Security, Usability, Look & Feel - Our Coinbase review
Whether it’s our Coinbase analysis, a
Binance review
or a
Kraken review, nothing is more important than security. Considering their Coinbase crypto exchange is the largest by trading volume in the US, serious security flaws would be a surprise for our Coinbase review USA. Based on all of our research – which we’ll go into greater detail in a dedicated section of our Coinbase review – we consider Coinbase safe and their security to be excellent.
Coinbase Highlights
- Massive choice of cryptocurrencies
- A trusted and secure brokerage
- Great for new and experienced traders
Another area in which Coinbase excels is in the useability of its interface. Your standard Coinbase account is all about making the buying and selling cryptocurrency as easy as possible and our Coinbase crypto review would say it’s mission accomplished. Coinbase Pro is aimed at more experienced traders, and is thus more complicated to use but has the benefits of not just lower fees but a staggering scale of information and functionality. We’d say that as much as is possible, it’s made as straightforward as could be imagined.
Whatever platform you use, though – Pro, mobile app – they all work seamlessly on a technical level. There’s even bonuses, like with their Coinbase referral code program, and even they’re incredibly easy to use. A triumph all round.
Coinbase: How to Trade
We mentioned when talking about customer service in our Coinbase crypto review that one of its strengths is how well it explains itself. Nowhere does it do a better job than when it comes to the basics of how to trade. Here, we’re going to give you step-by-step help so you can see just how intuitive a platform Coinbase truly is.
Step One: Create an account
This depends on whether you want to go desktop or mobile. You can either start on their website or through the apps available on Android and iOS. You’ll be asked to enter a bunch of standard information from your name to state, and to read and accept the user agreement and privacy policy. Do make sure all this information is correct as they’ll likely ask for it later. Click ‘Create account’ (sign up button mobile) and step one is out the way.
Step Two: Email and phone verification
You’ll get an email through the address you provided. Select “verify email address”, click the link and sign back in using your email and password. That’s all there is to it. A similar thing will happen through your phone: you’ll get a code sent and you can enter that to verify your number. Job done.
More questions here: it’s all simple stuff like your name and date of birth but also questions about what you want to use Coinbase for, your occupation and source of funds.
Step Four: Verify your identity
This is why it’s so important to make sure all that information is correct. Here you’ll be asked to provide proof of your identity through things like passports or a driver’s license. You can, and should, also sign up to two-step verification at this point.
Step Five: Set up a payment method
The last step in getting your account up and running is setting up a payment method. We’ve run through plenty of the details of what’s available elsewhere so won’t repeat ourselves here. Fill in the usual info and you’re good to go. Bank accounts can usually be instantly verified, but there’s a deposit verification system if that fails.
Step Six: You’re ready to buy
Hit trade on the desktop or app version (it’s on the upper-right side). Click on ‘buy field’ and choose the asset you would like to purchase. Type in how much you want to buy and pick your payment method. Check it’s all correct on the preview buy section, hit ‘buy’ and you’re good to go. You can withdraw them to a wallet, or leave them where they are.
Selling works in much the same way. Go to your portfolio, go to trade, hit ‘sell’, tell them what you want to convert it to and how much and confirm. That’s the basics of how to trade on Coinbase.
| Company |
Coinbase Europe Limited |
| Headquarter |
70 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin D02 R296, Ireland |
| Year of Founding |
2011 |
| CEO |
Brian Armstrong |
| Website |
www.coinbase.com |
| Available Languages |
English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Russian, Polish, Portuguese, Hindi |
| Customer Support |
Phone, Email Support |
| Email |
info@coinbase.com |
| Phone |
1-888-908-7930 |
| Licence |
SIPC – Securities Investor Protection Corporation (USA – not governmental) |
 |
| Verified by |
– |
| Payment Methods |
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Payments - A choice of payment options at Coinbase
As this is a Coinbase US review – as suggested earlier in our Coinbase exchange review segments – our focus is on that audience. This means that here, we’ll be talking about payment methods available for US customers at the Coinbase crypto exchange. There are others available for their international audience.
Options include bank account, debit card, wire transfer, and PayPal. In terms of being available for both a Coinbase withdrawal and a Coinbase deposit, both bank account and wire transfer work, while debit card and PayPal are only available for deposit. Transactions are instant for debit card and PayPal, but can take 1-3 business days for wire transfer and 4-5 for bank accounts. That’s why the latter are recommended for larger investments.
The Coinbase minimum deposit is stated as $25. Coinbase withdrawal fees depend on payment type and location, but for instance, instant card withdrawal is up to 1.5% beginning at 55c.
Customer Service - all bases covered
When it comes to contacting Coinbase support, you’ll find plenty of options available to you. At the time of writing, the live agent phone support is by far the most responsive, allowing you to connect with an agent in the US, UK, Ireland, Germany, and India. Alongside general queries and concerns, you can also call them in the case of an emergency to disable your account if you have reason to believe that it has been hacked.
Email and social media also provide direct lines of contact between you and the site. There’s no set time for responses, but our experience was a couple of days. They also get you to give as much information as possible to provide the most detailed response. The best part of the customer service in this Coinbase crypto exchange review, though, is how well the Help and information parts of the site are written. It’s not perfect, but understandable in its limitations.
License & Security - A fully-licensed exchange
We said earlier in our Coinbase crypto exchange review that their security was excellent, so what exactly makes them stand out so much? Well, security features include two-step verification, fingerprint logins for their app, cold storage of the overwhelming majority of user funds and insurance in the case of Coinbase scams. There’s also additional help on locking down your mobile account, securing your email, utilising the Coinbase vault and generally avoiding Coinbase scams. If you desire additional security, you could always transfer your funds to a hardware wallet too.
The license they hold is also a vital consideration for our Coinbase US review. Well, the relevant license for the Coinbase crypto exchange actually depends on the state agency. For instance, in Pennsylvania, they hold a license from the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities. You can find a complete list and details on the dozens of licenses they hold on their site.
Reputation and Customer Feedback – Positive customer ratings
It’s tough to write a Coinbase review without it being in the shadow of incredibly lofty expectations. A big part of this goes beyond simple popularity – although that’s certainly a very positive sign – and is more to do with their incredible reputation. Coinbase is the cream of the crop when it comes to reputations for this kind of service: its history, critical and customer feedback is all top-notch.
Obviously, no platform is perfect. We’ve heard some people disappointed by the lack of live chat, but overall, theirs is one of the best in the world.
Overall Conclusion - One of the best US crypto exchanges
We have to go along with the popular consensus here and conclude our Coinbase review by saying they really are as good as they claim to be. Are they absolutely perfect? No, but no platform is. And the negatives they have are understandable.
The main drawback is the time it takes to receive withdrawals using specific payment providers. However, if you send directly to an external crypto wallet or your own bank account, you should receive payments almost instantly.
When you look at all the things they do well, any flaws pale in comparison. Coinbase is home to excellent security, an incredibly intuitive platform, and a competitive fee structure. Combine this with an astounding amount of assets to trade, and there is no denying that Coinbase has one of the broadest appeals of any US exchange available today.
Highlights
- Massive choice of cryptocurrencies
- A trusted and secure brokerage
- Great for new and experienced traders
