You’re considering OANDA for crypto trading, but you’re not sure if it’s the right move. Maybe you’re already trading forex with them, or maybe you’re looking for a regulated alternative to the Wild West of crypto exchanges. Either way, you want crypto exposure without the constant worry about your exchange going under. Especially after FTX and countless other platforms have failed. Unregulated exchanges feel like a gamble that you’re not willing to take.
Well, let’s look at what OANDA offers. We’ll cover the real fees, what crypto you can actually trade, how the platform performs, and whether this makes sense for your situation.
What Makes a Good Platform for Crypto Investing?
Before we dive into OANDA specifically, let’s establish what actually matters. The things that you should care about when evaluating any crypto trading platform.
Here’s what to look for:
- Regulation and Trustworthiness: Your money needs to be protected NO MATTER WHAT! For this to be a guarantee, the platform should operate under proper oversight and not leave you exposed to unnecessary risks.
- User Experience: You should be able to execute trades when you want to. Meaning that the mobile app and desktop should work smoothly and give you access to charts and tools that help you make decisions.
- Crypto Asset Variety: You should be able to trade the cryptos that interest you, not just Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- Fees and Spreads: You need to know exactly what you’re paying to trade. Hidden fees shouldn’t eat into your profits.
- Security: Your money should be stored securely, with clear measures in place if the platform ever gets hacked.
- Support and Educational Resources: When problems come up, you need real help. Good platforms also give you resources so you understand what you’re trading and why.
These should cover most of the things you really care about as a crypto investor, and they are the categories we’ll use to assess OANDA’s crypto offering.
How OANDA Measures Up: Category-by-Category Review
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Regulation and Trustworthiness
The regulatory coverage here is impressive, and that matters because it gives you real protection, not just promises. You’re trusting a platform with your money; you need to know they can’t just pack up and disappear.
Here’s what that regulatory footprint actually looks like:
- FCA (UK): Financial Conduct Authority
- CFTC (US): Commodity Futures Trading Commission
- ASIC (Australia): Australian Securities and Investments Commission
- IIROC (Canada): Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada
- MAS (Singapore): Monetary Authority of Singapore
- BaFin (Germany): Federal Financial Supervisory Authority
You might ask: why care about licenses outside your own country? Because it shows the platform isn’t just ticking boxes locally, its meeting strict standards across major global markets. That means more oversight, more accountability, and fewer places to hide if something goes wrong.
Also, client funds are segregated, and there’s a nearly 30-year track record in forex trading to back it up.
For crypto specifically, US trading is backed by the NYDFS-regulated Paxos partnership. This gives you the safety of established financial oversight, unlike unregulated exchanges that can vanish overnight, taking your money with them.
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Platform Experience and Tools
In early 2025 (January 28th), OANDA earned Best in Class honors for Mobile Trading Apps and Research in 2025 from ForexBrokers.com’s Annual Awards. This recognition highlights OANDA’s commitment to user expectations, especially through its user-friendly OANDA Trade mobile app, which offers quality market research and charting features.
The web and mobile platforms are well-designed, and you also get TradingView integration. You get professional interfaces suited for more serious investors and traders, though they might feel a bit less intuitive if you’re just getting started with crypto. Plus, advanced charting and technical indicators are available to help you make better-informed decisions.
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Crypto Asset Variety
OANDA’s crypto selection covers major cryptocurrencies you’d expect: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Solana etc. Most are traded against USD through OANDA’s partnership with Paxos, which handles custody and execution.
Through the Crypto app, you can access 85+ trading pairs, including fiat currencies like GBP and EUR, stablecoins like USDC and USDT, plus additional assets like XRP, Dogecoin, Polkadot, and Cardano. You are also given minimum trade sizes that are quite accessible (for example: 0.0001 BTC, 0.002 ETH).
However, you won’t find meme tokens or risky altcoin speculation here.
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Fees and Spreads
Their fee structure is straightforward: 0.25% commission per executed crypto trade, with a minimum fee of $0.01 per order. No spread markup on crypto trades and no custody fees, which is simpler than their forex model.
To put it in perspective: a $1,000 BTC trade costs $2.50 in fees. That’s mid-range compared to competitors like Coinbase at around 0.5%, Binance at about 0.1%, and Kraken between 0.16 – 0.26%.
However, there’s no leverage or short selling for crypto here, and standard deposit or withdrawal fees (like $20 for a bank wire) might apply.
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Security
Security features include two-factor authentication (2FA), encrypted data transmission, and segregated client funds, standard practice under strict regulators like the FCA, CFTC, and ASIC.
Their track record speaks for itself: no significant hacks or breaches in 25+ years of operation. The Paxos partnership adds an extra custody layer, which means your crypto is held with a licensed trust company.
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Support and Education
Customer service is strong, with chat, email, and phone support (in some regions). Educational content covers crypto basics, trading fundamentals, and risk management, helpful for newer investors who want a guided experience instead of figuring everything out alone.
You also get crypto-focused guides on topics like managing risk, understanding price moves, buying NFTs, and even navigating things like the FCA’s crypto derivatives ban. Delivered through articles, videos, and webinars, so you can build smarter strategies and trade more confidently.
So, is OANDA a Good Option for Crypto Investing?
Yes, but it depends on what type of crypto investor you are.
OANDA is perfect if you:
- Are a cautious or traditional investor who wants crypto exposure in a regulated environment
- Already trade forex or CFDs and want to expand into crypto
- Prefer mobile-first trading (their award-winning mobile app is excellent)
- Value security and regulation over having access to hundreds of altcoins
- Want professional-grade tools and research alongside your crypto trading
OANDA isn’t ideal if you:
- Are a really high-volume crypto trader focused on minimizing fees
- Need access to 200+ altcoins, DeFi tokens, or meme coins
- Want crypto-native features like staking, yield farming, or DeFi integration
Where OANDA Fits in the Crypto World
OANDA isn’t trying to be the next Binance or Coinbase, and that’s exactly its strength. If you care about regulation, security, and a platform built for serious traders over chasing the newest meme coin, it delivers. You get a clean fee structure, a solid list of major cryptos, and tools that actually help you trade smarter, not just faster.