Introduction
Recognized cryptocurrency broker and exchange Coinbase first debuted over a decade ago. At the time, there was little competition. The most significant player back then was the infamous MtGox Bitcoin exchange. Market participants were few and far between. There were a handful of platforms on which to buy Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Today, Coinbase is thriving. As of December 2021, the platform stores 12% of the world’s crypto. Moreover, it serves more than 56 million verified users worldwide and is expected to reach over 70 million verified users by the end of 2021, according to Finbold analysts.
Furthermore, it also serves more than 1,700 institutions. The exchange has more than $223 Billion of assets under management and, in Q1 2021, processed more than $335B worth of trades. According to our previous research, Coinbase is the second most-visited crypto exchange in the world with 91 million web visitors in October 2021. Binance remains the leader with 171 million web visitors for the same month.
About Coinbase
Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange that was co-founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong (CEO) and Fred Ehrsam (Board Director) as part of the 2012 YCombinator cohort (S12). We may refer to Coinbase as a crypto exchange, and it may have started as one, but over the years, it has expanded its offering to include much more than just buying, selling, and trading crypto assets. The platform is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with over 1,700 employees distributed across the world. It has users from over 100 countries on the platform. It offers brokerage services, a trading platform, a staking pool, a storage vault, crypto custody facilities, a stablecoin, a debit card, and a standalone wallet, among other products and services. Let’s take a closer look at the features Coinbase provides and what makes it a top-tier crypto company helping bring blockchain technology to the masses.
Coinbase features
1. Buying and selling cryptocurrencies (brokerage, best for beginners)
Coinbase is most recognised for its consumer-facing product, which allows individuals to purchase and trade cryptocurrency through a brokerage platform. As opposed to a trading platform, a broker is a service that buys from and sells assets to its customers, which is what Coinbase offers. Hence, such service is highly appreciated by the beginners who make their first steps into the cryptocurrency sector. The users do not directly trade with one another, and Coinbase gets its revenue out of buying the assets at a discounted price while also selling them at a premium above the market price. Coinbase supports close to 60 digital assets available for depositing, buying, selling, and withdrawing. Not all assets are available with all of these functions. How each user can interact with any asset largely depends on their location and, to a lesser extent, Coinbase’s infrastructure supporting the asset. Coinbase customers can interact with the consumer interface (Coinbase.com) through the web or the mobile app. The interface is intuitive and one of the simplest to use, even for beginners.
2. Coinbase Pro (cryptocurrency trading)
Coinbase launched its trading platform in 2015. Dubbed Coinbase Exchange, trading was the natural expansion to its already popular buying and selling brokerage service. The product was rebranded in 2016 to Global Digital Asset Exchange or GDAX, and later in 2018 to the current Coinbase Pro.
3. Coinbase Prime (crypto services for Institutions)
Institutions have different needs to retail investors, and Coinbase tackles it. To cater to this increasingly growing clientele, Coinbase launched the beta version of the Prime product on May 25, 2021, and on September 20, 2021, Coinbase Prime officially announced its launch to all institutions. Prime is basically a brokerage service geared towards high-volume users. As of March 2021, Coinbase served more than 8,000 institutions using its other products, such as Custody, to store their vast crypto assets. Coinbase Prime offers advanced trading, data analytics, prime services, and custody. Prime may be thought of as a combination between Coinbase retail brokerage and Pro products with additional features relevant to the institutional investor. Coinbase Prime allows customers access to more than 10 liquidity pools (venues), smart order routing to hunt for the best all-in prices, and facilitate seamless funds transfers between Custody and active trading wallets. Coinbase Custody is a segregated cold-storage facility, therefore being able to seamlessly transfer funds between cold storage and the hot wallet is a huge convenience to any trader. Other crypto native functions such as staking and participating in blockchain governance are also available with Prime. As of 2nd July 2021, Coinbase has increased the number of trading pairs and payment methods available to institutional clients by expanding the number of supported fiat currencies on Coinbase Exchange. Previously, many of their international clientele could only purchase cryptocurrency in their own currency. Coinbase now offers currency rails for deposits and withdrawals in USD, EUR, or GBP, as well as access to the related trading pairs. Through increased access to large liquidity pools, this breakthrough has the potential to generate billions of dollars in trade volume for Coinbase. As a result, regardless of location, institutional clients will now be able to trade in and out of numerous currencies. Additionally, more assets have been added to Coinbase Prime’s custody capability; it has enhanced its post-trade reporting and extended its post-trade credit financing options along the road. Watch the video: Introducing Coinbase Prime
4. Cryptocurrency staking
Staking is the act of participating in transaction validation and blockchain governance within a Proof of Stake (PoS) network by holding an amount of the network’s native cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency staking is becoming more popular as more PoS blockchains launch. Ethereum, the second most valuable blockchain network by market cap after Bitcoin, is also undergoing an upgrade to switch its consensus mechanism from ETH mining to staking. Therefore, staking’s popularity has risen as a result of this. Several crypto exchanges have started offering staking services to their users interested in contributing their assets towards staking and earning passive returns. Coinbase is one of them. The exchange currently supports only six assets, with more to be added later. Here’s a rundown of the assets supported by Coinbase and their projected yearly returns (staking rewards might change over time): Please note: Not every Coinbase user qualifies to stake their assets. To start staking, there are three requirements to fulfill: #1 Location requirements So far, Coinbase only allows residents in the following six countries to participate in staking: #2 Account requirements Only individuals with verified accounts can participate in staking. #3 Asset requirements Participants need to hold at least $1 of the supported assets listed above. Staking with Coinbase isn’t just limited to retail accounts. Institutional investors using the Coinbase Custody platform also have access to staking with one extra asset – MakerDAO (MKR) available for staking.
5. Coinbase wallet
The Coinbase wallet is a standalone application offered by Coinbase. You do not need to have a Coinbase account to access the wallet, but it provides more convenience. It is also important to differentiate between the Coinbase app and the Coinbase wallet. As these two are not the same. The Coinbase app is the mobile interface used to access one’s Coinbase.com account. You can buy and sell your crypto within your Coinbase app just as you can using the web interface. However, the Coinbase wallet application is a mobile wallet primarily used to store your crypto. You can also send and receive digital assets, including dApps (decentralized applications), ERC-721 NFT tokens, and ERC-21 fungible tokens. The wallet gives you access to thousands of tokens and coins not supported by the Coinbase app or Coinbase consumer or trading platforms. A standout feature that the wallet offers that other crypto wallets don’t is the use of Wallet usernames. These are human-friendly wallet addresses to which anyone can send funds or make payments instead of using the alphanumeric characters used by most blockchain networks. Anyone with a Coinbase Wallet has the option to create a unique username they can share with anyone wishing to send them funds.
6. Coinbase debit card
The Coinbase Card is a contactless Chip & Pin plastic debit card offered in partnership with Visa. The card was first launched in the UK, then later expanded to the EU region and, most recently, the US. Being it’s a Visa card, users can use it at millions of locations where throughout the world, including ATMs and merchant POS machines. The card is powered by the customer’s Coinbase account allowing them to withdraw funds available in their wallets. The card can be managed using the complementary Coinbase Card app through which users can control which wallets can be used to make payments, get notifications on payments through the card and freeze or unfreeze the card. The app can also be used to get instant receipts, transaction summaries, and expenditure statements. It is available on iOS and Android.
7. Coinbase Custody and Vault
Coinbase Custody is a storage solution for institutional customers. Talk about asset managers, hedge funds, family offices, other cryptocurrency exchanges, and endowments, and others. These institutions require solid storage facilities that guarantee the safety and security of their digital assets. Coinbase launched Custody in 2018 in partnership with Electronic Transaction Clearing (ETC), an SEC-regulated broker-dealer and FINRA member. The solution offers institutional-grade features including:
On-chain segregation of crypto assets; Multi-layered security through the multi-signature function; Regular security and financial audits; Support for several assets accounting for 90% of digital asset market cap; Staking and governance participation in PoS (staking) networks.
Watch the video: Coinbase’s Custody explained Coinbase also offers a similarly robust storage solution for its retail investors called Coinbase Vault. Launched in 2014, the Vault is a cold storage facility for anyone seeking to store their assets long-term. With Vault, users get access to features such as:
Delayed withdrawals with update notifications on the pending withdrawals. This is a security feature. The withdrawal can be canceled anytime within 48 hours. Multi-signature feature for layered security Up to 97% of assets stored in the Vault are kept offline in cold storage facilities.
The Coinbase Vault is free, and transactions attract no fees.
8. Coinbase Commerce
If you have been looking for a PayPal alternative to accepting online payments, Coinbase Commerce may be the solution you need. It is a free Checkout solution that allows merchants to accept Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, and stablecoins DAI and USD Coin (USDC). This product allows merchants to act as their own banks, avoiding problems associated with conventional banking such as chargebacks and costly services. Given that sellers can accept payments in stablecoins, it also solves the problem of crypto volatility. According to Coinbase, the platform already supports more than 8,000 merchants worldwide. Signing up is easy, and there is no paperwork needed whatsoever. Merchants running e-commerce stores can connect to their Shopify or Woocommerce plugins or a custom-developer solution through the available API.
9. Learn & Earn
Coinbase maintains a learning section on its website that provides a slew of learning resources. There are articles detailing anything from the basics of blockchain, crypto guides, tips and tricks to trading and investing in crypto and market updates. With the information available via the learning area, users can easily delve into different resources about the new digital marketplace. Therefore, having the desire to learn can greatly aid in broadening one’s horizons in the crypto world. The learning section is not just for beginners. Even industry experts and everyone in between can get something of value. Deep dives into specific projects and networks are available, as well as guides on more complex topics like DeFi, NFTs, and staking. Anyone can access this information without having to create an account with Coinbase. The process is simple: watch the videos and answer the questions based on the concepts presented in the videos. Reward coins or tokens will be deposited to your Earn account once you correctly answer the questions. Watch the video: Coinbase’s Earn feature explained
10. USDC stablecoin
USDC stands for USD Coin. It is a cryptocurrency token hosted on the Ethereum network that is pegged to the value of the US Dollar currency. The biggest problem with most cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, is that their market value is highly volatile, making them less suitable as payment modes. Stablecoins, such as USDC and USDT (Tether), were created to merge desirable qualities of cryptocurrencies and conventional/fiat currencies. On the one hand, crypto assets are more dynamic and cost-effective to use across borders. On the other hand, fiat currencies such as the US Dollar have a less volatile market value. Coinbase partnered with Circle to form the CENTRE Consortium, which is the creator of the USD Coin. USDC was launched in 2018 and has gained support from multiple trading platforms, including Binance, Kraken, and Coinbase Pro. Wallets in which you can store the stablecoin include Coinbase Wallet, Binance’s Trust Wallet, MetaMask, Ledger, among several others. Watch the video: USDC stablecoin founded by Coinbase
11. NFT marketplace
Coinbase announced on October 12, 2021 that it is launching a marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In addition, the exchange has created a waitlist to get early access to its NFT marketplace, which will allow users to mint, collect, and trade non-fungible tokens. NFTs are unique digital assets that are used to indicate ownership of online items such as rare art or collectable trading cards, and they are not fungible, which means they cannot be exchanged for Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, Coinbase said that their NFT marketplace will contain “social features” and would tap into the so-called creator economy, which refers to individuals who earn money by posting videos and other content online. Lastly, the firm’s entry into the NFT sector may provide it with an opportunity to diversify its income sources.
How to open a Coinbase account
Starting your journey with Coinbase is straightforward. The exchange has invested a lot in an intuitive and beginner-friendly interface. This applies to both the mobile and the web version. There are three steps to getting started with Coinbase: Let’s look at each in greater detail.
1. Create a Coinbase account
There are three requirements you need to fulfill to qualify for a retail account:
You need to be at least 18 years old; You need to reside in one of the 100 countries supported by Coinbase; You need to have the documents to support the above.
The last part will be covered in greater detail in the following subsection. As for the supported countries, Coinbase serves regions almost evenly across the world. However, the services offered to each supported region may vary. For instance, if you reside in one of the 13 African countries supported by Coinbase, the only function you will have access to is converting between coins. If, on the other hand, you reside in the US, you have access to all of the features that we highlighted in the ‘Features.’ To check whether you reside in a supported country, check this page. The next stage in this step is to create the account.
Visit Coinbase.com or pro.coinbase.com to sign up. Click on the ‘Sign Up’ button on the top right. Alternatively, you can use the Coinbase app to create an account. Download it on the iOS App Store or the Google Play store.
The Sign-Up form above will appear. Fill in with a valid email address, your name as shown in your identification document, and create a strong password. Verify your email by clicking on Coinbase’s activation link sent to you. Login to your new account. As soon as you log in, Coinbase will require you to verify your phone number. Provide the number and your country of residence. Coinbase will send a seven-digit code to your phone as an SMS for verification. The final step to creating your account will be to provide your personal details. This includes any PII (personally identifiable information) such as date of birth, address, employment details, and social security number (SSN) for US residents. Submit the form and wait for an email response from Coinbase.
2. Verify your identity
If you receive a positive response from Coinbase, you will have to verify your identity to unlock your account. Here are the documents you will need for this step:
In the US: State-issued identification documents. It could be a valid driver’s license or an ID card. Outside the US: International passport National ID card Photo ID issued by the government
As proof of residency, you are required to provide either a bank statement or a utility bill in your name issued within the last three months. Here’s a short video by Coinbase on how to verify your ID:
3. Funding your account
To use your new Coinbase account, you are going to have to deposit some funds. This can be done using either crypto or conventional fiat currencies such as the US Dollar. The method of funding available to you will largely depend on your location. Different regions have different payment options. There may be some overlap, but some options are more common with residents in one region over another.
For US residents, there are 4 ways to deposit to and or withdraw from Coinbase accounts: Bank Deposits and withdrawals (through ACH) – takes 4-5 business days Wire transfer – takes 1-3 business days PayPal – instant Debit Cards – instant For UK residents, there are 5 payment options: Faster Payments (FPS) – takes 1-3 business days SEPA transfers – take 1-3 business days PayPal (withdrawals only) – 1 business day 3D Secure Card – instant Instant Card Payments (Withdrawals only) – instant
For other regions, check out this page for a conclusive list of all payment methods to withdraw and deposit funds. Crypto deposits and withdrawals are unrestricted globally, and anyone can deposit or withdraw any supported asset on the platform to any external wallet address.
Apple Pay
On August 5, 2021, Coinbase launched new and frictionless ways to enable crypto purchases with connected debit cards to Apple Pay. Suppose you already have a Visa or Mastercard debit card connected to your Apple Wallet. In that case, Apple Pay will display as a payment option when you buy cryptocurrency with Coinbase on an Apple Pay-compatible iOS device or Safari web browser. Using a credit or debit card with Apple Pay is trustworthy, safe, and accepted in-store and online globally.
Coinbase Fees and Pricing
When it comes to fees and pricing, it is not clear-cut with Coinbase. This is because the exchange offers several different services and products to its customers, and each has a custom pricing model. Let’s examine the fees for some of the more popular services offered by Coinbase:
Brokerage fees (buying and selling crypto) It is not cheap to use Coinbase’s consumer platform where you can buy and sell crypto. Fees in this platform vary depending on the payment method and location of the user; Fees range from $0.99 for transactions valued below $10 to $2.99 for transactions not exceeding $200 or an equivalent in any other currency; Transactions above $200 are charged at a percentage fee of 1.49% for standard payment methods and 3.99% for payment cards; For crypto conversions, Coinbase charges up to 2% in spread margins; ACH transfers are free; Crypto transfers are free between Coinbase accounts. External transfers only attract a network fee; Wire transfers are $10 incoming and $25 outgoing; PayPal fees are 2.5%.
Remember that these fees vary according to the payment method. The ones highlighted above only apply to US residents. Visit Coinbase’s fees and pricing page for a more conclusive breakdown.
Trading (Coinbase Pro) Fees on the Coinbase Pro trading platform are more competitive and significantly lower compared to the consumer platform. The image below shows the trading fees structure. The pricing tier is determined by adding up the prior 30-day volume—the higher the trade volume, the lower the fees.
You’ll notice that Makers have more favorable terms than Takers. Makers add liquidity to the marketplace by placing orders on the order book, while takers take away liquidity by fulfilling the open orders.
Staking fees Coinbase charges a 25% staking fee
Coinbase card fees The issuance fee is £4.95 / €4.95 / $4.95 Payments attract a 2.49% fee except for payments made in USDC
Overall, depending on which service you use, your location, and the payment method, the fees could be more favorable or costly than other competing platforms.
Coinbase security
Coinbase is one of the safest and most secure cryptocurrency investment platforms in the market. It takes a proactive approach to security, and its track record is a testament to the effectiveness of its strategy. Its security measures have been segmented to cover its entire product and service portfolio. Publicly shared security measures include:
Safe asset storage – Coinbase stores 98% of all customer crypto assets offline in cold storage wallets and goes a step further to distribute those wallets across the world. Wallet encryption – wallet addresses and their private keys are securely encrypted using the robust AES-256 encryption standard. Data management – all personally identifiable information (PII) and other sensitive account information is, first of all, stored offline. Then the data is encrypted using AES-256 encryption and split into multiple copies held in FIPS-140 USB drives and paper backups for redundancy. These copies are kept in various secure locations. The website and mobile apps are SSL encrypted to facilitate safe payments. Account passwords are hashed using bcrypt before storage.
Internally, Coinbase has implemented several security precautions to ensure that its systems are safe and less prone to human errors and vulnerabilities. These preventive measures include:
All employee devices using unique passwords and 2FA authentication; All employees have to pass criminal record tests; Employee workstation hard drives have to be encrypted and access restricted through solid passwords.
Additionally, all users are encouraged to use second-factor authentication (2FA). There are three 2FA methods available to account users:
SMS/Phone – this is the least secure, but it is still better than single-factor authentication. Every time the user logs into their account, a one-time passcode is sent to their registered phone number; 2FA apps – the apps provide random codes that are time-sensitive to be used during login. Popular 2FA apps include Twillio’s Authy, Google Authenticator, Duo, or Microsoft Authenticator; Hardware keys – these are physical token devices similar to flash drives that can be used to provide additional authentication when logging in. This is the safest 2FA method you can use.
Even the most secure system in the world is not immune to human vulnerabilities. Therefore, all users are encouraged to be vigilant and never entrust the security of their assets to third parties. Additionally, Coinbase has insured its customers’ deposits to the tune of $250,000 per account through FDIC insurance. However, this coverage only applies to US customers holding US Dollar deposits. Crypto assets are not covered under this insurance.
Coinbase multi-factor authentication hack [October 2021]
On October 1, 2021, it was announced that between April and May 20, 2021, users of Coinbase were the subject of a massive phishing campaign. Hackers gained access to the cryptocurrencies of roughly 6,000 Coinbase customers by exploiting a weakness in the multi-factor authentication process. It’s possible that some users opened phishing emails and unknowingly handed over their login credentials. In addition, even with multi-factor authentication enabled, a weakness in the exchange’s system compromised users. Allegedly, the attackers exploited the vulnerability by exploiting a weakness in Coinbase’s SMS Account Recovery process. The criminals obtained the two-factor token, which was supposed to be delivered to the account owner’s phone. Soon after the incident, Coinbase customers received an email [PDF] from Coinbase saying that they immediately updated their SMS Account Recovery processes. Every person who has suffered a loss due to the event will be compensated.
Coinbase customer support
During the 2021 crypto boom, Coinbase has continued to employ more support personnel, improve and simplify its products, and find innovative methods to help clients more quickly and efficiently. The platform now has over 3,000 people dedicated to answering customer questions, representing a more than fivefold increase in support staff since January 2021. Coinbase’s customer contact rate has fallen by 70% since January, despite its overall number of verified users increasing from 43 million to 56 million within the same time period as the exchange has eliminated its backlog across most lines, and it now has sufficient agent capacity in place to limit the chance of future backlogs. Moreover, soon customers will be able to contact the digital exchange brokerage via live chat and phone as it has already begun to roll out a virtual assistant to help customers with common problems, and live chat messaging is planned for later this year. Coinbase hopes to provide live phone support to assist customers with a range of issues, including account security. In addition, Coinbase is developing a phone support team to assist customers through the steps necessary to quickly lock down accounts and restore access to protect their accounts against Account Take-Overs, often known as “ATOs.” While ATOs have only affected a tiny percentage of its clients (a minuscule fraction of 1%), the platform understands that they can cause concern and inconvenience when they do occur. The business is also extending its self-service online Coinbase Help capabilities as the crypto sector evolves at a rapid rate. Methods to contact Coinbase: Email Fill out this form here to receive email assistance. Please follow these instructions for the quickest resolution: Please do not create numerous tickets for the same problem; Coinbase will respond to your complaint as soon as possible. Twitter Coinbase uses Twitter to keep its customers up to date on the progress of its services. It is unable to assist with account-specific issues via Twitter due to security and privacy concerns. If users have any questions about their account, they must send an email request. Phone As mentioned earlier, Coinbase plans to but does not presently provide phone assistance with a live representative. If you believe your account has been hacked, contact Coinbase Support immediately to have it disabled. Once your account has been disabled, you must go through our automatic account recovery process to re-enable it, which might take several days. To contact an agent for assistance, please send an email. The phone number for Coinbase Support may be found on their email request form.
Coinbase Pros and Cons
Pros
Beginner-friendly interface; Easy sign-up process; High liquidity for supported digital assets; Highly regulated; Strong security; FDIC insured; Mobile app for convenience; Accessible in 100 countries worldwide; Pro platform provides competitive trading fees; Coinbase offers several products and services all under ”one roof.”
Cons
Other than the Pro trading platform, most of its other products and services are expensive; High levels of compliance with regulations have led to privacy concerns; Regular downtimes, especially whenever Bitcoin experiences price action spikes; Debit cards only available to limited countries; Only six coins are available for staking (so far), and the fees are extremely high.
Conclusion
Coinbase is one of the largest cryptocurrency investment platforms, and for a good reason. It offers a host of services and products that appeal to the market, and it has a proven secure platform. Additionally, it keeps expanding its coverage to more users. However, it is up to you to decide whether Coinbase is right or wrong for you.. Hopefully, this detailed review has made that decision a little easier. Read also:
Uphold review (recommended crypto platform to buy & sell crypto, stocks, and metals) Binance review (crypto exchange) Interactive Brokers review (most advanced multi-asset investing platform) Kraken review (crypto exchange) Coinrule review (crypto trading bot) TradeSanta review (crypto trading bot)
