If you are considering entering the cryptocurrency space for the first time, the internet is currently flooded with third-party exchanges that allow you to buy and sell digital tokens with the click of a single button.
Some focus on cheaper trading fees or a broad list of coins, but others, such as Coinbase, are at the forefront of simplicity. In other words, if you want to buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum but have no expertise with exchanges, Coinbase may be the best option for you. However, this could come at the expense of higher fees. Regardless, here is the comprehensive Coinbase review to help you decide if the platform is right for you.
What is Coinbase?
Coinbase has become the major entry point for novice crypto-investors as the most popular cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. Coinbase provides a variety of services, including cryptocurrency investment, an advanced trading platform, institutional custody accounts, a retail investment wallet, and its stable-coin dollars. Coinbase, which was formed in 2012, is a fully regulated and licensed cryptocurrency exchange that serves all states in the United States except Hawaii.
Initially, Coinbase only allowed the trade of Bitcoin, but they quickly expanded to other decentralized cryptocurrencies. Its list has grown to include Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, XRP, and many others, with more on the way if its standards are met.
What Are the Pros of Coinbase?
- More than 50 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Dogecoin, are available for trading.
Currently, on the Coinbase platform, there are more than 50 cryptocurrencies available. The following are the ten largest by market capitalization:
- Bitcoin
- Ethereum
- Litecoin
- Chainlink
- Bitcoin Cash
- Stellar Lumens
- USD Coin
- Uniswap
- Wrapped Bitcoin
- Aave
Coinbase’s most up-to-date cryptocurrencies offer details on their regional availability.
- There are plenty of resources available, as well as excellent customer service.
Coinbase provides a fantastic library of instructional resources. Do you want a simple but comprehensive introduction to Bitcoin? Is there a guide on the tax implications of investing in cryptocurrency? Coinbase covers all of this for you.
Coinbase also offers numerous ways for users to contact customer service:
- Using email – To contact Coinbase’s team by email, fill out a contact form on the website. Coinbase recommends you use the email account with which you have logged in when submitting your application and provide as much information about your issue or question as possible for the quickest assistance.
- Over the phone – Coinbase only offers compromised accounts with phone assistance. If you are in the United States, you can reach Coinbase by phone at 888-908-7930. Coinbase does not provide certain hours of phone service availability.
- Enjoy low account minimums.
Even though the price of Bitcoin is about $50,000, Coinbase allows customers to purchase the digital monetary value of $25. If you want to invest over time, there is also an easy way to set up recurring purchases.
- Earn rewards for certain cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase has a Coinbase Earn service that enables registered users to learn about various cryptocurrencies through education. Aside from the content from which they can obtain crypto, qualifying codebase users can “unlock” lessons. Earnings on Coinbase are clear and educational.
What Are the Cons of Coinbase?
- You can’t trade futures or options.
A couple of months after the start of the Coinbase margin trading, the company deactivated the feature. Margin trading allows you to leverage your trade. But it works in both ways—margin trading allows you to increase your profits and losses. The company follows the advice of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC was, of course, well informed of the plan of the corporation to commence margin trade. Coinbase had no alternative but to cease the trade-in margins, as it seeks to comply with the current legislation as well as feasible.
- There are higher fees, especially for lower balances.
Coinbase’s fee structure is not only perplexing, but it can also be prohibitively expensive for little transactions. Coinbase, for example, imposes a flat fee of $0.99 for cryptocurrency purchases and sales of $10 or less. So, if you buy Bitcoin for $10, your transaction fee exceeds 10 percent.
- You can’t have your own wallet.
This is congruent with a lot of centralized exchanges, but it continues to be a disadvantage for all of them. When a user purchases cryptocurrency on an exchange, they are placed in a Coinbase-controlled bag. In other words, the user has no autonomous control over the holdings, which is fundamentally opposed to the concept of decentralized currency or finance. This is avoidable by withdrawing the investor’s currency, preferably a hard carry.
The Future of Finance
Coinbase is, for good reason, one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchange platforms. It provides a wide range of services and goods to the market and has a proven secure platform. Furthermore, its reach continues to expand to include more users.
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