Coinbase Cryptocurrency Exchange Review
Coinbase Cryptocurrency Exchange and Broker is one of the largest and most popular cryptocurrency companies. It’s also a Best Seller in the APC Directory. It supports 33 countries that have over 20 million customers. They offer a wide range of services with their Bitcoin exchange at the center. They support buying and selling with credit cards or bank accounts.
Benefits
Coinbase brokerage service
This is Coinbase’s primary service. It allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. While this is a very popular, easy-to-use service, it has limited user control over its funds. You won’t have private keys or passphrases; Coinbase stores your coins for you as a bank does.
Coinbase Cryptocurrency Exchange Pro
A cryptocurrency trading platform. This is not the same as Coinbase, a brokerage platform/service. Coinbase Pro is a better option for more experienced users. Fees are significantly lower than the brokerage service. Plus, you have access to advanced trading options.
Coinbase wallet
The Coinbase wallet is compatible with iOS and Android devices.
Merchant Solutions
Coinbase supports a dedicated plugin that allows online merchants to accept cryptocurrencies on their websites.
Additional Services
- Coinbase Index (Track performance of assets)
- Custodian Services (Protection for institutional investors)
- Earn.com (Filter spam emails)
- Paradex (Support trading directly from your wallet)
Countries Supported
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Buy & Sell
Buying
- Coinbase accepts Wire / Bank Transfer and Credit / Debit Cards
- Due to verification requirements, buying from the US will take about 5-7 days to complete.
Selling
- Coinbase supports Selling via Debit card, Credit Card, and Bank Transfer.
Limits
- Buying and selling limits depend on the payment method, account age and several other factors.
- Starting Buy limits are about $150 for credit cards and $500 for bank transfers.
- With Verification, Buy Limits can increase to $50,000 (€30,000) per day.
- With a longer, Coinbase trade history could increase to around $100,000.
Fees & Currencies
The market price on Coinbase Pro +0.5%
Transaction fees
- A flat fee for transactions below $200
- US bank transfer fee is 1.49%
- Credit / Debit Card Fee (any country) is 3.99%
- Wire transfers Fee (any country) is 1.49%
- SEPA purchases are free but withdrawals have a €0.15 fee
| Payment Method | Countries | Currency | Fees | Funds Availability |
| Credit/Debit card | USA | USD | 1.49% | Instant |
| Credit/Debit card | Canada | CAD | 3.99% | Instant |
| Credit/Debit card | Europe | EUR | 1.49% | Instant |
| Credit/Debit card | UK | GBP | 3.99% | Instant |
| Credit/Debit card | Australia | AUD | 3.99% | Instant |
| Bank Transfer | USA | USD | 1.49% | 5-7 days |
| SEPA Transfer | Europe | EUR | 1.49% | 1-3 days |
| Xfers Transfers | Australia | AUD | 3.99% | Instant |
Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), 0x (ZRX)
Safety & Security
Coinbase is a very safe company and registered exchange endorsed by reputable and trusted investors.
Security- Encryption, HTTPS
Coinbase had zero successful hacking attempts in all its six years of activity.
Coinbase uses high-end security features, HTTPS encryption and multi-signature for their wallets.
98% of funds are stored in cold wallets and separated by vaults for added security.
Account access includes password and 2-factor authentication
Internal policies & procedures require all hard drives to be encrypted, all monitors to be locked when not in use, and employees must pass a background check.
Verification factors
Coinbase has a tiered verification process.
First Tier:
- Creating an account
- Provide a clear copy of your ID and a selfie
- Verify account
- Allows you to buy $150 with a credit card or $1000 by wire transfer
To increase your limit, you’ll need to provide your date of birth and verify your address.
The Coinbase Cryptocurrency Exchange Pro account registration requires a social security number.
User Experience
Coinbase Cryptocurrency Exchange Quick Guide
Create Account
- Go to Coinbase.com
- Select open account
- Enter basic personal details
- Log in and enable 2-factor authentication
Verify Account
- Log in to your account
- Provide a clear photo of your ID and a selfie
- Try again if there’s an issue with the verification
Deposits
- Click on the Buy icon
- Select the coin you wish to buy
- Specify the amount to buy
- Specify a wallet
- Coinbase Wallet = funds available immediately
- Other wallets = takes time for blockchain verification
- Choose a payment method
- Confirm the transaction
Customer support
I’ve found Coinbase Cryptocurrency Exchange to have reliable but slow customer support. However, there are numerous complaints that their support regularly does NOT respond to customer requests.
Help can be had by phone, email, support tickets and an extensive knowledge base.
Feedback
Coinbases reputation and community trust used to be the best around. However, that’s been changing with complaints of account suspension and coins disappearing from accounts.
Trustpilot.com and bittrust.org have ratings of about 1.5 out of 10. More and more negative reviews are filling up forums and rating sites.
I can tell that most of this revolves around user privacy. There are reports of Coinbase tracking how you spend your coins after buying them on the exchange. Reportedly they are tracking to see if you ever use coins for gambling or adult content which will result in suspension.
Closed, frozen, and closed accounts are also common complaints. Coinbase’s integration with traditional banking laws makes these issues inevitable. Coinbase has Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer practices similar to any bank. As a result, they will track how you spend your coins and shut you down if you have adult-services-related transactions, including gambling, skill-based gaming, contraband, resale of coins on non-AML/KYC exchanges, and other arbitrary reasons which trigger their algorithm.
You should get your money back, but it will likely be a hassle and costly.
Despite these ratings, reviews and rumors, Coinbase remains one of the most popular exchanges in the world.
Final Verdict
GREAT
Coinbase has a simple, easy-to-use brokerage service and a much more advanced and cost-effective Pro account for experienced users.
They have invested a lot in building a lawful and trustworthy collection of services. However, this has resulted in less control over funds, and the tracking of your spending. you are not in control of your coins and your transactions are being tracked.
The above combined with the poor customer service suggest that their focus is more on growth and less on customer satisfaction. The number of negative reviews evidence this.
Final Verdict: Coinbase is good for buying cryptocurrencies, but there are better options for storing and making transactions. So, after buying your coins immediately move them to a wallet you control.
