Coinbase Review 2022 – Wallet, Exchange, Buy & Sell

If you have been buying and selling cryptocurrencies for a while, now chances are you already know about Coinbase. Coinbase has been here since 2012. So naturally, it is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges. Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam founded Coinbase in June 2012.

In the same year, they signed up for the Y Combinator startup incubator program. The team finally launched Coinbase in October with the ability to buy Bitcoins through bank transfers.

Based in San Francisco, California, Coinbase is one of the leading digital asset brokers right now. They support 32 countries at the moment – you can view the list of supported countries. Initially, users could only buy and sell Bitcoins through Coinbase. Today you can trade all the major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, etc.

Coinbase keeps on adding newer cryptocurrencies from time to time. There are more than 40+ cryptocurrencies that are listed on the exchange.

Coinbase Review

Mainly Coinbase is a cryptocurrency broker and exchange.

On Coinbase, you can buy the three cryptocurrencies mentioned above with fiat currencies. You can either use your bank account or cards for deposits. Coinbase supports both credit and debit cards.

You can also sell cryptocurrencies on Coinbase. After you complete a sell, you will get USD in return. You can withdraw that money to your linked bank account with just a few clicks.

After you buy your cryptocurrencies, you need to store them somewhere safe. And that’s what cryptocurrency wallets are for. Coinbase also provides wallet services for storing BTC, LTC, and ETH.

For hardcore traders, Coinbase has a dedicated trading platform called Coinbase Pro. Global Digital Asset Exchange, or Coinbase Pro, in short, is a great platform for trading cryptocurrencies.

You can trade Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and fiat currencies such as EUR, USD, and GBP.

Coinbase Wallet

The Coinbase wallet is specifically designed for newcomers. It is effortless to use and doesn’t overwhelm you with a lot of information. When you create an account on Coinbase and add some cryptocurrencies to your portfolio, Coinbase automatically creates a wallet for you for that specific cryptocurrency.

I always advise against using web wallets, but Coinbase, Blockchain, and Coinpayments are very secure web wallets from the rest of the pack. Coinbase stores 98% of its user data and wallet information in an offline environment or cold storage. This adds an extra layer of security. Every Coinbase accounts also come with insurance – so in case of theft, you will get as much as $250,000 coverage. You will also have the ability to take full control of your private keys, unlike some other web wallets where you don’t have access to your own private keys. The wallet is available on their website as well on Android and iOS as applications.

You have to keep in mind that this wallet’s sole purpose is to act as an intermediate wallet. So if you invest a lot of money into cryptocurrencies, you should always use a hardware wallet like Ledger Nano S. But if you don’t want to buy a hardware wallet, at least get a desktop wallet – Exodus works just fine.

How To Buy Cryptocurrencies On Coinbase

1. Buy Bitcoin On Coinbase

First of all, you need to sign up on Coinbase to use their platform. Please use this link, and you will get $10 worth of Bitcoin for free when you purchase $100 worth of Bitcoin on Coinbase.

Now that you have created your account on Coinbase, it’s time to buy some Bitcoins. Please carefully follow the steps down below to perform your first transaction.

1. Before you can perform a transaction, you will need to add a payment method. If you want to buy through your bank account (and if Coinbase supports bank transfers in your country), then go ahead and add it in. Coinbase will perform some verification steps to check whether it is you accessing the account. You can also use your credit or debit card.
2. After you have added your payment method, you are all set to buy Bitcoins.
3. Navigate to the Buy/Sell page and select Bitcoin.
4. Now enter the amount of Bitcoin you need. Also, select the mode of payment.
5. Then click on the buy button. And confirm the action again.
6. If everything goes well, then you will have the Bitcoins in your Coinbase wallet within seconds.

2. Buy Ethereum On Coinbase

1. The steps of buying Ethereum on Coinbase is fairly similar to buying Bitcoins. First of all, head over to the Buy/Sell page.
2. Select Ethereum on the buy page. Then enter the amount and select the payment method.
3. Now Coinbase will show you how much it will charge and how many ethers you will get.
4. Check everything thoroughly and click on buy.
5. Confirm the action, and voila!
6. You will now have the ethers you bought in your Coinbase wallet.

3. Buy Litecoin On Coinbase

1. First of all, make your way to the Buy/Sell page of Coinbase.
2. Now on the buy page, select Litecoin and enter the amount of LTC you need.
3. Then select your payment method and click on buy after rechecking all the things.
4. Then confirm the buy action.
5. You will have the promised Litecoin in your wallet within seconds.

Coinbase also provides a feature to help you periodically invest in cryptocurrencies. Whenever you place a buy order, you will have the ability to select whether that order will be a recurring one. Once you select that, Coinbase will get permission to perform that order every week or every month without your intervention. This way, even if you forget about investing, Coinbase will do it for you. It is like the SIP schemes of mutual funds.

How To Sell Cryptocurrencies On Coinbase

The process of selling BTC, LTC, and ETH are extremely similar, so I will not explain it separately.

1. First of all, you need to have some cryptocurrencies in your Coinbase wallet. It can be Litecoin, Bitcoin, or even Ethereum.
2. You need to head over to the Buy/Sell page.
3. When you open the Buy/Sell page, you will see a tab called “Sell.” Clicking on it will take you to the selling page.
4. Now enter the amount you want to withdraw – you have the ability to enter it in the form of the fiat currency of your choice.
5. Then select the withdraw channel and click on sell.
6. You will receive the promised amount as soon as you confirm the sell action.

Coinbase also offers the service of periodical withdraws. Whenever you place a sell order, you will get the option to select whether this will be a recurring one. If you check it, Coinbase will automatically withdraw that amount every month or every week and deposit it in your withdrawal channel. This is kind of like SWP for mutual funds.

Coinbase VS Popular Cryptocurrency Exchanges

Coinbase VS Bitstamp

While Coinbase and Bitstamp both provide exchange services, Bitstamp is a more advanced trader’s tool. Coinbase is for newcomers and is only ideal for newcomers only. If you require to invest in some cryptocurrencies, then go ahead use Coinbase.

You can convert your fiat currency to cryptocurrencies of your choice using both of the platforms. But undoubtedly, Coinbase is much faster than Bitstamp. The payments are processed within seconds, while on Bitstamp, it can take a lot of time. On Coinbase, you can only buy or sell BTC, LTC, and ETH. Whereas on Bitstamp, you can buy or sell the three cryptocurrencies mentioned as well as Ripple or XRP.

But if you want to become a trader and always keeping a close watch on the market dynamic is your passion, then use Bitstamp. As a matter of fact, Coinbase itself has its own trading platform called Coinbase Pro, which is, in my opinion, far superior to Bitstamp.

Coinbase VS Bitfinex

Bitfinex is also a hardcore cryptocurrency trader’s tool. It lets you buy cryptocurrencies with your fiat currency and lets you trade your cryptocurrencies like a pro. If you don’t know a thing about candlesticks chart and don’t know how to trade, please stay away from Bitfinex.

Bitfinex is supposedly the world’s largest and most advanced cryptocurrency trading platform. It supports a handful of cryptocurrencies. For example, it supports BTC, LTC, XRP, ETH, ETC, ZEC, XMR, etc.

Instead of Coinbase’s simple user interface, you are left with a fairly complex one on Bitfinex. And that is actually the case for most trading platforms. Because professional traders need these charts and information, they won’t be able to execute their orders without them. So generally, buying and selling cryptocurrencies aren’t easy on Bitfinex as it is on Coinbase.

Coinbase VS Bittrex

Like Bitfinex and Bitstamp, Bittrex is also a prevalent cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform. This US-based cryptocurrency exchange supports 190+ cryptocurrencies.

But unlike Coinbase, Bittrex doesn’t let you convert your traditional currency into cryptocurrencies. So for that, you will still need to use a service like Coinbase or Coinbase Pro. After you buy BTC or ETH, you can deposit that to Bittrex and trade as much as you want to.

Coinbase VS Kraken

Kraken is a multinational cryptocurrency exchange, and it is the world’s largest in terms of Euro volume and liquidity. Kraken operates in the USA, Japan, Canada, and in the whole EU region. It is a very advanced trading platform, so it only attracts veteran cryptocurrency players. It supports many cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, ZEC, XRP, XMR, and fiat currencies such as EUR, USD, JPY, and CAD. While Coinbase only lets you buy and sell cryptocurrencies at their price, on Kraken, you can bid or ask your own. Actually, that is the case with most trading platforms. Kraken also lets you perform margin trading.

As a side note, Kraken is overseeing the claims for lost Bitcoins for the Mt Gox incident.

Coinbase VS Gemini

Gemini is another very popular cryptocurrency exchange. Although it only supports BTC, ETH, and USD, it is still used by thousands of traders. Like Coinbase, you can trade between BTC, ETH, and USD on Gemini. The user interface is fairly simple than other trading platforms. So a newcomer will not face any issues using it. But I still recommend Coinbase for newcomers as it is fast, responsive, and has a great reputation.

Coinbase VS Coinbase Pro

Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are the products of the same company. In fact, Coinbase uses Coinbase Pro’s market to fetch you cryptocurrency prices and process your orders through it also. But Coinbase takes a bit extra charge than Coinbase Pro. So if you know your way around trading platforms, then ditch Coinbase and start using Coinbase Pro. It’s very fast and charges much less than Coinbase.

For the maker’s fee, you don’t get charged at all. But you will be charged as much as 0.25% for taking. You will be able to trade cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and fiat currencies such as USD, EUR, and GBP on Coinbase Pro.

Coinbase Pro is also insured so that you will be entitled to as much as $250,000 in case of theft or mishap. Plus, they offline backup 98% of user data and wallet information.

Coinbase VS Blockchain

Coinbase and Blockchain are very similar. Both of these platforms are very easy to use and newbie-friendly. You can set up your accounts within minutes and start buying cryptocurrencies. Whereas on Coinbase, the payments are processed by Coinbase itself, on Blockchain, third-party services process the payments. You cannot buy cryptocurrencies on Blockchain if you are from select few regions like the USA, Canada, etc. But they are rolling out their service slowly, and hopefully, these regions will get covered too.

So, for the time being, Coinbase is the platform of choice for me.

Final Words

I hope after reading this article, you have a fairly clear idea about Coinbase. Please use this link if you would like to get $10 worth of Bitcoin on your first purchase of Bitcoin on Coinbase.

I would also like to mention that Coinbase charges a little bit extra than the other exchanges. But it is justified if you look at the ease of experience. But if you want to make your own calls, please use any of the advanced trading platforms mentioned. In my opinion, you should use Coinbase Pro if you really want to use an advanced exchange.

Coinbase Review

Name: Coinbase

Description: Coinbase is an cryptocurrency exchange. It has listed more than 40 cryptocurrency.

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• Trading Fees
• Support
• Available Cryptocurrencies
• User Interface
• Buy & Sell
• Withdrawal