Digital Surge
Digital Surge is a Brisbane exchange founded in 2017. About A$33 million of its assets were stuck when FTX collapsed in November 2022; it froze withdrawals, went into voluntary administration, and reopened in February 2023 under a deed of company arrangement that repaid customers in part.
Checked 31 October 2026. Each fact links to its source. General information, not a recommendation.
At a glance
- Founded
- 2017, by Josh Lehman and Dan Rutter (Digital Surge: About us)
- Based in
- Brisbane (ABC News, Dec 2022)
- Australian operator
- Digital Surge Pty Ltd, ABN 89 620 473 109 (Digital Surge terms)
- Leadership
- Dan Rutter, co-founder and CEO (2023) (CoinDesk, Jan 2023)
- AUSTRAC
- Registered, number 100576214 (Digital Surge's own statement) (Digital Surge home page)
- ASIC licence
- None; it says it has applied (Oct 2026) (Digital Surge terms)
- Trading fee, entry tier
- 0.50% on buys, sells and swaps, falling to 0.10% above A$5 million a month; prices include the spread (Digital Surge fees)
- AUD deposits
- PayID or bank transfer, free, A$20 minimum; AUD only (Digital Surge Help: Funding your account)
- How it holds your money
- Its terms say customer balances are pooled, not held separately for each account, and some assets are kept on other exchanges (Digital Surge terms)
- Coins
- 400+ (its own figure) (Digital Surge home page)
- Customers
- 50,000+ (its own claim) (Digital Surge home page)
- Proof of reserves
- None published that we found (Digital Surge home page)
- 24-hour trading volume
- No independent figure available
Security record
· Customers' money caught in another firm's collapse
About A$33 million stuck at FTX; voluntary administration
Digital Surge had placed about half its assets with FTX. When FTX collapsed it froze deposits and withdrawals (from 16 November 2022) and went into voluntary administration with KordaMentha on 8 December 2022. Creditors approved a deed of company arrangement on 24 January 2023 and the platform reopened in February.
Outcome: Partly repaid: balances under A$250 in full, larger balances in part upfront (about 57c in the dollar, by KordaMentha's figure), with the rest to come from any FTX recovery and five years of profits. We found no report that the rest has been paid.
Sources: CoinDesk · ABC News · KordaMentha
Regulation and legal action
We found no regulator or court action against Digital Surge's Australian business up to 31 October 2026.
Prices on CoinWharf
Digital Surge isn't in CoinWharf's live price comparison. This page covers its record only.
Other exchanges
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