Global trading platform Pepperstone has selected Australia as the launch market for its proprietary new spot cryptocurrency exchange, with the explicit aim of triggering a price-reset that both exposes and reduces the true cost of crypto trading for Australians.
It chose Australia to launch Pepperstone Crypto Spot Exchange from the 160 countries in which it processes around US$6 billion in monthly crypto CFDs, after identifying several critical market characteristics.
Opaque pricing and limited competition
Pepperstone analysis showed the Australian market is characterised by opaque pricing and limited fee competition, with total trading costs materially higher than advertised fees once spreads are taken into account.
Pepperstone Spot Crypto will instead operate on a flat 0.1 percent commission model for spot trades, publishing both commissions and spreads upfront and enabling investors to assess total execution costs on a like-for-like basis.
As a result, Australians are paying up to 500 percent more in total trading costs, in some cases, than Pepperstone’s model when commissions and spreads are included highlighting a clear need for greater transparency and a market-wide price reset.
The Pepperstone Crypto Spot Exchange has been developed in-house, giving the company full control over execution, liquidity management, and platform performance, and allowing it to set pricing without reliance on third-party infrastructure.
This approach enables the application of Pepperstone’s existing risk, legal, and compliance frameworks from traditional markets to digital asset trading, while supporting consistent pricing and execution.
Pepperstone will also leverage its broader global trading infrastructure, including access to institutional-grade liquidity, to support execution quality as the platform scales and expands its supported asset range.
The launch will be supported by a national campaign under the banner “Welcome to a new era of crypto”, aimed at encouraging investors to scrutinise total trading costs rather than relying on headline fees.
Regulatory alignment, high adoption, and market evolution
Australia is formalising crypto regulation through the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025, aligning crypto platforms with traditional financial services frameworks, as ~30 percent of investors report friction from banking restrictions, highlighting a structural gap between demand and access.
Australia also has one of the highest crypto participation rates among developed markets, with around one in three adults holding digital assets and between two and six million additional Australians waiting for regulatory clarity before entering the market.
Over half of Australians aged 25 to 34 actively hold crypto, SMSFs have already allocated over $1.6 billion to crypto, and bitcoin ETFs listed on the ASX have attracted sustained inflows, reinforcing the convergence between crypto and traditional markets.
Market structure also continues to evolve, with Bitcoin ETFs on the ASX attracting sustained inflows and a domestic ecosystem of over 400 registered digital currency providers supported by over 1,200 crypto ATMs, helping broader adoption.
Pepperstone analysis of institutional holdings and market data also showed stablecoins account for around 30 percent of global transaction volumes, while institutional vehicles hold over 12 percent of Bitcoin supply.
The scale of pricing disparity in the Australian market reflects a broader gap between how crypto is marketed and what investors ultimately pay, according to Pepperstone.
Tamas Szabo (pictured), Group CEO of Pepperstone, said, “Crypto investors have been paying more than they realise once spreads are taken into account.
“We are entering the market to start a pricing war and force those costs into the open, because pricing transparency comes down to how platforms are designed and how they execute trades.
“Regulation sets the boundaries of financial markets, but product design determines whether customers participate onshore within regulated frameworks or offshore. If rules fail to accommodate real-world trading needs, customers are driven toward less transparent and less regulated alternatives.”
More information about Pepperstone’s crypto trading offering, including eligibility criteria and product features, is available at pepperstonecrypto.com or www.pcrypto.com.