Start here · For Australians new to crypto
Curious about crypto? Start here, before you spend a dollar.
Eight short guides, in four stages, for anyone in Australia who is new to crypto, thinking about buying some, or trying to make sense of something they’ve been told about it. Read them in order, or go straight to the one you need.
Guide 1 of 8: What Is Cryptocurrency? Or see all four stages.
Thinking of buying?
Read all eight before your first transaction, including the records and tax guides at the end.
About this page
General information only, not financial, legal or tax advice. This page doesn’t recommend buying crypto, any crypto platform or any crypto asset.
Urgent
Think you’re being scammed right now?
Stop sending money or crypto, as Scamwatch advises. Then go straight to what to do first.
Your path
Four stages. Eight guides. One sensible order.
Each stage builds on the one before it. Take them at your own pace.
1
Stage 1 · Guides 1–3
Understand it
What crypto is, who controls it, and what you must never share.
Guide 1
What Is Cryptocurrency?
Start here. It explains what crypto is, how it differs from money in a bank account, and the terms the other guides use.
Guide 2
What Is a Crypto Wallet?
Explains who controls your crypto in different set-ups, and where each kind of protection stops.
Guide 3
Understanding Private Keys & Seed Phrases
Explains what you can share, what you must never share, and how to back up a seed phrase.
2
Stage 2 · Guide 4
Spot the traps
How common scams work, and the checks to make before you send anything.
Guide 4
Avoiding Crypto Scams and Staying Safe
Shows how common scams work, the checks to make before you send anything, and what to do first if it has already happened.
3
Stage 3 · Guides 5–6
Check before you buy
What you can check about a crypto platform, and how a first purchase works, step by step.
Guide 5
What to Check Before Choosing a Crypto Platform
Sets out what you can check about any crypto platform (often called an exchange) before opening an account, and what each check can and can’t tell you. It doesn’t name or rank platforms.
Guide 6
How to Buy Crypto Safely in Australia
Walks through a first purchase step by step, including a safety check to run before you send money. It doesn’t tell you which crypto to buy.
4
Stage 4 · Guides 7–8
Get your records and tax sorted
These come last in the reading order, but read them before you buy: the records guide is about what to keep from your very first transaction.
Guide 7
Keeping Crypto Records From Day One
Explains what to record from the start, how to keep your records complete and backed up, and what must never go in them.
Guide 8
Crypto Taxes in Australia
Explains how crypto is taxed when you hold it as a personal investment, which situations the guide doesn’t cover, and when to get help from a registered tax agent.
Optional
Want more background?
These two are optional. They explain ideas the other guides mention.
- How Does Blockchain Work? How a blockchain records transactions, and how a network agrees on them.
- Coin vs Token: What’s the Difference? What the two terms usually mean, and why the difference matters when you send or hold crypto.
Before you rely on any guide
Each guide shows when its facts were last checked. Check that date, and use the sources the guide links to.
Journey last reviewed 30 October 2026.