CoinJar

CoinJar is a regulated, multi-jurisdictional cryptocurrency exchange founded in Melbourne, Australia in May 2013 — making it one of the oldest continuously operating crypto platforms in the English-speaking world. Launched by Asher Tan and Ryan Zhou when Bitcoin was trading near US$100, it was built on the premise that the industry needed institutional-grade infrastructure rather than speculative short-cuts. Thirteen years later, CoinJar serves more than 800,000 customers across Australia, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States, and counts Solana (SOL) among its supported digital assets on both its retail app and professional exchange.

Origins and Team

Asher Tan (CEO) and Ryan Zhou (COO) co-founded CoinJar after participating in a Melbourne startup accelerator and recognising that Australians had no legitimate venue to buy Bitcoin. The company raised an initial A$500,000 from Blackbird Ventures and angel investors, then expanded to London in 2014, received a further round from Digital Currency Group in 2017, and added Boost VC to its cap table. Both founders remain at the helm. Ryan Zhou, listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in 2018, holds a CFA charter and a master's degree in computer science from the University of Melbourne. CoinJar operates offices in Melbourne, London, Dublin, and San Francisco, and the company describes itself as profitable.

Regulatory Standing

CoinJar has pursued multi-jurisdiction licensing as a core strategic priority rather than an afterthought. Its regulated entities hold:

• Australia — registered with AUSTRAC (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) and ASIC-compliant
• United Kingdom — registered with the Financial Conduct Authority as a Cryptoasset Exchange Provider and Custodian Wallet Provider (granted October 2021)
• European Union — licensed by the Central Bank of Ireland as a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) under MiCAR, with the EU authorisation completed in July 2026; Germany went live in August 2026
• United States — registered with FinCEN as a Money Services Business, licensed in select states

This regulatory depth is unusual for a crypto-native company of CoinJar's size and distinguishes it from many exchanges that serve overlapping markets with minimal oversight.

Products

CoinJar App (Retail) The consumer-facing product lets users buy, sell, and hold 68+ cryptocurrencies — including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and USDC — through a mobile and web interface designed for investors who are not professional traders. Key features include:

• Instant Buy: Purchase crypto immediately using Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, or Google Pay (2% fee, reduced to 1% on recurring plans)
• Recurring Purchases: Automated DCA plans on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly schedule — a direct mechanism for systematic exposure to assets like SOL without timing the market
• CoinJar Bundles: Thematically curated multi-asset packages for one-click diversification
• All-in-One Wallet: Integrated custodial wallet backed by what the company describes as 100% reserve coverage, with client funds held separately from corporate accounts

CoinJar Exchange (Professional) A separate, professional-grade trading interface offering 200+ trading pairs across AUD, USD, and GBP fiat currencies, alongside crypto-to-crypto markets. The exchange provides limit orders, stop orders, and time-in-force order types, with API access for algorithmic traders. Fees follow a tiered 30-day volume model:

• Standard crypto/fiat pairs: 0.06–0.10% taker, 0.02–0.10% maker
• Crypto-to-crypto pairs: 0.06% taker, 0% maker
• Stablecoin pairs: as low as 0.001% taker, 0% maker

CoinJar describes its matching engine as among the fastest in the world.

CoinJar Card A Mastercard-linked debit card that lets holders spend cryptocurrency balances anywhere Mastercard is accepted, online or in-store. It supports Apple Pay and Google Pay, carries no monthly fee, and earns CoinJar Rewards on purchases. When it launched in the UK in 2022, CoinJar positioned it as the first crypto-to-GBP spending card of its kind in that market.

OTC Trading Desk A VIP service for large-volume transactions, offering personalized support and access to institutional liquidity — relevant for high-net-worth investors or entities moving substantial positions without market impact.

Solana Support

CoinJar lists native SOL on the Solana blockchain across both its retail app and professional exchange. Users can purchase SOL via bank transfer, PayID/Osko, Faster Payments (UK), Visa, or Mastercard. The platform explicitly supports only native Solana network deposits, warning that SOL sent via another chain or an unsupported wrapped version may not arrive. Account rent mechanics — the refundable deposit required to keep a Solana account open — are noted in onboarding documentation.

SOL is available for recurring purchase plans, meaning investors can dollar-cost average into Solana automatically. On the professional exchange, SOL trades against AUD, GBP, and USD fiat pairs at maker/taker fees matching the platform's standard tiers.

Security

CoinJar stores approximately 90% of customer funds in offline cold-storage wallets, with the remainder in online systems for operational liquidity. The company maintains full reserve backing, keeps client assets ring-fenced from corporate funds, and enforces KYC verification for all accounts. Custody is insured, though the specific coverage limits are not disclosed on public-facing pages.

Ecosystem Position

CoinJar sits in the regulated-exchange segment of the Solana ecosystem rather than in DeFi or native on-chain protocols. It serves as an on-ramp and off-ramp for SOL across four regulated markets, providing a compliant path for retail and professional investors in Australia, the UK, and increasingly across Europe to acquire, hold, and spend Solana. Its longevity — founded a full decade before most rival platforms — and multi-jurisdiction regulatory stack make it a reference point for compliance-first access to Solana in English-speaking markets.

CoinJar has been named Digital Currency Exchange of the Year at the Blockies awards in both 2023 and 2025, and Finder named it its Crypto Trading Platform – Value winner in the 2024 awards.