Coinhako Review (2022)

The cryptocurrency landscape changes quickly and in Singapore regulations around anti-money laundering have driven many services to chose to close in the country rather than implement the reporting requirements. Binance.sg is the latest to exit, and you might be wondering where you can buy, swap and hold digital assets like Bitcoin, Ether, Solana or even Doge (so 2021!). While I wouldn’t have recommended Coinhako in the past, recent improvements and the convenience might make the fees worth it.

Coinhako has stepped up to the regulatory challenges in Singapore and is expanding it’s offered services to the crypto-hungry country. Different surveys have reported percentages of ownership ranging from 16% to 43%, but either way it’s increasingly common to hold these blockchain based digital assets (see the bottom of this article for an explanation of some terms used in this article). I’ve been using Coinhako to purchase, receive and swap cryptos since 2020 and at first it was my second account for trading alt-coins (alright, yep I bought some Doge when it was going to the moon. Not so much now!). The range of coins was attractive, but the 1% fees weren’t.

What Fees do Coinhako Charge?

The standard Coinhako 1% fee for buying cryptos is fairly high compared to some of the international exchanges, and it has always been a good idea to check-in daily on Coinhako to receive points to exchange for rewards like the 25% off fees, or free coins. While that does help offset some cost, if you plan to trade the daily swings in coin values, Coinhako probably isn’t for you. But if you’re buying and holding for the medium or long term, they’re not going to affect the value of your cryptos too much.

Is Coinhako Safe?

Crypto exchanges used to be poorly secured, but these days are much safer and in exchange for a small risk they offer the convenience many people want. Holding your own crypto in a hardware wallet is an option outside the scope of this review, but you should feel reassured that Coinhako are monitored by Monetary Authority Singapore. In late 2021 Coinhako received in-principle approval from MAS as a Major Payment Institution to conduct Digital Payment Token services in Singapore. Your Coinhako account can be secured with 2FA (two-factor authentication). But do note that unlike a bank, your holdings are not insured to a certain limit by law.

Is Coinhako Reliable?

Another common issue with the crypto space has been exchanges slowing or crashing under the weight of trades on busy days. From my experience the speed and reliability of Coinhako has increased a lot in the last 6 months or so. That’s not to say you might not find purchases timing-out when the next big Doge pump (ahem) happens (ok maybe it won’t), but it’s unlikely to be any slower to execute trades than other exchanges.

What is Coinhako Earn?

Earning interest on your crypto became widespread on the more fully featured (and less regulated) international crypto exchanges in 2021, so Coinhako’s move to offer opt-in interest on some digital currencies late in the year was a welcome surprise. Now in 2022 the number of currencies is growing. It’s worth noting that higher rates and other coins are offered by bigger international exchanges but the simplicity of Coinhako means that like me, you might actually try this rather than giving up due to the complexities of those services. Do read the service terms carefully for yourself, but it seems to be somewhat guaranteed. Do note that you are loaning out your tokens for a set period of time and should get them returned with the additional interest in the same token you loaned out. You can pull out your cryptos early but will forfeit all the interest initially agreed.

What Coins and Interest Rates Does Coinhako Earn offer?

As of Early February 2022 these are the coins and interest rates offered by Coinhako Earn. You’ll need to check the latest rates and availability in the app or website.

Coin	Rate
Bitcoin (BTC)	2.50% → 3.00%
Ethereum (ETH)	2.00% → 2.50%
Polkadot (DOT)	5.45% → 6.10%
Ziliqa (ZIL)	6.00% → 8.00%
Tezos (XTZ)	0.00% → 6.00%
Solana (SOL)	5.00% → 100%(promotional rate)

Who is Coinhako Best For?

If you live in Singapore and want a crypto service that is consistently improving and offers access to a good range of coins with only minor hassles getting your dollars into it, you should consider Coinhako.

We’re planning a guide on using Coinhako and some of its features so sign up to the Life and Style Guide email newsletter to hear when that’s ready. (We’ll never spam or sell your email address!)

A Short Guide to Crypto Terms and Jargon

Blockchain	The key innovation that enabled the creation of bitcoin, the blockchain is a shared ledger recording the ownership of every bitcoin.
Crypto	Refers to cryptographically secured systems of digital assets that can be exchanged securely on computer networks.
Coin	The idea of a crypto “coin” is a bit misleading. Coins cannot be divided, or transferred across the internet. A more accurate term would be a token.
Cryptocurrency	A slight misnomer, and probably “digital asset” would be more accurate, but it’s the commonly used term of a cryptographically secured system of tokens that can be transferred and exchanged.
DeFi	Decentralised Finance is an emerging sector of digital assets which replicates traditional banking services (lending and borrowing for example) in a “trustless” and non-centralised way.
Exchange	A bank or foreign-currency like service for trading digital assets, but is not backed by the guarantees an actual bank is. As such it’s inherently riskier than holding cash in a bank.
Fiat	Although fiat has a broader meaning, in crypto speak it refers to government issued currencies such as the US Dollar. When buying crypto assets you’re likely to be exchanging fiat currency for the digital tokens.
Cold Wallet	A hardware device to store cryptos in your own custody. Only temporarily connected to the internet it’s harder to be hacked but you risk losing it in any number of ways, and your digital assets stored on it.
Hot Wallet	An exchange or wallet service holding your digital assets online in their custody. More vulnerable to hackers so make your passwords are complex and your 2FA is setup.
AML	Anti-Money Laundering regulations are a fast changing part of the increasing regulation of cryptocurrencies. Crypto pioneers regard tracking and reporting as against the founding principles of many cryptocurrencies.
2FA	Two-factor authentication is a second level of security for online accounts that verifies you are in possession of a unique trusted device (usually a cellphone). Essential for exchanges and hot wallets.