The Rock Published terms for Independent Reserve
Product covered Independent Reserve trading fee.
Fee tier Standard rate before 30-day trade volume discounts.
What we checked on Independent Reserve
- Spot fee schedule: Independent Reserve trading fee, Standard rate before 30-day trade volume discounts, checked 22 October 2026. Provider fee page
- Contracting entity: Independent Reserve Pty. Ltd., from Independent Reserve fees, fetched 22 October 2026. Source
- Register lookup: AUSTRAC Virtual Asset Service Provider Register, 22 October 2026: listed, current. Entity: Independent Reserve Pty Ltd (trading name bitcoin.com.au), ABN 46164257069. Register
- Register lookup: ASIC Australian Financial Services Licensee and Representative Registers (ASIC datasets on data.gov.au), 22 October 2026: not found. Entity: Independent Reserve Pty Limited. 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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Independent Reserve 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 order, falling with 30-day volume to 0.02% at the top tier
- Bank transfer, PayID and Osko deposits are free, Australian card deposits are listed at 0%, and EFT withdrawals are free
- Owned by IG Group Holdings plc since 2 February 2026, after an acquisition announced on 19 September 2025 (company announcements)
- Independent Reserve says it holds 1:1 reserves, segregates client assets and has its financial statements audited annually (company statements)
Cons
- PayPal deposits cost 1%, and PayID or NPP withdrawals cost A$1.50 where EFT withdrawals are free
- No AFS licence or authorised representative appointment on ASIC's datasets for the operator (downloaded 22 October 2026)
- Custodial: the terms say crypto is held on trust through Independent Reserve's own infrastructure or custody providers, with no bank-deposit protections
- The terms name the custody provider's insolvency as a risk and do not name the provider
- No proof-of-reserves report found on the pages we checked; the audit Independent Reserve describes is a financial statement audit (22 October 2026)
Who runs Independent Reserve and what it offers
Independent Reserve is an Australian cryptocurrency exchange operated by Independent Reserve Pty Ltd, ABN 46 164 257 069. ABN Lookup shows the ABN active since 13 June 2013 with the business name bitcoin.com.au. Independent Reserve's about page says it was founded in 2013 by Adam Tepper, Adrian Przelozny and Lasanka Perera, and that it serves over 550,000 Australian, New Zealand and global customers, a company figure. IG Group Holdings plc's announcement of 19 September 2025, as reproduced on Independent Reserve's site, says IG agreed to acquire the company for an initial enterprise value of A$178 million. Independent Reserve's news post of 2 February 2026 says the acquisition completed after approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The site lists buying and selling cryptocurrency, OTC trading, leveraged trading under separate terms, PayPal deposits and SMSF accounts, and its fee page lists AUD, USD and SGD fees.
Independent Reserve Pty Ltd is listed on the AUSTRAC Virtual Asset Service Provider register under its legal name, with trading name bitcoin.com.au and its Sydney address, and no conditions are shown; we searched the register on 22 October 2026. ASIC's current AFS licensee and AFS representative datasets, downloaded that day, hold no row for Independent Reserve Pty Ltd, so no AFS licence or authorised representative appointment is on record for the operator.
The standard trading fee is 0.5% on each buy or sell, and our arithmetic puts the trading fees on a A$1,000 Bitcoin buy and a later sell at A$10.00. Independent Reserve says it maintains a full 1:1 reserve of client fiat and crypto assets, keeps client assets segregated, and uses an insured qualified custodian to hold the vast majority of digital assets in cold storage. It also says an annual external audit of its financial statements includes verification of client balances.
The terms say cryptocurrency is held on trust through Independent Reserve's own systems or a custody provider, and that crypto does not enjoy the protections available for bank deposits. The Annexure to the terms names the custody provider's insolvency as a risk.
How popular is Independent Reserve in Australia?
Search interest shows how often Australians search for each brand. It measures attention, not quality.
- 16,270
- Brand searches, September 2026
- 0.0%
- vs August 2026
- 630
- Login searches
- 4.0%
- Share of all searches
Source: Google search volume, Australia, September 2026. How we measure it
Independent Reserve worked example on buying and selling A$1,000 of Bitcoin
Inputs come from the Independent Reserve fees page and FAQ, checked 22 October 2026. No account was opened and no order was placed.
Inputs
- Deposit A$1,000 by bank transfer or PayID (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 by EFT (free)
Fees on each step
| Step | Route | Published fee | Fee on this step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit | Bank transfer or PayID | Free | A$0.00 |
| Deposit (alternative) | PayPal | 1% | A$10.00 |
| Buy | Standard rate (30-day volume under the first discount tier) | 0.5% | A$5.00 |
| Sell | Standard rate | 0.5% | A$5.00 |
| Withdrawal | EFT to an Australian bank account | Free | A$0.00 |
| Withdrawal (alternative) | PayID or NPP | A$1.50 | A$1.50 |
Totals
| Route | Fees in total |
|---|---|
| Bank transfer in and EFT out | A$10.00 |
| Bank transfer in and PayID out | A$11.50 |
| PayPal in and EFT out | A$20.00 |
Independent Reserve's order book has a difference between buy and sell prices, which this arithmetic leaves out. The network fee for sending Bitcoin to an external wallet is also excluded. Any change in the Bitcoin price between the buy and the sell is excluded as well. The arithmetic uses the standard 0.5% rate. Independent Reserve's first discount row, 0.48%, starts at A$50,000 of 30-day volume, recalculated every 4 hours.
Fee arithmetic sources checked 22 October 2026
- Trading fee and volume discounts: Independent Reserve fees page
- AUD deposit and withdrawal fees: Independent Reserve FAQ
Independent Reserve spot trading fees by volume
Independent Reserve charges one fee on each buy or sell of cryptocurrency. The standard rate is 0.5%, with discounts set by 30-day AUD trading volume: 0.48% from A$50,000, 0.46% from A$100,000, 0.40% from A$400,000, 0.32% from A$1,000,000 and 0.20% from A$2,500,000, continuing down to 0.02%. The fees page says the volume is recalculated every 4 hours and that an order's fee is set when the order is placed. Its own example: a A$100 Bitcoin buy carries a standard fee of A$0.50.
Leveraged trading has its own fees and terms on the fee page, and OTC trading is listed for larger orders outside the spot fee. We checked the fee page and the help FAQ on 22 October 2026.
| Recorded fee | Rate per executed order |
|---|---|
| Trade fee | 0.5% |
Buying or selling crypto on Independent Reserve's Australian platform at the standard rate, which falls to as low as 0.02% with 30-day trade volume. Excludes leveraged trading interest and liquidation fees, OTC, PayPal deposit fees and withdrawal fees.
Provider fee information · Schedule checked .
Independent Reserve regulation and safety
Independent Reserve is registered with AUSTRAC for anti-money laundering purposes, and no AFS licence is on record for the operator in ASIC's datasets. The terms say Independent Reserve holds customers' coins through its own systems or a third-party custody provider. A registration is not a guarantee: AUSTRAC registration concerns anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations, and the terms say crypto does not enjoy the protections that apply to bank deposits.
AUSTRAC registration and the ASIC record
Independent Reserve's entry on the AUSTRAC Virtual Asset Service Provider Register shows the legal name INDEPENDENT RESERVE PTY LTD, trading name bitcoin.com.au, ABN 46164257069 and an address in Sydney, with no conditions shown, in a register we searched on 22 October 2026. Independent Reserve's footer shows the AUSTRAC provider number DCE-100461150-001. AUSTRAC has regulated virtual asset service providers since 2018, and says the public register lists all registered providers, in an AUSTRAC article dated 30 June 2026. ASIC's AFS licensee and representative datasets, downloaded 22 October 2026, hold no row for Independent Reserve Pty Ltd. Independent Reserve says it has been ISO 27001 certified since 29 December 2021. We found no Independent Reserve entry on AUSTRAC's enforcement actions page or its virtual asset registration actions page on 22 October 2026. (AUSTRAC register, AUSTRAC article, ISO 27001 post)
Custody and the terms
Independent Reserve's terms say it holds customers' coins on trust through its own systems or a third-party custody provider. Clause 7 of the terms says Independent Reserve agrees to hold a customer's cryptocurrency on trust through its own technical infrastructure and/or its Custody Provider(s), and that the customer accepts that "your Cryptocurrencies do not enjoy the same protections as are available in respect of bank deposits and financial products". The Annexure says Independent Reserve may provide the private keys it holds for a customer to a third-party Custody Provider, that using a third-party provider carries risks including the risk of its insolvency, and that no negligence or fault of the Custody Provider is attributable to Independent Reserve. The Annexure does not name the provider.
Independent Reserve's security page says it maintains a full 1:1 reserve of client fiat and crypto assets, does not commingle customer funds, and keeps client assets segregated. It says an insured, enterprise-grade qualified custodian holds the vast majority of clients' digital assets in cold storage. It says external auditors audit its financial statements annually under Australian Accounting Standards, and that this includes verification of fiat and crypto balances held in custody. A financial statement audit is not a proof-of-reserves report. A news post dated 17 November 2022 says Independent Reserve was working on producing a Proof of Reserves and would share the details when available, and we found no proof-of-reserves report on the pages we checked on 22 October 2026.
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 46164257069, extracted 22 October 2026
- AUSTRAC lists checked for an Independent Reserve entry: enforcement actions and virtual asset registration actions, 22 October 2026
Independent Reserve AUD deposits and withdrawals
| Method | Direction | Published fee (22 October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | Deposit | Free |
| PayID or Osko | Deposit | Free |
| Australian debit or credit card | Deposit | 0% |
| PayPal (Australian account in the holder's name) | Deposit | 1% |
| EFT to an Australian bank account | Withdrawal | Free |
| PayID or NPP | Withdrawal | A$1.50 |
Is Independent Reserve available in Australia?
Independent Reserve FAQs
Is Independent Reserve safe to use in Australia?
Independent Reserve Pty Ltd is listed on AUSTRAC's Virtual Asset Service Provider Register, which we checked on 22 October 2026. Independent Reserve says it has held ISO 27001 certification since December 2021. ASIC's datasets show no AFS licence for the operator. Independent Reserve says it keeps 1:1 reserves and uses an insured qualified custodian for most digital assets in cold storage. Its terms say crypto does not enjoy the protections of bank deposits, and the Annexure names the custody provider's insolvency as a risk.
Who owns Independent Reserve?
According to Independent Reserve's announcements, IG Group Holdings plc, a UK-listed company, completed its acquisition of Independent Reserve on 2 February 2026 after approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, having announced the deal on 19 September 2025 at an initial enterprise value of A$178 million. The operator remains Independent Reserve Pty Ltd (ABN 46 164 257 069), whose ABN has been active since 13 June 2013. Independent Reserve says it was founded in 2013 by Adam Tepper, Adrian Przelozny and Lasanka Perera.
What does Independent Reserve charge?
Independent Reserve charges a 0.5% trading fee on each buy or sell, falling with 30-day AUD volume to as low as 0.02%. Bank transfer, PayID and Osko deposits are free. Australian debit and credit card deposits are 0%. PayPal deposits are 1%. EFT withdrawals are free, and PayID or NPP withdrawals cost A$1.50. Crypto withdrawals carry a network fee. Leveraged trading has its own fees and terms, and OTC trading sits outside the spot fee. On a A$1,000 Bitcoin buy the trading fee is A$5.00, our arithmetic from fees checked on 22 October 2026.
How does Independent Reserve hold customer crypto?
The terms say Independent Reserve holds a customer's cryptocurrency on trust through its own infrastructure and/or a Custody Provider. Independent Reserve says an insured qualified custodian holds the vast majority of digital assets in cold storage and that it keeps 1:1 reserves. The Annexure to the terms says private keys may be provided to the custody provider and names the provider's insolvency as a risk. A customer may transfer coins out to another wallet under the terms.
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