In this article we are going to talk about Coinbase. One of the most famous cryptocurrency exchanges. In this article we are going to discuss many topics, namely: the history of, Cryptocurencies on, fees and costs, Support, the security and the advantages and disadvantages.
Table of Contents
What is Coinbase?
Coinbase is also known as the cryptocurrency exchange for beginners. They have a very simplistic interface and in buying and selling coins through the platform you can’t really do anything wrong either. They now have more than 20 million unique users spread over 42 countries. In addition, over $150 billion has already been traded on the platform.
What is the history of Coinbase?
Coinbase is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges active in the current market and therefore has a longer history than other exchanges such as Binance, Kucoin and Bitmax. Coinbase was founded by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam in June 2012. In October 2012, the first version of Coinbase went live which allowed Bitcoin to be purchased through bank transfers. At this point, Coinbase acted more like a cryptocurrency wallet on which initial purchases could also be made. Fairly soon after in May 2013, Coinbase managed to raise 5 million euros through venture capital in order to continue to grow. In December of the same year, Coinbase raised another 25 million euros from venture capital companies to realize their ambitions of becoming a global cryptocurrency powerhouse.
Over the years, Coinbase received several more investment to maintain their growth rate. Finally, in January 2015, this resulted in the creation of Coinbase exchange. Coinbase exchange was aimed at professional traders. Coinbase exchange is better known to most as GDAX, as this is the name the exchange has held since May 2016. On June 29, 2018, it was decided to transform GDAX again as well, namely into Coinbase Pro.
What is Coinbase exchange?
Coinbase is the most trusted and valued exchange for many novice cryptocurrency investors. This is partly because of the long history of but mainly because Coinbase has led the way for other cryptocurrency exchanges. It is a regulated financial institution in the United States and also complies with the main financial laws and regulations within the European Union.
For a long time, Coinbase’s goal has mainly been to be able to reach as large a population as possible and thus also to get the novice cryptocurrency investors towards their platform. They have done this by sticking to a very simplistic design and only offering the biggest names in cryptocurrency on their platform.
In the image below (Figure 1), it is easy to see what Coinbase has always wanted to exude: Ease of use and investment combined with giving investors confidence.
Coinbase review homepage
Coinbase is one of the platforms where you can buy cryptocurrency with euros and dollars. So they are a so-called fiat-to-crypto exchange. As mentioned earlier, only a limited number of cryptocurrencies are offered on it. For a long time only the 3 largest cryptocurrencies were available, namely Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. Meanwhile, the following 12 cryptocurrencies are offered:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Ripple (XRP)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Stellar Lumens (XLM)
- Ethereum Classic (ETC)
- Basic Attention Token (BAT)
- Zcash (ZEC)
- USD Coin (USDC)
- Augur (REP)
- 0x (ZRX)
What are the fees and charges on Coinbase?
The revenue model behind every exchange is basically to charge the customer a percentage of the deposit, purchase and sale and withdrawal fees. At Coinbase this is also the case, only they do it slightly differently than most.
Depositing digital currency costs an additional €10, unless you deposit through ACH. For buying and selling digital currency through Coinbase, you’ll pay two different components:
The market price of the currency you are buying + 0,5%.
Transaction fees of up to 2.99$ for purchases below 200$ or a percentage of the total purchase cost. If you purchase for more than 200$, a percentage of the total purchase will be charged. This is 1.49% for standard transactions and 3.99% for transactions done via credit card.
In short, the buying and selling fees as well as the withdrawal fees are not very transparent. This is also one of the most common objections from investors.
Where do I find Coinbase support?
Coinbase has a very extensive help section where a lot of information can be found. So there is a good chance that you will find the answer to your question here. If you still can’t find an answer in the database, you can send a support ticket, for which the response time is on average 48 to 72 hours. They also have a telephone help line which you can call if the answer to your support ticket is not conclusive.
How is Coinbase secured?
In addition, as an investor you have the option to secure your account with extra verifications. You get a notification when you log in from a computer or device that has not been logged in before. You must then indicate by email that you want to authorize the device to log in to access your account. You can also set Coinbase to send an extra verification SMS when you try to log in. You will then receive a code by SMS which must be entered in order to access your account. These are two good ways to ensure that you are the only one who has access to your account.
What are the pros and cons of Coinbase?
Like any other exchange, Coinbase also has advantages and disadvantages. The table below shows the advantages and disadvantages of Coinbase exchange at a glance.
Pros
- Very good account security
- Coins stored in cold storage (offline)
- Very user-friendly interface
- Clear support interface
- Many different payment options
- Option to trade in Euros and Dollars
Cons
- High transaction fees
- High withdrawal fees
- Small selection of coins to buy
- Few advanced options to trade
Conclusion
The Coinbase platform is very good option for the novice cryptocurrency investor. The platform is fast, very user-friendly and making purchases is largely self-explanatory. We therefore highly recommend Coinbase for people who want to get a taste of the world of cryptocurrency.
Although the purchase costs on Coinbase can be a bit on the high side compared to other platforms, the ease of use makes up for a lot. We believe that it is very important to feel comfortable making initial purchases in the hectic world of cryptocurrency. Coinbase has sensed this like no other and has built the optimal platform for novice cryptocurrency investors.