Last updated on June 6th, 2021
There are a few crypto exchanges that allow you to buy crypto directly with your SGD.
Coinhako and Tokenize both offer a wide variety of trading pairs with SGD.
So which exchange should you choose?
Here’s what you need to know:
Contents
- 1 The difference between Coinhako and Tokenize
- 2 Founder
- 3 Number of currencies
- 4 Methods of funding your account
- 5 Buying crypto
- 6 Withdrawal of funds
- 7 Sending and receiving crypto
- 8 Fees
- 9 Limits and minimum amounts
- 10 Tokenize has a Tokenize Earn feature
- 11 Security
- 12 Platforms
- 13 Verdict
- 14 Conclusion
- 15 👉🏻 Referral Deals
The difference between Coinhako and Tokenize
Both Coinhako and Tokenize are platforms that originate from Singapore. Tokenize offers more cryptocurrencies compared to Coinhako, and charges a lower fee for certain currencies too (0.80% vs 1%). However, the user interface for Tokenize, as well as their security protocols, are not as favourable.
Here’s an in-depth comparison between these 2 exchanges:
Founder
Coinhako is a cryptocurrency exchange that is based in Singapore and founded in 2014. Meanwhile, Tokenize was released in early 2018, which is 4 years later.
Tokenize is based in Singapore too.
It is quite interesting to see that both of these exchanges have their roots in Singapore.
Number of currencies
Coinhako allows you fully trade 21 tokens. However, it has limited support for 9 other currencies:
Full support for 21 tokens
Coinhako allows you to Buy, Sell, Swap, Send or Receive 21 currencies on their platform.
Swapping refers to you switching between one cryptocurrency to another.
Some of the more well-known ones include:
Limited support for other tokens
Coinhako also has a few tokens that you can have on their platform. However, the functions that you can use with them are quite limited:
You are able to buy XMR and HBAR, which can’t be found on other crypto exchanges that support SGD.
For trade-only tokens, you can only Buy, Sell or Swap these currencies. You are unable to send or receive them from external wallets.
For USDT and USDC, these are rather complicated. You are able to receive both USDT and USDC from external wallets.
However, they will be converted into USD and be credited into your USD wallet on Coinhako.
If you wish to withdraw from your USD wallet, you can only do so in the form of USDT or USDC too.
Tokenize supports 30 cryptocurrencies
Tokenize has a much larger offering, as they allow you to trade 42 different currencies from SGD!
Some currencies that are found on Tokenize, but not on Coinhako include:
You are also able to deposit USD into the account, and purchase the same 30 currencies.
If you want to purchase a certain cryptocurrency, you may only find it on Tokenize, but not on Coinhako.
Methods of funding your account
To start buying crypto on either exchange, you will need to fund your account. Here are some ways you can do so:
#1 Xfers
You can deposit your SGD into either Coinhako or Tokenize using Xfers.
Xfers is a payment solution that allow you to transfer your money securely into the crypto platforms.
It sort of acts like the middleman between your bank accounts and the exchanges.
However, you will first need to transfer your SGD to your Xfers account via FAST. After that, you can transfer your SGD from your Xfers account to Coinhako or Tokenize.
Moreover, you will be charged a deposit fee for using Xfers to deposit your funds!
#2 Bank transfer
Coinhako allows you to send your SGD to their platform using FAST transfer as well.
The good thing is that you do not incur any fees. However, the FAST transfer may take longer to process compared to Xfers Direct Charge.
Tokenize only allows you to deposit USD via bank transfer
Tokenize provides support for both SGD and USD. However, you can’t transfer your SGD to their platform using FAST.
You can only do so if you’re a Premium or Platinum member.
As such, you can only deposit USD via a bank transfer.
The process may be rather troublesome, and you may incur some fees as well!
As such, you’ll need to decide if it’s worth the hassle to deposit USD into Tokenize.
Buying crypto
After you’ve funded your account, you will need to purchase your crypto. There are a few ways you can do so:
#1 Credit card
You can purchase crypto using a credit card for Coinhako.
However, this option is not available for Tokenize.
Buying crypto using a card can be rather costly! This is because the fees charged by their payment providers are usually quite hefty.
#2 Instant buy (Coinhako)
When you purchase crypto on Coinhako, you aren’t able to set the price.
You can only buy the crypto at the prevailing market rate, which you can see on the ‘Buy’ page.
This is the same for Binance Singapore too.
If you check the current price on crypto sites like CoinMarketCap, it may be slightly different from what you see on Coinhako.
#3 Trade (Tokenize)
Tokenize allows you to make trades on their platform.
There are 2 types of orders you can make with Tokenize:
- Limit
- Market
Limit orders will allow you to determine the price of the crypto that you wish to pay.
This gives you more control over the price that you want to pay.
Meanwhile, market orders will purchase your crypto at the current market price.
If you use this method, you will be able to fill your order almost immediately.
However, what I don’t like about market orders is that you won’t be able to see the trading fee that you’ll need to pay beforehand.
The way Tokenize works as a platform is similar to a brokerage platform like Tiger Brokers.
Withdrawal of funds
Coinhako allows you to withdraw your funds to your bank account.
Meanwhile, Tokenize only allows you to withdraw your funds via Xfers Direct Charge.
This will incur additional withdrawal fees for you.
Sending and receiving crypto
While you can buy different currencies using your SGD, you may not be able to send all of these currencies to another platform or wallet.
You can only send and receive the 21 currencies on Coinhako.
For those currencies that you can’t send or receive them, the functions will be greyed out.
The same goes for Tokenize, where the currencies that you can’t send or receive will be slightly dimmer.
In the picture above, you can’t send or receive Cardano, Kusama or Graph Token.
Fees
The most important thing when it comes to trading crypto are the fees. You should try to minimise your fees as much as possible!
Here are some of the fees you may incur when using either platform:
#1 Depositing and withdrawing fees
Here are the fees you’ll incur when depositing into or withdrawing from these platforms:
Platform | Deposit Fees | Withdrawal Fees |
---|---|---|
Coinhako | 0.55% (Xfers), 0 (Inter-bank) | $2 SGD per withdrawal |
Tokenize | 0.55% (Xfers) | 0.55% (Xfers) |
If you are looking to save on deposit fees, you’ll have to transfer your funds via FAST to Coinhako.
However, both platforms charge a withdrawal fee. Coinhako’s fee is fixed at $2 SGD, while Tokenize charges a percentage fee.
#2 Buying and selling crypto
Here are the fees that you’ll be charged for both exchanges:
Coinhako charges a flat 1% fee
You will need to pay a flat 1% fee for any transaction you make with Coinhako.
The best part is that you are not charged a minimum fee! Even if you buy a small amount of crypto, you will still only be charged 1%.
However for a limited time, you can use the promo code ‘COINGECKO‘ to trade at only 0.8%.
Moreover if you are buying crypto using a credit or debit card, you will also be charged a 3% processing fee! This fee is charged by the payment provider and not by Coinhako.
Tokenize charges a trading fee of 0.80% (min $1)
Tokenize charges a 0.80% fee for all of their trades. However, it has a minimum fee of $1.
You’ll need to take this minimum fee into consideration if you are only trading a small amount!
#3 Sending and receiving fees
You may want to send or receive your crypto from an external wallet.
The fees that you incur when sending or receiving from Coinhako are dynamic. This depends on the network traffic and miner fees that Coinhako incurs.
For Tokenize, the fees depend on the crypto that you’re withdrawing.
The fees are a fixed rate for each currency.
If you want to receive crypto from an external wallet, no fees are charged by either exchange.
However, you’ll need to consider the fees you incur when sending crypto from your external wallets!
You can consider Gemini which does not charge you any fees for your first 10 withdrawals per month.
Limits and minimum amounts
Here are the minimum amounts you’ll need to trade on each platform:
Platform | Minimum Per Trade |
---|---|
Coinhako | $0.50 |
Tokenize | $20 |
Both platforms have a low minimum amount, which makes trading crypto very accessible.
Tokenize has a Tokenize Earn feature
Tokenize has an Earn feature, which is similar to other interest earning platforms, such as:
You are able to deposit 18 different currencies into Tokenize Earn.
You are able to earn on some currencies that can’t earn interest elsewhere, like Zilliqa or Sushi.
However, the minimum amount that you need to deposit is high for certain currencies. Most of them will require you to deposit around a $1,000 SGD equivalent of that currency.
Furthermore, your crypto has to be locked up for at least 30 days before you can withdraw it.
As such, Tokenize Earn may not be the best platform for you, if you only have a small capital.
This is in contrast to other platforms like Celsius, where there is no minimum deposit.
Security
You may have heard of how crypto exchanges can be hacked, and these hackers can steal your cryptocurrencies!
So how do these platforms try and combat this?
Coinhako stores the majority of your currencies in a cold storage
Coinhako mentioned that they store the majority of your crypto in their ‘highly secure’ cold storage accounts.
Meanwhile, only a small percentage of your funds will be stored on their exchange. This helps to facilitate liquidity where you are able to sell or withdraw your funds.
If hackers are able to gain access to your holdings, they will only gain access to a small percentage on the exchange.
To get the rest of your funds, they will need to hack the cold storage account. This is much harder to do!
As such, most of your crypto with Coinhako will be safe and secure.
Coinhako also allows you to use 2FA apps like Authy to make your account extra secure.
Even with these measures, Coinhako was still hacked on 21st Feb 2020. Thankfully, only 20 users were affected, and any assets that were lost were reimbursed by Coinhako.
Tokenize did not mention about their security protocols
Tokenize is less transparent regarding their security protocols.
On their website, they mentioned their security measures rather briefly.
This may be slightly worrying if you are very concerned about the security of the platform!
Platforms
Both exchanges have web and mobile platforms.
Here is how Coinhako’s web platform looks like,
and their mobile app.
Meanwhile, here is Tokenize’s web platform,
and their mobile app.
I feel that Coinhako’s user interface is much better compared to Tokenize.
Verdict
Here is a comparison between Coinhako and Tokenize:
Coinhako | Tokenize | |
---|---|---|
Year Founded | 2014 | 2018 |
HQ | Singapore | Singapore |
Number of Currencies | 30 | 30 |
Funding Methods | Xfers FAST | Xfers FAST (only for premium members) |
Methods of Buying | SGD Wallet (Direct Buy) Credit / Debit Card | Trading platform |
Withdrawal of Funds | Bank Account | Xfers |
Deposit Fees | 0.55% (Xfers) 0 (Inter-bank) | 0.55% (Xfers) 0 (Inter-bank) |
Withdrawal Fees | SGD$2 per withdrawal | 0.55% (Xfers) |
Trading Fees | 1% | 0.80% Min. $1 |
Sending Fees | Dynamic | Fixed (depends on currency) |
Minimum Per Trade | $45 | $20 |
Earn feature | Absent | Present |
Security | Cold storage + hot wallet | Not known |
Platforms | Web + mobile app | Web + mobile app |
So which platform should you choose?
Choose Coinhako for a more secure platform with no deposit fees
Coinhako seems to be the more secure platform compared to Tokenize.
The user interface on Coinhako is much better too!
Moreover, you are able to save on the 0.55% deposit fee if you transfer your funds via FAST.
Since Coinhako has been around for much longer, you may be able to trust it more.
Choose Tokenize for a wider variety of currencies
Tokenize offers you a slightly wider variety of currencies compared to Coinhako.
If you are looking for ‘rarer’ altcoins, then Tokenize will be a better platform for you.
The only thing that I’m really concerned about is the security of the platform. Tokenize’s credentials are not as well established compared to other platforms like Gemini or Luno.
I would not mind putting a portion of my funds into Tokenize. This is because they allow me to buy ‘rarer’ altcoins directly from my SGD.
However, I would be quite uneasy to have my entire crypto portfolio in their platform!
Conclusion
Both Coinhako and Tokenize are platforms that provide the widest variety of currencies that you can purchase from SGD.
The main differences between the 2 platforms include:
- Instant Buy (Coinhako) vs Trading Platform (Tokenize)
- The number of currencies available
- The fees you’ll pay for trading and withdrawing funds
- The presence of an Earn feature (only on Tokenize)
- The security of the platform
👉🏻 Referral Deals
If you are interested in signing up for any of the products mentioned above, you can check them out below!
Tokenize Referral (Get 5 TKX worth ~ $25 SGD)
If you are interested in signing up for a Tokenize account, you can use my referral link.
You will be able to receive 5 TKX in your account (worth ~$25 SGD)!
Here’s what you need to do:
- Sign up for a Tokenize account
- Trade at least $1000 USD worth of crypto
- Receive 5 TKX in your Tokenize wallet
You can view details of this referral program on Tokenize’s website.
Receive a further SGD $50 worth of TKX when you upgrade to Premium
You are able to receive another SGD $50 worth of TKX if you upgrade to the Premium or Platinum membership of Tokenize.
You will need to pay 160 TKX to upgrade your membership to the Premium tier.
Once you have upgraded your membership tier, you will receive the TKX bonus!
You can view more information about this promotion on Tokenize’s website as well.
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