COINBASE REVIEW
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Broker Name:
Coinbase
Broker Type:
Crypto
Country
US
Operating since year:
2012
Regulation:
FinCEN
Address:
Coinbase, Inc. 100 Pine Street Suite 1250 San Francisco, CA 94111
Broker status:
Regulated
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Phone:
+1 888 908-7930 (US/Intl) 0808 168 4635 (UK) 1800 200 355 (Ireland)
Email:
Languages:
32 Languages
Availability:
24/5
TRADING
Trading platforms:
Coinbase Pro
Trading platform Time zone:
N/A
Demo account:
N/A
Mobile trading:
N/A
Web-based trading:
YES
Bonuses:
NO
Other trading instruments:
/
ACCOUNT
Minimum deposit ($):
$/
Maximal leverage:
/
Spread:
/
Scalping allowed:
/
GENERAL INFORMATION: Coinbase
Coinbase is a US-based cryptocurrency broker, founded in 2012, and located in San Francisco. It is known worldwide for being the most significant—cryptocurrency exchange.
A significant role in the broker`s popularity played its easy-to-use and convenient interface. Coinbase is ideal for beginner traders looking to trade on cryptocurrencies. The company was first established in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam and has since grown to accept clients from 32 countries worldwide.
FUNDS, TRADING, AND SECURITY
The broker stores 98% of their clients’ cryptocurrency funds offline in a cold-storage wallet to ensure security from theft or loss. The cold-storage wallets are kept in safety deposit boxes and vaults worldwide.
The Coinbase website traffic runs over fully encrypted SSL (HTTPS), and the user’s wallets are stored using AES-256 encryption. In other words, Coinbase is very secure. In addition to Coinbases’ security, users can double protect their accounts by securing them with two-factor authentication, email verification, and other security measures.
Coinbase requests a lot of personal information from their clients for identity verification because they are a fully regulated financial services company within the United States. Traders cannot be anonymous, like with some other cryptocurrency exchanges. Therefore, clients are required to send in their banking information for direct deposits, as well as identity verification with a government issue ID such as a driver’s license or passport. The broker securely stores and keeps information protected and does not share it with any third parties.
TRADING ACCOUNTS
The broker is not charging any fees for depositing funds into your account but instead charges a 1.49% fee upon purchasing cryptocurrencies. On the other hand, although Coinbase does not charge a deposit fee, your financial institution will. These fees may vary from country to country but are most commonly 3.99% for Credit/Debit Cards and 1.49% for Bank Wire Transfers.
Coinbase fees might not be ideal for cryptocurrency day traders as they are priced higher than a wide variety of exchanges.
In addition to these charges, clients will also have to pay virtual currency transfer fees, including the network transaction fees and minor fees. Also, users will incur an exchange rate fee, which depends on the spread, and will incur a conversion fee. The charges are always stated and shown to the user as they make their transactions.
On the other hand, Coinbase clients have a vast advantage with very high limits if their accounts are fully verified. Accounts that are not fully verified are limited to how much they can buy and sell on the exchange market. For US customers whose accounts are fully verified, they may buy up to $50,000 worth of Bitcoin daily. As for European customers, they may obtain up to €30,000 value of Bitcoin at any time.
Coinbase accepts the following payment methods:
- Wire transfer (including ACH in the US and SEPA in the EU)
- Credit cards (new cards aren’t currently accepted)
- Debit cards Cryptocurrency deposit and withdrawal
- PayPal (withdrawal only)
According to their website, the broker makes the deposited funds withdrawable the moment the payments clear. The withdrawal methods are credit/debit cards and bank wire transfers; the waiting time depends on your region, but apparently, US traders are going to have the longest wait time, it can take from 3 – 5 business days (in case they deposited the money via wire transfer). Withdrawals can be made directly to a personal Paypal account and credit/debit cards and bank accounts.
Once your Coinbase account is activated, you will be able to buy a small number of Bitcoins until your limit rises. To raise your limits, you will have to mark these things off:
- Providing and verifying your mobile phone number
- Providing and verifying your personal information
- Providing and verifying your photo identification If you are a fully verified USA resident, you can reach the highest limit, which is currently $25,000 a day.
Limits can also be managed depending on the payment method you choose to buy the cryptocurrencies (such as ACH transfer has higher limits than credit card purchases on Coinbase).
The broker offers its services in 100+ countries, including: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Armenia, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Macao, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Australia, New Zealand, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, British Virgin Islands, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay.
TRADING CONDITIONS
Formerly known as GDAX, Coinbase Pro is a cryptocurrency trading platform. The difference between the traditional Coinbase brokerage service is in simplifying buying cryptocurrencies at a premium, Coinbase pro targets more experienced users. Coinbase pro allows clients to trade on several cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Etherium, LTC, BCH, and ZRX. Fees are considerably lower than the service, and there are some advanced trading options as well.
In 2018 the company launched its independent mobile wallet for Android and iOS. The wallet is storing the private keys on the client’s device, and only they have access to the funds. All of this brings Coinbase full circle as it started as an online wallet, transferred to exchange only, and now they are offering wallet services again.
Coinbase is supplying online merchants with the ability to accept cryptocurrencies on their website via a dedicated plugin. The plugin supports some of the most prominent CMS (content management systems) around Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
The broker is featuring an extensive customer support page with a wide variety of articles and FAQ pages for traders and new clients to refer to if they have any questions or concerns. As well, clients can request a support ticket that is being looked after as soon as possible. The response time can be quite long sometimes, as the broker has seen a lot of new traders recently. However, the company support page is very informative and organized, complete with topics and a search bar.
COINBASE REVIEW: CONCLUSION
Coinbase is simplified and easy to use. The company has invested a lot of time and money into making its user experience smooth and painless.
If you don’t encounter any issues, then the price is reasonably competitive. Our opinion in this review is this – if possible, use Coinbase to buy cryptocurrencies, the service is trustworthy.
Buying and selling cryptocurrencies is a new and exciting business, but also very risky and technologically advanced. Coinbase does an outstanding job of providing its clients with a simple and easy method of buying and selling cryptocurrencies. The exchange may not be best for more experienced cryptocurrency traders, as the fees can be quite high, and the cryptocurrency assets are limited. However, this broker is probably the safest, most secure, and most simple to use cryptocurrency exchange for buying and selling Bitcoin and a few other popular cryptocurrencies.
Thank you for taking your time and reading our review of the Coinbase broker.
However, in case you need more information on the broker, feel free to do further research. We hope this review was helpful, and we wish you suitable luck trading!
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3 Comments
I wanted to give it a shot but there’s just nothing to make you stick around.
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Very vague information on their website, doesn’t give off a good impression
Did you find this review helpful? Yes No
A crypto broker that doesn’t have any crypto deposit/withdrawal options? Is that some kind of a joke?
Did you find this review helpful? Yes No