Guide on buying cryptocurrencies in Singapore

11 Jun Guide on buying cryptocurrencies in Singapore

Buying with SGD:

Currently, there are 4 exchanges that offer cryptocurrency/SGD pair in Singapore.

1. Coinhako (SGD deposit is down after DBS closed their account, have to use Xfers) 
2. Coinbase
3. Luno
4. FYBSG
5. Gemini (USD but cheapest option now)
6. NuMoney (a startup offering OTC services)

I will only elaborate on Coinhako and Coinbase as they are the more popular choices in Singapore.

Coinhako

Coinhako is a local startup that has the backing of Tim Draper. They offer both BTC/SGD and ETH/SGD pairs.

There are 3 ways to deposit money into Coinhako.

1. Local inter-bank transfer takes 1 business day, and they check the deposits twice everyday at 10am, and 4pm
2. Xfers deposit is instant, but there are limits and you have to verify your identify for high limits. (As of 11/6/2017, xfers is down and users are advised not to make any deposit into xfers)
3. International wire are normally for customers who are based overseas

To buy and sell BTC or ETH, simply click on buy or sell and Coinhako will execute your order. It will take around >10min (BTC) or >1min (ETH) for your transaction to be confirmed.

Pros of using Coinhako:

1. Local support. They are very responsive with their support and you can get your problems fixed within 1 business day. New accounts are verified within 1 business day also
2. Support local. We can help the Singapore blockchain scene if we support our own startups
3. 99% of funds are stored in cold-storage – Secure
4. User-friendly. Their UI is very well-designed, and I can navigate the website easily

Cons of using Coinhako:

1. Slightly higher spread. We have observed that the spread from Coinhako is higher than Coinbase and FYBSG
2. Can run into liquidity issues

If you are opening an account with Coinhako, please sign up using this link and we both get S$5 when you make your first trade ($100 and more).

Coinbase

Coinbase is a digital asset exchange company headquartered in San Francisco, California. They offer BTC/SGD, ETH/SGD and LTC/SGD pairs.

There are 3 ways to deposit money into Coinbase.

1. Xfers is instant and works exactly like Coinhako
2. International wire
3. Credit card (with crazy fees)

Pros of using Coinbase:

1. High liquidity. They can easily fulfill your order
2. Back by trusted investors – New York Stock Exchange, Spanish Bank BBVA and DFJ, the venture capital group
3. Insurance. Digital currency is insured by Lloyd’s of London, in the event of security breach
4. Slightly better spread

Cons of using Coinbase:

1. Slow support. Support can take up to a few days to reply.
2. Buggy payment methods. Personally I tried to deposit via xfers and it couldn’t work for me.

If you are opening an account with Coinbase, you can use this link and we both get USD$10 when you make your first trade (USD$100 and more)

I have also created a Facebook group to facilitate discussion, you can join to get updated news about the cryptocurrency community in Singapore! You can join the telegram group here also.

We also offer crypto crash course for anyone who wants to get up to speed with crypto.

*Buying and selling cryptocurrencies is very risky, do your own due diligence before putting in money. Pennywise hodls no responsibility if you lose any capital from cryptocurrencies.

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