Liquid vs Coinhako – Which Should You Choose?

Last updated on June 6th, 2021

Liquid and Coinhako are 2 crypto exchanges where you can purchase crypto from.

Which exchange is better for you?

Here’s what you need to know:

The difference between Liquid and Coinhako

Coinhako has a lower withdrawal fee if you intend to withdraw fiat currencies. Meanwhile, Liquid has lower trading commissions, but their withdrawal fees for fiat are really high.

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, Liquid was also founded in 2014, and has offices in:

1. Japan
2. Singapore
3. Vietnam

Both of them seem to be rather reputable companies with a strong background in the cryptocurrency scene.

Number of currencies

Coinhako allows you fully trade 21 tokens. However, it has limited support for 6 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:

1. BTC
2. ETH
3. DAI
4. LTC

In fact, Coinhako is the only platform that allows you to buy DOGE coin directly from SGD!

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 ADA and BNB, which aren’t found in most 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.

Liquid supports more than 100 cryptocurrencies

Liquid has a huge variety of currencies that you can trade on their platform. You can trade over 100 cryptocurrencies!

However if you want to use SGD to buy crypto, you can only do so with a few currencies, including:

1. BTC
2. ETH
3. XRP
4. QASH
5. BCH
6. XSGD
7. VIDY
8. VIDYX

Compared to Coinhako, the options are much limited if you want to just buy crypto directly from SGD.

However, it is still possible to buy other cryptocurrencies. You will have to use your SGD to buy one of the currencies above.

Then, you’ll need to do another trade.

One example is the CEL token. Since you can’t buy CEL directly from SGD, you’ll have to do a SGD/BTC swap first.

After that, you can do a BTC/CEL swap.

Since you are making 2 trades, the fees will eat into your returns too!

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

One way that you can deposit your money into Coinhako is via Xfers.

Xfers is a payment solution that allow you to transfer your money securely into the crypto exchanges.

It sort of acts like the middleman between your bank accounts and the exchanges.

However, you will need to first transfer your SGD to your Xfers account via FAST. After that, you can transfer your SGD from your Xfers account to Coinhako.

However, you will be charged a deposit fee for using Xfers to deposit your funds!

#2 Bank transfer

Both Coinhako and Liquid allow you to fund your account via bank transfer. You are able to send your money to Coinhako directly via FAST.

Liquid has more fiat support

Liquid allows you to deposit your funds via bank transfer as well.

Apart from SGD, you are able to deposit 9 other currencies:

1. USD
2. EUR
3. HKD
4. AUD
5. CNY
6. INR
7. JPY
8. PHP
9. IDR

You will need to transfer your funds from an account under your own name.

When you are transferring money to Liquid, you will be transferred to their account with Far Eastern International Bank.

As such, you may incur some bank fees for this transfer. This depends on the fee structure of your bank.

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,

as well as Liquid.

However, 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.

If you check the current price on crypto sites like CoinMarketCap, it may be slightly different from what you see on Coinhako.

#3 Trade (Liquid)

Liquid allows you to make trades on their platform.

Here are some of the types of trades that you can make:

Type of Trade	Amount of Leverage
Spot	None
Margin	25x leverage
Liquid Infinity	CFD with 100x leverage
Liquid Perpetual	Perpetual with 100x leverage

Trading with margin is extremely risky! I would not recommend doing it if you are not an experienced trader.

Withdrawal of funds

Coinhako allows you to withdraw your funds to your bank account,

which is the same for Liquid.

However, the withdrawal fees for Liquid can be pretty high!

Sending and receiving crypto

Both Liquid and Coinhako allow you to send and receive crypto from external wallets.

Liquid allows you to deposit and withdraw a wide variety of cryptocurrencies.

Moreover, Liquid is one of the only exchanges that allow you to deposit CEL tokens that you’ve earned from Celsius.

Meanwhile, 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.

Some examples include AAVE and ADA.

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 exchange:

#1 Depositing and withdrawing fees

Depositing into either exchange is free, unless you use Xfers for Coinhako.

However, the withdrawal fees between these 2 exchanges are quite different:

Exchange	Deposits	Withdrawals
Liquid	Free	$15 SGD fee + $30 USD Minimum $15 SGD
Coinhako	0.55% (Xfers),  0 (Inter-bank)	$2 SGD per withdrawal

The withdrawal fees for Liquid are really, really hefty!

You will incur around a $60 SGD fee for each withdrawal.

Due to these high fees, you may want to transfer your crypto to another exchange before you withdraw your SGD.

It is possible to send your crypto from Liquid to Coinhako! However, you can only send currencies that are supported by Coinhako.

If you send any that are not supported, your crypto will be lost forever!

#2 Buying and selling crypto

Here are the fees that you’ll be charged for both platforms:

Liquid charges up to 0.3% for each trade

Liquid takes into account your 30-day trading volume (in USD) before charging you the commission.

The greater volume of USD that you trade, the lower the fees that you’ll receive.

Liquid also gives you the option to pay your fees in QASH. QASH is Liquid’s native token, and you will receive a 50% discount on all of your trading fees!

This is similar to how Nexo and Celsius gives you higher interest rates if you choose to earn your interest in their native tokens.

You can also use my referral link to receive a further 10% discount on any trades you make from the first month of signing up.

Even if you incur the highest trading fee, it is still lower compared to Coinhako’s 1% fee.

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.

#3 Sending and receiving fees

You may want to send or receive your crypto from an external wallet.

If you want to send crypto from Liquid, here are some of the charges that you will incur.

The fees that you are charged depend on the currency that you’re sending.

For sending crypto on Coinhako, most of the fees charged are dynamic. This depends on the network traffic and miner fees that the exchanges will incur.

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

When you want to buy crypto on either exchange, you may be subject to certain limits and minimum amounts.

Liquid does not have any minimum to trade for fiat currencies, while Coinhako has a minimum of $45 SGD per trade.

However, Liquid has a minimum trading amount if you’re trading the crypto you own for another currency.

Security

You may have heard of how crypto exchanges can be hacked, and these hackers can steal your cryptocurrencies!

So how do these exchanges try and combat this?

Liquid stores your currencies mainly in a cold wallet

Liquid stores around 98% of all of their assets in cold storage.

Meanwhile, the remaining 2% of crypto is stored in warm wallets, which is powered by Unbound Tech.

Liquid was previously hacked on 13 Nov 2020, where the hackers tried to gain access to login and 2FA data.

However, no assets were stolen from their platform.

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.

Regulation

The MAS has explicitly said that they do not regulate cryptocurrencies. This is because they do not recognise it as legal tender.

However, they still regulate most exchanges that operate in Singapore via the Payment Services Act.

These exchanges would require a license to operate in Singapore. Coinhako and Liquid have both applied for a temporary exemption, which will last till 28 Jan 2021.

Moreover, the Singaporean government intends to tighten regulations on these exchanges as well.

This will help to ensure that both exchanges will be under the regulation of the Singapore authorities.

Platforms

Both exchanges have web and mobile platforms.

This is how Liquid’s web platform looks like,

as well as their mobile app.

Here is how Coinhako’s web platform looks like,

and their mobile app.

Both of these platforms seem to be very sleek and easy to use.

Verdict

Here is a comparison between Liquid and Coinhako:

	Liquid	Coinhako
Year Founded	2014	2014
HQ	Japan	Singapore
Number of Currencies	100	30
Funding Methods	Bank transfer	Xfers  FAST
Methods of Buying	Wallet (Trading) Credit / Debit Card	SGD Wallet (Direct Buy) Credit / Debit Card
Withdrawal of Funds	Bank	Bank Account
Minimum Withdrawal	$15	None
Deposit Fees	None	0.55% (Xfers) 0 (Inter-bank)
Withdrawal Fees	$15 SGD + $30 USD	SGD$2 per withdrawal
Trading Fees	Up to 0.30%	1%
Sending Fees	Depends on currency	Dynamic
Minimum Per Trade	None for fiat, depends on crypto	$45
Security	Cold storage + hot wallet	Cold storage + hot wallet

So which platform should you choose?

Choose Liquid if you are trading larger amounts and want a greater variety

Liquid allows you to trade over 100 types of cryptocurrencies. This is one of the most diverse exchanges that you can find!

However, you’ll need to look at the trading pairs. You can’t buy certain currencies directly using SGD.

The major drawback for Liquid is the exorbitant withdrawal fees that you’ll incur. This may not matter that much if you’re withdrawing a large amount of fiat currency.

However, it can eat into your returns if you’re only withdrawing a small amount!

Due to the lower fees, Liquid will be more suitable if you are trading large volumes in crypto.

Choose Coinhako for cheaper withdrawals

Compared to Liquid, Coinhako only charges $2 per withdrawal. This is more expensive than Gemini or Luno, which do not charge any withdrawal fees.

However when you compare it with Liquid, the fees are much cheaper!

Coinhako does have rather high trading fees, but you are able to easily transfer your funds from your Singapore bank account via FAST.

As such, the fees are something you may have to pay for this convenience!

Conclusion

Both Coinhako and Liquid give you access to cryptocurrencies as a Singaporean investor.

However, the one that you ultimately choose depends on:

1. The type of cryptocurrency you wish to buy
2. The trading and withdrawal fees you wish to incur

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