Global trading platform Pepperstone has chosen Australia as the launch market for its new proprietary spot cryptocurrency exchange, positioning the rollout as an effort to reset pricing transparency in the domestic crypto trading sector.
The move comes after the company analysed trading conditions across the 160 countries in which it processes around US$6 billion in monthly crypto CFDs, ultimately identifying Australia as the most suitable first market due to what it describes as structural pricing inefficiencies and limited competition.
Pepperstone’s internal analysis found the Australian crypto market is characterised by opaque pricing structures, where headline fees often mask significantly higher total trading costs once spreads are factored in.
In response, Pepperstone Crypto Spot Exchange will operate on a flat 0.1 per cent commission model for spot trades. The platform will publish both commissions and spreads upfront, allowing investors to more accurately compare total execution costs across providers.
The company claimed Australian investors can currently pay up to 500 per cent more in total trading costs compared with its proposed model when all fees are included, underscoring what it sees as a need for a broader “price reset” across the market.
The new exchange has been built in-house, giving Pepperstone full control over execution, liquidity management, and platform performance. The company says this structure will allow it to apply its existing risk, legal, and compliance frameworks from traditional financial markets to digital asset trading.
Pepperstone also plans to leverage its global trading infrastructure, including access to institutional-grade liquidity, to support execution quality as the platform scales and expands its list of supported crypto assets.
Pepperstone’s decision to launch in Australia also reflects strong local crypto adoption and a rapidly evolving regulatory environment.
The federal government is progressing the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025, which aims to bring crypto platforms more closely in line with traditional financial services regulation. At the same time, around 30 per cent of investors report friction from banking restrictions, highlighting ongoing structural gaps in the market.
Australia is also among the world’s highest crypto-adoption markets, with around one in three adults holding digital assets. Between 2 and 6 million additional Australians are reportedly waiting for greater regulatory clarity before entering the market.
Adoption is particularly strong among younger investors, with more than half of Australians aged 25–34 already holding crypto. Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) have also allocated over $1.6 billion to digital assets, while ASX-listed bitcoin ETFs continue to attract sustained inflows.
Pepperstone notes that stablecoins now account for around 30 per cent of global transaction volumes, while institutional vehicles hold more than 12 per cent of total bitcoin supply, reflecting increasing institutionalisation of the asset class.
Pepperstone Group CEO Tamas Szabo said the launch is intended to expose hidden costs in crypto trading and drive greater transparency across the industry.
“Crypto investors have been paying more than they realise once spreads are taken into account,” Szabo said.
“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.”
