Coinstore vs Altcoin Trader: Fees, Security, Features & Which to Choose (2025)

Trying to choose between Coinstore and Altcoin Trader This side-by-side comparison reveals total cost (fees + spreads), security & licenses, coins/derivatives, deposits/withdrawals, and app quality. In 2 minutes you’ll see who wins for beginners, active traders, and long-term holders. Clear pros/cons, a quick verdict, and safe links to get started.

Last updated on August 16, 2025

Coinstore

Altcoin Trader

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Available Countries

United States

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Canada

Yes

United Kingdom

Yes

United States

Yes

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

China

Yes

Canada

Yes

United Kingdom

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Coinstore is ideal if:

If you value broad crypto exposure and early-stage token access, Coinstore gives you hundreds of assets, frequent launchpad listings, spot and futures markets, plus staking and IEO options.
If intuitive design and mobile-first trading matter, its sleek interface and fully featured app make it beginner-friendly yet functional for seasoned traders.
If security and operational reliability are top priorities, it employs strong safeguards—cold storage, multi-sig wallets, real-time risk controls—though some community reviews note occasional trust concerns.

Altcoin Trader is ideal if:

Ideal for newcomers seeking simplicity: Its intuitive interface and straightforward trading make onboarding smooth and stress‑free.
Perfect if you want seamless ZAR access: Supports direct South African Rand deposits and withdrawals tied to local banking systems.
Great for those who value passive earnings: Offers an interest‑bearing feature that lets you earn on crypto holdings without lock‑ins.

Coinstore isn’t ideal if:

If you want smooth fiat on-ramp/off-ramp capability, Coinstore’s crypto-only deposits and withdrawals limit seamless transitions with traditional currency.
If you expect fast, reliable customer support, multiple user reports highlight slow responses, unresolved tickets, and issues during high-volatility periods.
If you prioritize regulatory security, Coinstore’s limited licensing and operating in unregulated or gray jurisdictions may offer less legal protection and recourse.

Altcoin Trader isn’t ideal if:

Not for multi-fiats or passive earners: Only accepts South African Rand and lacks earning tools like staking or interest accounts.
Not for advanced traders: Platform design is basic—missing advanced order types, robust charting, or professional trading tools.
Not optimal for large-volume traders: Lower liquidity and trading volume compared to big exchanges may affect execution of bigger trades.

Fees & Total Costs

Spot Maker/Take

Coinstore applies a flat 0.2% maker and 0.2% taker fee for spot trading regardless of volume, offering no stated discounts tied to holdings of a native token or tiered volume structure.

AltCoinTrader applies a flat fee of 0.10% for both maker and taker spot trades, regardless of your trading volume; there are no volume-based tiers or discounts for using any native token.

Futures/Derivatives

Perpetual futures trades charge maker fees of 0.02% (reduced from 0.025%) and taker fees of 0.06%, while funding rates apply periodically on open positions to align with spot market prices.

The platform does not offer any futures or derivatives trading—so there are no associated maker/taker fees or funding costs to consider.

Average Spreads on Liquid Pairs

Though not published directly, Coinstore’s flat-fee structure and spot liquidity suggest spreads in major pairs remain competitive and tight—suitable for standard crypto trading.

AltCoinTrader does not publicly disclose average spreads for these pairs; given its focus on ZAR-based markets, spreads may vary, and the platform does not advertise this metric prominently.

Fiat Deposits & Withdrawals

Fiat access is enabled via third-party partners like Mercuryo, Banxa, or Paxful using methods such as card payments or bank transfers; Coinstore doesn’t charge for this, but the providers may, and fiat-to-crypto conversion times can range from minutes up to several hours.

You can deposit and withdraw South African Rand via EFT, bank transfer, Capitec Pay, and similar local methods—with deposit fees around 0.5% (capped at R95), and withdrawal fees set at 0.5% plus a fixed R16 (also capped at R95); deposits are typically credited within one to three days, depending on your bank.

On-chain Withdrawals

Coinstore charges the network’s actual blockchain fee for withdrawals—dynamic and network-dependent (e.g., BTC, ETH, TRX)—with no fixed platform-added rate.

Withdrawal fees for cryptocurrencies are network-based and vary by coin—e.g., a BTC withdrawal costs approximately 0.00057 BTC—indicating a fixed fee per network rather than dynamic gas-based pricing.

Hidden Costs

There are no reported inactivity fees or express-KYC charges, but conversion rates may differ subtly depending on the fiat provider; Coinstore itself does not layer on hidden surcharges.

Although there are no explicit inactivity or express KYC fees mentioned, non-ZAR conversions may involve indirect conversion costs, and fee transparency for different services (like instant processing) isn’t fully clear—so always check within your account before proceeding.

Real-World Cost Example: “€500 BTC

Buying €500 worth of BTC via a fiat-crypto provider yields USDT/USDC credited—no Coinstore fee—then trading that for BTC incurs a 0.2% spot fee plus usual bid-ask spread; if withdrawing on-chain, you’ll also pay the dynamic network fee.

Suppose you purchase the equivalent of €500 in BTC via the market; you’d pay roughly 0.10% in trading fee plus a spread embedded in the quote, and if withdrawing immediately you’d incur the fixed BTC withdrawal fee—altogether reflecting trading, conversion, and withdrawal without outlining exact amounts to keep it evergreen.

Crypto Offering & Trading Features

Number of Coins & Pairs

Coinstore lists roughly 380+ cryptocurrencies across 410+ USDT-denominated pairs, and its top 20 by 24-hour trading share include heavyweights like BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, SOL, XRP, BNB, DOGE, TRX, among others.

AltCoinTrader supports approximately 37 unique cryptocurrencies across around 48 trading pairs, with the top 20 pairs by volume dominated by ZAR-based markets—including notable pairs like XRP/ZAR, BTC/ZAR, USDT/ZAR, and ETH/ZAR.

Product Range

The platform offers spot trading, perpetual futures with up to 100× leverage, Earn programs (staking), crypto Launchpad features, and API access; however, it does not support options, ETFs, margin beyond futures, copy trading, grid bots, DCA automation, or lending.

AltCoinTrader focuses on basic spot trading and includes a passive income product called “Easy Save,” but it does not offer margin or derivatives, crypto ETFs, lending, copy trading, grid bots, or automated DCA tools.

Liquidity

Recent data shows daily trading volume around $4B, with aggregated BTC/USDT volume surpassing $1.6B and ETH/USDT around $2B—demonstrating strong liquidity and depth for those core pairs.

Liquidity is modest, with 24-hour trading volumes in the low-to-mid million-dollar range; although exact order book depth isn’t publicly shown, it’s likely thinner than on major global exchanges, especially for BTC and ETH markets.

Tools

Coinstore supports basic order types (market, limit), TradingView charts, and API/WebSocket trading, but lacks advanced order features like stop-limit, OCO orders, price alerts, or native order-management tools.

The platform provides market and limit orders, slightly more advanced charting via TradingView Basic, and API access; however, features such as stop or OCO orders, price alerts, WebSocket data, or advanced charting tools are notably limited or absent.

Geographic Restrictions by Product

Certain features—including derivatives, Launchpad, and Earn—are restricted in regions such as Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, the U.S. (and territories), Iran, North Korea, and Syria.

Being South African-based, AltCoinTrader’s features are tailored mainly to ZAR-speaking regions, with no support for derivatives or advanced instruments—there are no explicit regional blackouts, but advanced products simply aren’t offered anywhere.

Innovation

Coinstore stands out with its Launchpad token sales, enabling early project participation, and an Earn program offering staking-like yield, often including both flexible and locked-duration options for yield seekers.

AltCoinTrader doesn’t support token launch mechanisms or pools, but it does offer an innovative passive yield feature via Easy Save, which allows flexible, interest-like returns on idle crypto without lock-ins—offering a rare, flexible-earn option among regional exchanges.

Security, Regulation & Custody

Operating Entity & Jurisdiction

Coinstore is operated by COINSTORE PTE. LTD., a company incorporated in Singapore around 2020; its headquarters and legal operations fall under Singapore’s jurisdiction framework.

AltCoinTrader (Pty) Ltd, founded around 2015 and headquartered in South Africa, operates under South African law with a visible company registration—making it a locally regulated and established crypto service provider.

Licenses/Registration

There’s no confirmed evidence that Coinstore holds formal VASP or MiCA registration, suggesting it’s not licensed under European or similar regulatory regimes.

AltCoinTrader is officially licensed by the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) as a Category I/II Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP), and also registered as a Financial Service Provider (FSP), reflecting compliance with local and FATF-aligned regulatory standards.

Custody

Coinstore appears to manage assets in-house rather than through external custodians; no public proof-of-reserves, audits, or explicit cold storage percentages are provided on its platform.

AltCoinTrader manages its own custody of user assets, employs a statutory audit confirming that client reserves exceed liabilities, and holds a major portion of assets in cold storage—though it doesn’t publicly provide a full-proof of reserves report.

Insurance & Protection Funds

There’s no indication that Coinstore offers any form of insurance coverage or dedicated protection fund for user assets.

There is no publicly detailed insurance policy or external protection fund advertised—such coverage is either not offered or not transparently disclosed on the platform.

Incident History

Coinstore has no widely known history of hacks, regulatory suspensions, account freezes, or public fines, indicating a relatively clean incident record in the publicly available data.

There are no known reports of major hacks or regulatory fines, although a small number of users have complained about account issues or fund access delays on review platforms—no confirmed systemic security breaches.

Risk Controls

The platform employs standard security features such as 2FA, and may offer API permissions and anti-phishing safeguards, but lacks mention of features such as address whitelists or granular sub-account controls.

The platform enforces standard risk controls like two-factor authentication (2FA) and OTP-based withdrawal verification; more advanced tools such as whitelisting addresses, sub-account management, anti-phishing measures, or granular API permissions are not prominently featured.

Transparency

Coinstore does not publish monthly transparency reports or share public wallet addresses for client auditing, nor does it provide a formal SLA or guaranteed uptime documentation.

AltCoinTrader does not appear to publish monthly financial or transparency reports, does not offer publicly auditable wallet addresses, nor sets formal SLAs—though it does voluntarily participate in regulatory audits and maintains compliance processes under financial law.

Deposits, Withdrawals, KYC & Support

Fiat Deposit Methods

Coinstore enables fiat deposits through third-party providers like Mercuryo, Banxa, or Paxful—accessible via “Buy Crypto”—offering payment methods such as bank transfers, credit/debit cards, or e-wallets; transaction limits vary depending on the provider, with options typically starting at around $10, and completion times ranging anywhere from minutes to several hours or sometimes up to a day, depending on process and KYC timing

AltCoinTrader accepts fiat deposits via local bank transfers and Ozow instant EFT, requiring a minimum of around R100 (approx. $6), with no stated maximum; processing usually happens within a few hours to one business day, depending on method and bank operations.

Supported Fiat Currencies & Conversion

KYC (Verification Levels)

Coinstore employs two KYC tiers—Basic and Advanced—which unlock progressively higher withdrawal limits; for example, Basic allows single withdrawals up to 4,000 USDT and daily totals of 10,000 USDT, while Advanced increases these to 50,000 USDT per transaction and 300,000 USDT daily

AltCoinTrader uses multi-tiered verification

Withdrawals

Withdrawals are subject to your KYC level limits, are processed via standard blockchain networks (e.g., ERC-20, TRC-20, BEP-20), and typically complete in alignment with network congestion—Coinstore itself doesn’t impose fixed withdrawal fees but passes on the actual network charges, and transactions may include necessary memos or tags depending on the coin

Crypto withdrawals depend on the chosen network (ERC-20, TRC-20, etc.) and follow standard network protocols; fiat ZAR withdrawals offer a “near-instant” service (R250K max outside banking hours; R5M during) taking 5–15 minutes to process but up to 24 hours to reflect, and must be sent to a personal bank account in your name.

Customer Support

Coinstore offers 24/7 customer support through email, a live chat interface, and ticket submission; however, a call center is not available, and user feedback frequently notes delays and drawn-out resolution times, despite live-chat access being technically continuous

Support is available via email, tickets, and phone during South African business hours (typically weekdays, 9

Languages & Localization

The platform and help center support multiple languages—including English, simplified and traditional Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, and Korean—while displaying transaction amounts in local fiat formats where supported; however, localized regulatory disclosures vary depending on user region

The platform is presented in English, displays fees and balances in ZAR, and is fully oriented toward South African regulatory standards, offering smooth localization for users in that region while showing limited adaptability for others.

App Quality & Stability

Coinstore’s app utilizes TradingView integration for charting and appears to be regularly updated, offering a responsive mobile and web trading experience; although there’s no publicly available data on crash rates or explicit stability metrics, the platform does emphasize a seamless UI in partnership with TradingView tools.

AltCoinTrader’s mobile app is generally stable and feature-rich in terms of basic trading, earning a middling performance score; while it supports TradingView charts, APIs, and indicators, there’s no public data on crash rates—user feedback indicates reliable stability but limited advanced features.

Experience, Performance & Ecosystem

UX/UI

Coinstore delivers a clean and intuitive interface tailored for newcomers, without separate “Lite” and “Pro” tiers; there’s no steep learning curve, making it especially approachable for casual or first-time traders, though advanced users may find some features limited.

AltCoinTrader features a clean, beginner-friendly interface with a shallow learning curve and no separate Lite or Pro modes—making it simple and consistent for users of all levels.

Performance

The platform tends to execute trades with acceptable speed, but during high-volatility spikes, users report occasional app lag and platform instability; bull-market KYC queues have sometimes delayed onboarding or higher-tier access.

The exchange typically handles order submissions quickly and remains solid even during market swings, though occasional slowdowns or verification delays may occur during surges of activity or peak trading periods.

Education

Coinstore offers basic educational content and news via its platform, but lacks a dedicated academy, demo simulator, or Spanish-language learning materials—leaving room for improvement for non-English speakers and hands-on practice features.

While the platform offers helpful webinars, detailed FAQs, and guided support, it lacks a built-in demo or simulator and currently doesn’t provide structured educational content in Spanish.

Community

Coinstore maintains official Telegram channels for updates and community interaction, and runs a referral program offering standard 30% trading fee rebates (up to 60% for affiliates) on spot and futures trades—though no web forums or Discord server appear available.

AltCoinTrader does not host public forums or Discord/Telegram channels, but it does run a referral program alongside its support-driven community engagement through its helpdesk and email support.

Integrations

The platform includes its own built-in charting tools and APIs for automation, but it does not support TradingView integration, external trading bots, or tax/accounting tool compatibility—limiting ease of integration with third-party trading ecosystems.

The platform includes basic charting with TradingView Lite integration, but it doesn’t yet support external trading bots, tax tools, or accounting package integrations.

Who Each One Is Best For

Coinstore is best suited for beginner to intermediate crypto traders who value simplicity, access to a wide asset range, and mobile-first convenience; it’s less ideal for advanced traders seeking deep analysis tools, full automation, or comprehensive educational modules.

AltCoinTrader is ideal for South African beginners or casual traders seeking secure, straightforward ZAR-based buying and basic earning, but less suitable for advanced traders craving sophisticated tools or broader language and automation support.