Coinbase crypto exchange is a US-based cryptocurrency broker/exchange that allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. The exchange is headquartered in San Francisco and is known as the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. This is mainly due to the broker’s easy-to-use and convenient interface. The exchange is perfect for beginners who want to start trading or acquire cryptocurrencies. The exchange was first founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam and has since grown, accepting traders from 32 countries around the world.
Coinbase mainly trades three cryptocurrencies namely Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, with Bitcoin holding the largest volume. Other cryptocurrencies available on the exchange are Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum Classic. Coinbase plans to accept more cryptocurrencies in the future, and they will certainly skyrocket as they do so.
Coinbase crypto exchange compare to other exchanges
Kraken, Coinbase, and Binance exchanges all offer a wide range of cryptocurrencies, but the three exchanges differ in terms of fees and account benefits. If you are looking for the lowest fees and access to options like futures trading, Kraken may be the best solution for you.
But while Binance’s 0.1% trading fee is lower than Coinbase’s 0.50% fees, Coinbase offers a wider range of account options for individuals and institutions.
Ways to invest with Coinbase
Brokerage account at Coinbase
As long as you have at least $2, you can trade 100+ cryptocurrencies with Coinbase’s standard trading account. But even if you don’t actively buy, sell, or use cryptocurrencies, you can use several other products, including the web and mobile interfaces.
The Coinbase crypto exchange Earn feature allows you to earn free crypto assets by learning about various cryptocurrency topics. Here’s how it works: You watch short instructional videos (usually no longer than four minutes each) on various cryptocurrencies, but have to take a quiz after completing each lesson. Coinbase deposits crypto into your Coinbase wallet for every quiz you take (a full list of Coinbase Earn offers can be found here).
Coinbase also offers the USD Coin (USDC), a digital currency backed by the US dollar. The company also refers to these as stablecoins because, unlike regular volatile cryptocurrencies, you can always rescue one USD coin for one US dollar, according to Coinbase’s website. The app allows eligible USD Coin customers to earn rewards at an APY of 0.15%.
Additionally, if you are wondering about crypto custody and storage options, Coinbase offers its online storage wallets. The Coinbase Wallet app (this app is also separate from the iOS and Android mobile apps) allows you to manage your private keys and crypto assets online.
One thing to keep in mind is that while the Coinbase wallet is similar to many popular crypto and bitcoin wallets that offer you non-custodial storage of your private keys, it also offers its unique feature. A user-controlled wallet gives you a 12-word retrieval phrase or “seed” that only users can access. This means that the Coinbase crypto exchange does not have access to this secret code.
Coinbase crypto exchange Pro Account
If you’re more of an advanced cryptocurrency trader, Coinbase’s Pro account might be a good fit for you. This account includes real-time order books, charting tools, and trading history. Coinbase also says its websocket feed gives you easy access to market data, while its trading API gives you the power to build secure trading bots.
Coinbase Pro accounts also include up to $250,000 of FDIC insurance coverage, and higher account balances result in lower trading fees. For example, the Coinbase Pro fee structure consists of taker and maker fees. If you have an account balance below $10,000, you may have to pay a 0.50% taker fee. You only have to pay 0.04% if you hold more than $500 million.
According to Coinbase crypto exchange, taker fees are charged when you place an order at the market price, which is executed immediately. These fees range from 0.04% to 0.50% depending on the account balance.
Producer fees, on the other hand, accrue whenever you place orders that aren’t immediately matched to existing orders, according to Coinbase’s website. The platform says you pay a maker fee when another investor enters.
Coinbase crypto exchange Institutional Services
Coinbase also offers a wide range of investment opportunities for companies and institutions. These include Prime cryptocurrency trading platform, Asset Hub, trading platform, storage options, and ventures services.
Asset Hub allows businesses and issuers to list crypto assets on the Coinbase platform for growth and exposure. Coinbase’s trading offerings help crypto-focused businesses set up hosted checkout pages, invoices, payment buttons, and more.
The investment platform also offers secure cold storage (also called offline storage) for institutions and companies. And the Ventures feature offers new businesses a chance to raise money to expand.
Coinbase crypto exchange Payment and expenses
You can also do more than just trade and wager thanks to the Coinbase Card and other spending features. The Coinbase crypto exchange Card is a Visa debit card funded by your crypto account balance. You’ll need to set up the iOS or Android mobile app to use it, and you can spend crypto worldwide while earning up to 4% back in crypto rewards with every purchase.
Coinbase crypto exchange also allows you contactless payments, PIN payments, or ATM withdrawals. Previously, you could only use the card to earn either 1% back into Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin, or 4% back into Graphs or Stellar.
But on September 27, 2021, Coinbase announced that cardholders can now spend USD (plus crypto) using the Coinbase card. And starting this week, you can earn 1% back in Dai or 4% in Amp or Rally. The crypto exchange says all US customers (except Hawaiians) will be eligible to sign up for the Coinbase crypto exchange card this fall.
Finally, Coinbase now also allows US customers to deposit any amount of their paychecks directly into their accounts in crypto or USD. These include the option to get paid in crypto (this feature allows Coinbase to convert your paycheck from USD to crypto with no transaction fees).
Is Coinbase Trustworthy?
Coinbase has received an F rating from the Better Business Bureau. The BBB considers several factors when evaluating companies. This includes time in business (as well as the type of business), history of customer complaints, licenses, regulatory actions, and more. While Coinbase’s rating is low, the bureau also says its ratings do not guarantee a company will perform well or demonstrate trustworthiness.
Because of this, it’s also important to do your due diligence before making a final decision. The BBB says it gave Coinbase crypto exchange an F rating for failing to respond to more than 2,251 complaints.
In early July 2021, Coinbase Global, Inc. became involved in a class-action lawsuit alleging violations of securities laws. The bureau also lists a pattern of complaints from customers describing being locked out of their accounts and unable to reach customer service. It closed more than 2,400 complaints in the last 12 months.
Coinbase Deposit and withdrawal options
Coinbase customers have a variety of options for depositing and withdrawing funds to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. These options may vary slightly from country to country, but most deposit and withdrawal options are universal, including for the United States. Check out the available deposit and withdrawal methods below.
Deposit and withdrawal methods:
Bank Account (ACH) – This deposit/withdrawal method works best for both large and small amounts and takes between 4-5 business days.
Wire Transfer – This deposit/withdrawal method is best for large amounts and takes 1-3 business days.
Cryptocurrencies – Traders can use Coinbase crypto exchange to buy/sell Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin and deposit/withdraw.
Selling Methods:
An additional method of receiving sold cryptocurrency funds is through PayPal. Coinbase users can sell their cryptocurrency and have the funds deposited directly into their PayPal account.
Purchase Methods:
An additional method of buying cryptocurrency without depositing funds into your Coinbase account is to buy the cryptocurrency directly using your debit/credit card.
Coinbase crypto exchange Supported Countries
Coinbase accepts users and traders from all over the world. They currently support merchants from over 30 countries including:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- The Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Finland
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Malta
- Monaco
- The Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- San Marino
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
Coinbase Fees and costs
Coinbase crypto exchange does not charge any fees for depositing funds into your account, instead, it charges a 1.49% fee when buying cryptocurrencies. Although Coinbase does not charge a deposit fee, your financial institution will. These fees vary from country to country, but the most common are 3.99% for debit/credit cards and 1.49% for bank transfers. Coinbase fees are not ideal for day-to-day digital currency traders because they are higher than many other popular exchanges.
In addition to these fees, traders also have to pay virtual currency transfer fees, which include the network transaction fees and smaller fees. Also, users are charged an exchange rate fee dependent on the spread as well as a conversion fee. The fees are always specified and displayed to the user when making their transactions.
Coinbase crypto exchange Limits and Liquidity
Coinbase customers are blessed with very high limits when their accounts are fully verified. Accounts with fact-checking information are less likely to be restricted to trading in exchange. US customers who are fully verified can buy up to $50,000 worth of bitcoin daily. European customers can get Bitcoin worth up to €30,000 at any time.
Coinbase Privacy
Coinbase crypto exchange requires a lot of personal information from its users for identity verification as it is a regulated financial services company in the United States. Users cannot be anonymous like some other cryptocurrency exchanges. As such, users are required to submit their bank details for direct deposits, as well as identity verification with a government-issued ID such as a driver’s license or passport. Coinbase securely stores and protects this information and does not share it with any third party.
Security and Verification Levels
Coinbase crypto exchange stores 98% of its users’ cryptocurrency funds offline in a cold storage wallet to ensure its safety from theft or loss. The cold storage wallets are kept in lockers and vaults around the world. Coinbase website traffic runs over fully encrypted SSL (https), and users’ wallets are stored with AES-256 encryption. In other words, Coinbase is very secure. In addition to Coinbase’s security, users can make their accounts even more secure with two-factor authentication, email verification, and other security measures.
Coinbase Customer Service
Coinbase offers an extensive customer support page with various articles and FAQ pages for traders and new users to refer to with any questions or problems. Also, users can open a support ticket, which will be answered as soon as possible. Response time can be quite delayed at times as the exchange has seen many new users lately. However, the support page is very informative and organized, complete with topics and a search bar.
Coinbase crypto exchange Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
- Secure exchange of cryptocurrencies
- Simple and intuitive user interface
- Impressive limits and liquidity
- Accepted in over 30 countries
Disadvantage
- Fees may be higher than some other exchanges
- Limited cryptocurrency assets available
Coinbase crypto exchange review: Conclusion
Buying and selling cryptocurrencies is a new and exciting endeavor, but also very risky and technologically advanced. Coinbase does a very good job of providing its users with an easy way to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. The exchange may not be the best for more experienced cryptocurrency traders as fees can be quite high and cryptocurrency investments are limited. However, this exchange is probably the safest, most secure, and easiest cryptocurrency exchange for buying and selling Bitcoin and some other popular cryptocurrencies.
Why Bitcoin cloud mining?
An unknown individual or group called Satoshi Nakamoto introduced the Bitcoin network to the world in 2009. In 2021, there are more than 10,000 different projects in the field of cryptocurrencies. So each of them has its role in building the future of money.
The market value of cryptocurrencies reached $ 1 trillion for the first time in January 2021. It passed $ 2.5 trillion less than three months later. So it shows that this market is one of the growing markets in the favor of its investors.
Bitcoin Cloud Mining is the process by which you participate in a mining pool to a cloud miner website and purchase a certain amount of hash power. In this pool, the profit will distribute equally among all participants who have participated in the mining pool. It will happen based on hash power. So the cloud miner platform allows you to mine your BTC without installing any hardware and at no extra cost. So Minerland, the best crypto cloud mining service, helps you invest in Bitcoin easily and with low risk.