a parent's or guardian's consent.
Digital Surge Pty Ltd is listed on the AUSTRAC VASP register with no conditions shown, as we searched the register on 22 October 2026. ASIC's current AFS licensee and AFS representative datasets hold no row for Digital Surge Pty Ltd, so no AFS licence or authorised representative appointment is on record for the operator.
The standard trading fee is 0.5%, and the live spread is included in the price. Our arithmetic puts the trading fees on a A$1,000 Bitcoin buy and a later A$1,000 sell, both at the standard rate, at A$10.00.
On custody, the terms say Digital Surge holds legal title to customer fiat and crypto, and the security page says most crypto is in cold storage managed with Fireblocks MPC. We found no audit of reserves or proof-of-reserves report on the pages we checked on 22 October 2026. The terms say balances are not segregated per account, assets are held on other exchanges, and a counterparty failure can be apportioned across customer accounts. ATO Class Ruling CR 2024/50 records that Digital Surge entered voluntary administration on 8 December 2022 after transferring assets to FTX under a broker agreement, and exited through a deed of company arrangement on 15 February 2023.
How popular is Digital Surge in Australia?
Search interest shows how often Australians search for each brand. It measures attention, not quality.
- 1,310
- Brand searches, September 2026
- 0.0%
- vs August 2026
- 0
- Login searches
- 0.3%
- Share of all searches
Source: Google search volume, Australia, September 2026. How we measure it
Digital Surge worked example on buying and selling A$1,000 of Bitcoin
Inputs come from the Digital Surge fees page and help centre, checked 22 October 2026. No account was opened and no order was placed. The live spread is not included because Digital Surge says prices include it and lists no spread rate.
Inputs
- Deposit A$1,000 by PayID or bank transfer (free)
- Buy A$1,000 of Bitcoin at the standard 0.5% rate
- Later sell A$1,000 of Bitcoin at 0.5%
- Withdraw the AUD to an Australian bank account (free)
Fees on each step
| Step | Route | Published fee | Fee on this step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit | PayID or bank transfer | Free | A$0.00 |
| Buy | Standard rate | 0.5% | A$5.00 |
| Sell | Standard rate | 0.5% | A$5.00 |
| Swap (alternative to the sell) | Single trading fee on a crypto-to-crypto swap | 0.5% | A$5.00 |
| Withdrawal | AUD to an Australian bank account | Free | A$0.00 |
| Total | Buy plus sell before the spread | 0.5% twice | A$10.00 |
Our arithmetic leaves out the live spread, which Digital Surge says is included in its prices. It leaves out the network fee for sending Bitcoin to an external wallet, which Digital Surge says it passes through at cost. It also leaves out any change in the Bitcoin price between the buy and the sell. The arithmetic uses the standard 0.5% rate; the first discount, 0.45%, starts above A$100,000 of 30-day volume, recalculated daily.
Fee arithmetic sources checked 22 October 2026
- Trading fee and spread: Digital Surge fees page
- Volume discounts: Volume based trading fees, Digital Surge help centre
- AUD deposit and withdrawal fees: Fees on Digital Surge, Digital Surge help centre
Digital Surge spot trading fees and volume discounts
Digital Surge charges one fee on each buy, sell or swap, at a standard rate of 0.5%. The help centre's volume-based trading fees article, dated 25 February 2026, sets discounts by 30-day AUD trading volume: 0.5% up to A$100,000; 0.45% from A$100,001 to A$250,000; 0.40% from A$250,001 to A$500,000; 0.35% from A$500,001 to A$750,000; 0.30% from A$750,001 to A$1,000,000; 0.25% from A$1,000,001 to A$2,000,000; 0.20% from A$2,000,001 to A$3,500,000; 0.15% from A$3,500,001 to A$5,000,000; and 0.10% above A$5,000,000. The tier is recalculated daily and can move up or down.
The fees page says a crypto-to-crypto swap is a single fee, recurring buys and trigger orders are charged at the same trading fee as a standard order, and the live spread is included in the displayed price. Digital Surge's marketing figure "from 0.1%" is the top-volume tier. The fees page says its figures are correct as at July 2026, and we checked the pages on 22 October 2026.
| Recorded fee | Rate per executed order |
|---|---|
| Trade fee | 0.5% |
Digital Surge buy, sell, swap, trigger and recurring orders at the standard rate; lower rates apply above A$100,000 of 30-day volume. Excludes crypto withdrawal network fees.
Provider fee information · Schedule checked .
Digital Surge regulation and safety
Digital Surge is registered with AUSTRAC for anti-money laundering purposes, and no AFS licence for its operator appears on ASIC's datasets. Its terms say it holds legal title to customers' fiat and crypto, that balances are not segregated per account, and that it holds digital assets on other exchanges from time to time. A registration is not a guarantee: AUSTRAC registration concerns anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations, and the terms say a counterparty failure can be apportioned across customer accounts.
AUSTRAC registration and the ASIC record
Digital Surge appears on the AUSTRAC Virtual Asset Service Provider Register with the legal name DIGITAL SURGE PTY LTD, ABN 89620473109, and no conditions shown (we searched the register on 22 October 2026). Digital Surge's site footer shows AUSTRAC provider number 100576214. AUSTRAC has regulated virtual asset service providers since 2018, and says the public register lists all registered providers, according to an AUSTRAC article dated 30 June 2026. ASIC's AFS licensee and representative datasets, downloaded on 22 October 2026, hold no row for Digital Surge Pty Ltd. We found no Digital Surge entry on AUSTRAC's enforcement actions page or its virtual asset registration actions page on 22 October 2026.
The 2022 administration and the deed of company arrangement
ATO Class Ruling CR 2024/50 records the 2022 events, and the ruling says its description is based on information provided by the applicant. Under a broker agreement, Digital Surge transferred assets into the control of FTX Trading Ltd and FTX Australia Pty Ltd. On 11 November 2022, FTX Trading Ltd was placed into bankruptcy in the United States and FTX Australia into voluntary administration. On 8 December 2022, Digital Surge was placed into voluntary administration.
On 24 January 2023, creditors resolved on a deed of company arrangement. On 15 February 2023 the deed was executed, a Creditors' Trust was settled and the deed terminated, ending the administration. On 17 February 2023, customers whose account value on 8 December 2022 was A$250 or less were paid their claims in full, and other customers were paid 57% of their claims, in crypto, fiat or both. The deed provides for further quarterly payments from a share of net profits until claims are paid in full; the ruling does not record how far those payments have progressed.
None of the Digital Surge pages we checked on 22 October 2026, including the home, about, security, fees, help centre and terms pages, mentions the administration. The about page says the company has stayed under the same Australian ownership since 2017. The administrators' own reports were not available to us.
Custody and the terms
Digital Surge's terms say the coins are held in wallets it controls, with part of them on other exchanges (terms). The terms say Digital Surge holds legal title to all fiat currency and digital assets held to a customer's account, and that no account balances are segregated on a per-account basis. The terms say Digital Surge holds digital assets on other exchanges to offer its prices and is exposed to their failure. On a Counterparty Failure, the terms say it will try to cover part of the loss from its Assurance Fund, an amount it sets at its discretion, then seek funding, then apportion any remaining loss across all customer accounts proportionally, with withdrawals suspended meanwhile, and that the customer waives claims against Digital Surge for losses from a Counterparty Failure. The terms say a customer can avoid that risk by withdrawing to their own wallet.
Register sources checked 22 October 2026
- AUSTRAC register entry: Virtual Asset Service Provider Register, searched 22 October 2026
- ASIC datasets: AFS licensee and representative datasets on data.gov.au, downloaded 22 October 2026
- Company record: ABN Lookup, ABN 89620473109, extracted 22 October 2026
- AUSTRAC lists checked for a Digital Surge entry: enforcement actions and virtual asset registration actions, 22 October 2026
Digital Surge AUD deposits and withdrawals
| Method | Direction | Published fee (22 October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| PayID | Deposit | Free |
| Bank transfer | Deposit | Free |
| AUD to an Australian bank account | Withdrawal | Free |
| Crypto to an external wallet | Withdrawal | Blockchain network fee passed through |
Is Digital Surge available in Australia?
Digital Surge FAQs
Is Digital Surge safe to use in Australia?
Digital Surge is listed on AUSTRAC's Virtual Asset Service Provider Register (we checked 22 October 2026), and no AFS licence for the operator appears on ASIC's datasets. Digital Surge says most crypto is in cold storage with Fireblocks MPC, and SMS verification applies to every withdrawal. Its terms say it holds legal title to customer assets, balances are not segregated, and a counterparty failure can be apportioned across accounts. ATO Class Ruling CR 2024/50 records voluntary administration from 8 December 2022 to 15 February 2023.
Who runs Digital Surge?
Digital Surge is run by Digital Surge Pty Ltd (ABN 89 620 473 109), an Australian private company. ABN Lookup shows the ABN active since 15 July 2017 with a main business location in postcode QLD 4000, and the AUSTRAC register shows a Brisbane address. Digital Surge says it was founded in 2017 by Josh Lehman and Dan Rutter and has stayed under the same Australian ownership.
What happened to Digital Surge in the FTX collapse?
ATO Class Ruling CR 2024/50, based on information provided by the applicant, records that Digital Surge had transferred assets to FTX Trading Ltd and FTX Australia under a broker agreement, and that after FTX's bankruptcy on 11 November 2022 Digital Surge entered voluntary administration on 8 December 2022. The ruling records that a deed of company arrangement was executed on 15 February 2023 and a Creditors' Trust settled. On 17 February 2023, customers whose account value on 8 December 2022 was A$250 or less were paid in full, and other customers received 57% of their claims, with the deed providing further quarterly payments from net profits; the ruling does not record how far those payments have progressed. The Digital Surge pages we checked on 22 October 2026 (home, about, security, fees and terms) do not mention these events.
What does Digital Surge charge?
Digital Surge charges a 0.5% standard trading fee on each buy, sell or swap, falling with 30-day volume to 0.1% above A$5,000,000, with the spread included in the price. PayID and bank transfer deposits are free. AUD withdrawals are free. Crypto withdrawals carry the network fee. On a A$1,000 Bitcoin buy the fee is A$5.00 (our arithmetic, fees checked 22 October 2026).
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