Coinbase exchange review
Cryptocurrencies:
Fees:
Security system:
Deposit methods:
Cryptocurrencies
Coinbase offers an extensive range of over 200 cryptos, including some of the biggest ones on the market such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple.
| Bitcoin (BTC) | Available |
| Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | Available |
| Ethereum (ETH) | Available |
| Ripple (XRP) | Available |
| Solana (SOL) | Available |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | Available |
| Polkadot (DOT) | Available |
| Polygon (MATIC) | Available |
| Cardano (ADA) | Available |
| Litecoin (LTC) | Available |
| Tether (USDT) | Available |
In contrast, KuCoin lists over 700 cryptos on its platform, while Binance offers more than 350. However, compared to its competitors, Coinbase has a relatively low minimum deposit of $50 required to begin trading.
Payment methods
You can deposit and withdraw in CAD. Coinbase doesn’t explicitly outline all its deposit or withdrawal limits but does state on its site that they are determined by KYC verification and purchase history.
| Payment method | Limits |
|---|---|
| VISA daily limit (buying in FIAT) | $25,000 requires KYC verification, ID check and a selfie |
| MasterCard daily limit (buying in FIAT) | $25,000 requires KYC verification, ID check and a selfie |
| Wire transfer daily limit (buying in FIAT) | No limits |
On the other hand, Gemini requires KYC checks to buy, sell and trade cryptos but the company only asks you for a selfie and proof of identity, which can be a drivers license, government-issued ID or passport, while most other crypto exchanges ask for proof of address too. In addition, Canadians need to provide a social insurance number.
eToro requires KYC verification to buy, sell and trade cryptos and the company asks you for proof of identity, which can be a drivers license, government-issued ID or passport, as well as proof of address, which can be a utility bill, letter from your local municipality, house rental agreement, tax letter, credit card statement or bank account statement. You can even use the eToro mobile app to scan your documents directly to the platform.
CashtoCode eVoucher
You can’t fund your account with a CashtoCode eVoucher as this isn’t offered at Coinbase.
Trading fees
While there are no deposit fees, the platform charges high transaction fees through a tiered maker/taker pricing structure whenever you buy, sell or exchange cryptos. There’s also a flat 1% fee to convert and withdraw your crypto to cash.
| Pricing tier | Transaction taker fee | Transaction maker fee |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $10,000 | 0.60% | 0.40% |
| $10,000-$50,000 | 0.40% | 0.25% |
| $50,000-$100,000 | 0.25% | 0.15% |
| $100,000-$1,000,000 | 0.20% | 0.10% |
| $1,000,000-$15,000,000 | 0.18% | 0.08% |
| $15,000,000-$75,000,000 | 0.16% | 0.06% |
| $75,000,000-$250,000,000 | 0.12% | 0.03% |
| $250,000,000-$400,000,000 | 0.08% | No fee |
| $400,000,000+ | 0.05% | No fee |
Staking
Coinbase offers a program that allows users to stake any of the nine eligible cryptos and the rewards you earn depends on the amount staked, with annual percentage yields (APYs) of up to 6.12%. For instance, you can earn up to 3.89% on your Ethereum.
| Cryptocurrency | APY |
|---|---|
| Algorand | 5.75% |
| Cardano | 2% |
| Cosmos | 6.12% |
| Dai | Variable rate |
| Ethereum | 3.89% |
| Solana | 2.4% |
| Tether | Variable rate |
| Tezos | 3.19% |
| USD Coin | 1.5% |
Is Coinbase exchange safe?
As a regulated Over-the-Counter (OTC) exchange, Coinbase has been in operation since 2012 and amassed over 108 million users across the world. The company has comprehensive security measures in place that offer a high level of security for users, from annual third-party audits to holding customers' assets 1:1 in custody.
A very low percentage of users (8%) rate Coinbase with five stars on Trustpilot, which is a low indicator of safety. In addition, the company has faced controversy for a series of past hacks that led to numerous customers losing up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. For example, one user, Ben Vidovic, reported to CNBC that he lost $168,596 when his Coinbase account was hacked in April 2021.
| Trustpilot | 1 star |
The most common issues raised are related to account, withdrawal and customer service concerns. However, people praise them for the Coinbase Advanced Trade service and a great mobile app with multiple features.
Security
Coinbase has a comprehensive range of security measures in place such as balances of up to $250,000 being secured by FDIC insurance, annual third-party audits for its web network, end-to-end data encryption and a Coinbase Vault that can prevent stored crypto from being withdrawn in order to mitigate the risk of money laundering or financial crime. The company also adheres to OFAC standards and received a coveted Bitlicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services, which ensures that Coinbase adheres to regulations at both a state and federal level.
| Safe coins storage | An undisclosed amount of deposits are held in cold storage. |
| Two-factor authentication | Two-factor authentication via SMS verification is required at Coinbase. |
| Information security | Coinbase uses procedural safeguards to keep your information safe including the monitoring of third-party data breaches and end-to-end encryption. All passwords stored on databases are hashed using the Bcrypt algorithm and the company uses DKIM cryptography for email domains. |
| Platform security | Coinbase uses machine learning technology models to monitor all crypto transactions. |
| Network security | A Coinbase Vault that can prevent stored crypto from being withdrawn in order to mitigate the risk of money laundering or financial crime. |
In comparison, Gemini has a range of security measures in place such as running a private bug bounty program, a coordinated disclosure program related to hacking research, IP address whitelisting, geographically distributed hardware security modules (HSM) with a FIPS 140-2 level rating and a digital multi-signature scheme. In addition, Gemini is secured by PCI DSS, has SOC 1, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications and is regulated by the NY Department of Financial Services, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Similarly, eToro uses cutting-edge security practices that are implemented by its very own Security Operations Centre team such as web firewalls, 24/7 transaction monitoring and encrypted transport layer security (TLS). They also have an email address specifically related to account security issues that users can contact and all cash holdings for stock, exchange traded fund (ETF) and crypto trading are FDIC-insured for up to $250,000.
How to start trading at Coinbase exchange?
Registration
You need to create an account in order to register with Coinbase and this can be done by:
- Visiting the homepage and inputting your full name and email address so you can create a password and start the process.
- You then need to verify your email address.
- After verifying your email address, you need to select if you want to receive marketing emails about products and services.
- You then have to enter your phone number to receive an SMS verification text message.
- After verifying your phone number, you have to complete KYC verification.
- Upon successful registration and passing verification, access to all functions of the site including higher limits are available to you.
KYC
After filling in your account details, you need to go through multi-step KYC verification. This process is required for anyone who wants to buy, sell or exchange cryptos on the platform. Passing KYC checks also unlocks functionalities such as more order types via Coinbase Advanced Trade or the ability to earn rewards on your crypto balance through a staking program.
You must provide a clear and visible picture of the front and back side of your documents such as proof of address and passport. In addition, you need to submit a selfie.
Customer support
Despite being a globally well-known and prominent crypto exchange, customer service options are limited at Coinbase with only a Help Center displaying FAQs, email address and no live chat function or phone line.
| Live chat | No live chat function available. |
| Phone support | No customer phone line available. |
| support@coinbase.com | |
| FAQs | Available |
Unlike most other large crypto exchanges, Coinbase doesn’t use a ticketing system where users can fill in an online form with a subject, description and optional attachment in order to contact the company. For users who are dealing with emergency account issues, there’s no way to speak with customer service on the phone. However, this is compensated for by the customer service email address.
Conclusion
Coinbase is recommended to users who are looking for advanced trading tools such as TradingView price charts and more order types like market, limit, stop limit and auction modes, as well FDIC-insured balance protection. However, there are high transaction fees, making the service less accessible for active traders, a low number of cryptos available for staking and no customer service live chat function.
But if you don’t mind this, Coinbase can still be a great option if you’re looking for a broader set of trading tools via Coinbase Advanced Trade, which is a major differentiating factor and unique selling point (USP) for the platform. The platform could improve its service by offering a customer service live chat function, transaction fee discounts or increasing the available range of cryptos that can be staked.
Alternatives of Coinbase
- Modern trading platform
- Zero trading, deposit or withdrawal fees
- Rewards debit card
- Ability to stake 32 different cryptos
- Cross-asset trading
- Limited customer support
- Relatively high service fees and a price protection fee
- Low trading fees
- Modern interface
- Wide selection of cryptos available at over 350
- Ability to stake 27 different cryptos
- Variety of payment methods available
- Regulatory issues and lawsuits
- Security concerns related to hacks
- VISA debit card with spending rewards in crypto
- Staking program available for 22 different cryptos
- Online Crypto.com University with educational resources for traders
- Trading fee discounts
- Top-rated mobile app
- High fees unless you use CRO in trades
- Limited payment method options
- No customer phone support
Uphold provides a 24/7 live chat function available in both English and Spanish, as well as a ticketing system where users can fill in an online form in order to contact the company. There are no trading, deposit or withdrawal fees and there’s a wide selection of 32 different cryptos available to stake. You can even earn rewards through the Uphold debit card, which gives 4% crypto rewards in XRP on all purchases.
Binance offers a 24/7 live chat function available in 17 languages and charges a low fee of 0.10% for trading on the platform, as well as a 0.50% fee for instant buy/sell. Last year, the company even introduced zero maker and taker fees for all 13 Bitcoin spot trading pairs and when you use BNB in trades, you get a 25% discount on trading fees. There are also 27 different cryptos available to stake.
Crypto.com offers some of the lowest trading fees on the market with a base fee of 0.1% for both market makers and takers. The fee model is tiered and users can even receive a 20% discount on trading fees if they use KCS in trades.
FAQs
Yes, because Coinbase has been in operation since 2012, amassing over 108 million users across the world and has comprehensive platform and network security measures in place.
Yes, you can file a claim for reimbursable losses within 90 days of this occurring but your account must have been open for at least 30 days and Coinbase doesn’t cover reimbursement for loss of funds held in third-party non-custodial wallets.
The platform offers commissions of 1.5%-6.12% depending on the crypto being staked and there are nine available within the staking program.
No, but you must utilise your transaction history report to fulfill local crypto tax obligations.
Yes, Coinbase uses procedural safeguards to keep your data safe including password Bcrypt algorithms and DKIM cryptography for email domains.
Coinbase doesn’t charge deposit fees but you need to pay transaction fees that are based on a tiered maker/taker pricing structure, as well as a flat fee to convert and withdraw your crypto to cash.
Specification: Coinbase exchange review
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