The most user-friendly cryptocurrency exchange – hands down!

Coinbase Overview

Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform where users can buy, sell, and trade over a hundred different cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin.

When first getting started with cryptocurrency, most people find the original Coinbase site to be the most user-friendly for making buy and sell orders. Coinbase Pro is an upgrade offered to all Coinbase customers that provides advanced users with access to new tools and order types.

To put it simply, Coinbase is a great choice for both crypto beginners and seasoned traders.

Platform & Features

Trading on Coinbase is user-friendly and simple to understand or navigate, as long as you know how to work a computer you should be able to invest in Coinbase without any hassles.

Coinbase can be accessed through Android and iOS mobile apps, or over through your computer. If you have ever traded stocks using an online brokerage, you will discover that the experience is fairly comparable to what you will find here.

You are able to monitor your Coinbase portfolio on the main dashboard, and you are never more than a few clicks away from a page that allows you to purchase and sell currencies. The cryptocurrency markets are open around the clock!

Coinbase Pro

Coinbase Pro is designed specifically for experienced traders, but in reality, anybody who has a Coinbase account may get access to and utilize the pro version of the platform. 

It provides you with additional trade kinds, the most notable of which are limit and stop orders, neither of which are accessible on the main Coinbase platform.

Coinbase Wallets

There are many different kinds of cryptocurrency wallets. Consequently, Coinbase provides a number of different wallet options to meet the diverse requirements of its customers who want to store various cryptocurrencies. They provide three kinds of wallets, called:

• Coinbase Wallet
• Coinbase Exchange
• Coinbase dApp Wallet

History Of Coinbase

Initially launched in 2012, Coinbase’s original purpose was to facilitate Bitcoin transactions. The firm has since grown to more than 4,900 employees around the world and now supports dozens of different cryptocurrencies. 

It serves customers in more than one hundred countries, and quarterly customer transaction volume is close to three hundred and nine billion dollars. 

The extensive ecosystem that Coinbase administers and maintains is supported by 13,000 different financial institutions.

Security and Regulation

Coinbase employs a number of security measures, including a search of the dark web for client passwords, the suggestion of an external security key, and the provision of on-site security prompts.

When you make a deposit to your Coinbase account in U.S. dollars, the funds are kept in bank accounts that are FDIC-insured. However, Investments in cryptocurrencies are not protected.

Coinbase has criminal insurance that will pay for damage done to the website in the event of a security breach but not for stolen credentials. Therefore, it is crucial that users follow Coinbase’s strictest security guidelines.

Fees and Commissions

Coinbase’s standard platform fees are rather complex. Instead of paying a maker/taker charge or a fixed cost, you’ll pay a spread fee that will temporarily lock in the transaction price. It is not until you are ready to submit the transaction that you notice the cost you will be charged.

The average spread fee charged by Coinbase is 0.5%.

Coinbase has a much more straightforward maker/taker fee structure for its Advanced Trade customers. Maker/taker fees are widespread on most crypto exchanges. Makers increase the available funds on a platform, while takers reduce it. 

The one problem is that customers don’t know whether they are a maker or a taker until after a transaction has taken place. Maker/taker costs on Advanced Transaction drop with increasing trade volume, as is the case on other cryptocurrency exchanges. 

In addition to trading fees for cryptocurrencies, Advanced Trade also charges a 0.001% taker fee on some stablecoin pairings, such as USD Coin (USDC)/ EUR and Tether (USDT) and USD.

What Can You Trade On Coinbase?

Coinbase now supports the trade of over 100 different cryptocurrencies and adds support for new coins on a regular basis. Since there are too many to cover here, let’s take a quick look at some of the most popular currencies that are traded on Coinbase:

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Cardano (ADA)
• Dogecoin (DOGE)
• DAI (DAI)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Litecoin (LTC)
• Polkadot (DOT)
• Polygon (MATIC)
• Solana (SOL)
• Shiba Inu (SHIB)
• Stellar Lumens (XLM)
• SushiSwap (SUSHI)
• USD Coin (USDC)
• Uniswap (UNI)

How To Open Your Coinbase Account

The procedure of signing up with Coinbase is one that is comparable to creating a new online bank or brokerage account in terms of how simple and fast it is. 

For the purpose of creating a fully verified account, you will be required to input your personal contact information, including your Social Security number. In order to verify that you are who you claim to be, new account users are required to upload a photo of a valid form of identification issued by the government. 

Keep in mind that Coinbase may monitor your transactions for tax reporting and other regulatory purposes. If you’ve heard that crypto is untraceable, you should take this as proof that Coinbase may watch your transactions.

After you have created your Coinbase account and have your information validated, you will be able to purchase and sell cryptocurrencies, as long as you are below the limits that are associated with your Coinbase account. The more your account is verified, the more restrictions are removed (threshold for depositing into Coinbase or withdrawing).

Coinbase Customer Support

You can contact their customer support through email, phone or a chatbot on their website. They are fairly quick to respond, and should take between 24-48 hours.

Pros

• Coinbase’s primary website and mobile app make buying, selling, and exchanging cryptocurrencies a breeze, even for those with little prior experience.
• As of this writing, Coinbase offers trading in over 100 different cryptocurrencies. This figure continues to rise on a daily basis.
• Through Coinbase Earn, you may accumulate interest on your qualifying balances or acquire a token amount of a new currency.
• Coinbase Pro is an active trading platform with additional features and low costs, and it is accessible to every user at a reduced rate.

Cons

• The main Coinbase platform typically has prohibitively high transaction fees.
• Coinbase’s customer assistance receives low rankings, even in the case of an emergency involving the security of an individual’s account.
• Although Coinbase accepts a wide variety of currencies, many alternative cryptocurrencies cannot be traded on the platform.

Conclusion

When it comes to cryptocurrency transactions, Coinbase is the go-to site for buyers, sellers, holders, and exchangers of all stripes.

It’s great for those who are just getting started with cryptocurrencies and want an easy way to purchase and sell without having to deal with the complexity of cold storage and decentralized exchanges.

Coinbase’s cost and customer support are its two greatest drawbacks. Those who are comfortable managing their own accounts and are comfortable with Coinbase’s costs should consider it a top pick for getting started with crypto.