Coinbase is a leading player in the world of online crypto exchange platforms. The platform makes it exceptionally easy for buyers and sellers of cryptos to be paired together with similar price ranges.
Coinbase is truly one of the best exchanges around for South African residents to use. Where Coinbase really shines is with their extensive selection of cryptocurrencies and altcoins including all the favourites like Bitcoin and Litecoin.
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Our Coinbase review found the platform’s interface to be one of its strongest assets. The website itself is easy to view and easy to understand. Navigating to the different sections of the site are made simple with the way the homepage is laid out. You can find even more information in a simple fashion at the footer of the homepage. Overall, the layout and look of the site is fantastic.
But what really matters is the intuition of the site itself and how easy it is to execute trades. Our Coinbase South Africa review found that the exchange platform is the perfect place for newer crypto traders to start out. Once your account is ready to go you will find a “buy crypto” button above your portfolio balance where you can enter a Rand value and place your market orders for whatever crypto you wish to select from the options available on the exchange. The trading experience is immaculate and Coinbase performs their role as the intermediary between two users perfectly. While you won’t find any Coinbase futures on the site, your crypto needs will be more than satisfied.
But is Coinbase safe? We think so, as Coinbase stores your balance of crypto in an offline wallet that they control. This may put some users off as they are not in complete autonomous control of their own wallet. However, you can withdraw this amount at any time into your own hard wallet. The Coinbase trading platform has a two-step verification process for users to employ and also offers a biometric fingerprint login. Coinbase has also put in place insurance in the event that their security is breached and your funds are stolen.
Before you can get straight into buying and selling cryptos on the Coinbase exchange, you will need to create your account first. Our Coinbase crypto exchange review found that in order to create an account you will need to provide proof of identity (a photo I.D.) and proof of residence as well as the password you would like to use – this is pretty standard across most crypto trading platforms, we also noticed it in our eToro review. You will then be sent an email by Coinbase which you will need to verify before continuing with the process.
After you verify the email, you will need to verify your phone number. Then add all of your personal information like your name and surname and answer a few basic questions. Then verify your identity by signing in and completing the “I.D verification” section. After that simply link your payment method, make your first Coinbase deposit and you are ready to go.
With your account set up you can now start buying and selling Coinbase cryptocurrency. Simply click the “Buy Crypto” button above your portfolio balance, enter a currency value amount that you are willing to spend and place a market order on the Coinbase crypto you would like to buy. Later in the game, you can use the same feature to start selling crypto you want to part with. Coinbase will do all the work in pairing you with like-minded individuals on the site who have similar buy/sell price ranges to you.
It really is that simple to buy and sell on the Coinbase crypto exchange platform. A Coinbase South Africa customer should have no problems in buying and selling cryptos on the site.
| 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, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Portuguese, Hindi |
| Customer Support | Phone, Email Support |
| info@coinbase.com | |
| Phone | 1-888-908-7930 |
| Licence | SIPC – Securities Investor Protection Corporation (USA – not governmental) |
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| Verified by | – |
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There are a couple of different payment methods available on the Coinbase crypto exchange trading platform. Our Coinbase crypto review found that users can use payment methods such as a debit/credit card, a bank account, wire transfers or PayPal. This is not an exceptional amount but the payment methods will always be slightly less robust for a strictly crypto exchange site.
As our Coinbase crypto review mentioned before, there are quite a few fees to contend with when it comes to deposits, withdrawals and general transactions on the exchange platform. We should mention that if you switch to Coinbase Pro these fees are significantly reduced. Our Coinbase crypto review found that the fees for different payments whether incoming or outgoing vary. However, the average fee for a deposit or Coinbase withdrawal made via a debit/credit card is 3.99%.
Your average processing times for a debit/card deposit or withdrawal are generally instant but may be a couple of hours if Coinbase is overloaded with transactions. Coinbase withdrawal fees tend to vary.
Our Coinbase review found that the platform could certainly afford to do a little bit better with their customer support. There are a few methods for contacting the support team, namely by email, phone or by their social media handle on Twitter. The support team itself was fairly professional and friendly although the response time on the email was fairly slow, as it was with the Twitter direct message as well.
There is also a bot named Ada that in part plays the role of live chat feature but is limited to a set amount of questions and answers. This is somewhat disappointing as a live chat feature is arguably the best way to swiftly solve queries and problems. You can check up on simple information like what the Coinbase minimum deposit and Coinbase withdrawal limit is.
As Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange platform they do not have licensing from your standard associations like the SIPC or FDIC. This is because they don’t consider digital currency to be legal tender. However, Coinbase does provide security and insurance by pooling Coinbase balances and keeping them in USD custodial accounts, USD denominated money market funds, or liquid U.S. Treasuries.
As far as the security on the platform goes, it really depends on your choices. Coinbase makes a number of security features available to you like the two-step authentication process, a biometric fingerprint login. You can even add in more steps like an identity verification process before every login. The site itself is also encrypted to further protect user data. Furthermore, user account funds are stored in “cold wallets” which means they are stored offline and are unable to be accessed by any malware or hacker threats. Overall, our Coinbase review was pleased with the strong level of security on the platform.
Overall, Coinbase crypto exchange review found that user reviews about the platform were mostly positive. The platform itself has had rave reviews for its simplicity and ease of use. Furthermore, the range of cryptos available, as well as lesser-known altcoins, has also helped to invite more positive reviews.
There were a couple of negative reviews regarding the fees on the site and the fact that you would need to upgrade to Coinbase Pro to avoid some of these fees. Users were not too keen on the system of fees in general as they don’t stake up as well against their industry competitors. Overall our Coinbase review South Africa found most of the user reviews to be positive.
If you are a fan of cryptocurrency trading then there really aren’t many better platforms for you to jump into than Coinbase. As we have seen over the preceding year, cryptocurrencies have become more and more popular and have seen a steady rise in their valuation. This makes trading in cryptos that much more exciting.
Our Coinbase exchange review found a number of different cryptocurrencies available on the trading platform. As they are a broker that is wholly focused on cryptocurrency it is no surprise that the list of options available is exceptional. Taking you through every single one would be an eyesore for you so here are the most popular options available on the Coinbase crypto exchange: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, XRP (Ripple), EOS, Chainlink, DASH and many, many more. Crypto trading on the Coinbase platform is truly exceptional and is arguably one of the best trading platforms for South African residents to be using.
As Coinbase is a crypto exchange platform it works a little differently to your average online broker offering cryptos through CFD trades. At Coinbase you can actually own your own cryptocurrency and look to buy or sell on the platform. Coinbase then serves as a matchmaking system putting your minimum “buy price” out there and matching you with other users who are willing to buy the crypto at that price. Coinbase will never influence or set the price of these exchanges, that is done by the buyer and the seller. You won’t even need to sell any of your cryptos in the full amount as Coinbase allows users to sell at a minimum of $2 in value. So, for example, 2.00 of 1 Bitcoin.
Our Coinbase review found the exchange platform to be really interesting and it is arguably the best way for users looking to offload or get their hands on crypto to do so. With so many Coinbase markets for cryptos, it’s really difficult not to love. If you are unfamiliar with crypto exchanges it will be worth comparing Coinbase with our Binance review to help you get the lay of the land.
Now that you know a little more about what Coinbase is about and what they offer with their exchange platform, it’s time to find out more about where their jurisdictions lie.
Upon closer inspection, our Coinbase exchange review found that the exchange broker is available to be used in a number of different countries spanning Europe, the UK, the US and the rest of the world. This eases worries of any Coinbase scams. You can check more specifically on their list of prohibited countries. However, Coinbase will give you a pop-up message when you try to log in to say that you are trying to create an account from a prohibited region so you will know right off the bat whether you can use the platform or not.
As it is with most brokers and even exchange platforms you are bound to run into a couple of different fees and a varying Coinbase price here and there. Our Coinbase South Africa review found that some of the fees on the site can be a little hefty. Our Coinbase crypto review will stick to general fees for now before moving onto the payment fees you are likely to encounter on the platform.
First and foremost, the platform will charge users on the site a 0.50% Coinbase trading fees on their transactions. Market fluctuations may increase or decrease this amount but Coinbase will inform you of any changes to the percentage amount being charged. There is also a fairly complex system of fees relating to transactions. For example, one of the points states that any transaction above $50 (or your currency equivalent) but below $200 will incur a $3 transaction fee. Our Coinbase review suggests checking out the full list on the pricing and fees disclosure page.
That brings us to the end of our Coinbase review South Africa. Hopefully, you are now at least a little bit better equipped to try out a crypto exchange for the first time. The Coinbase crypto exchange is a fantastic platform that seamlessly puts buyer and seller together for the benefit of both.
The amount of Coinbase cryptocurrency available on the site is also fantastic, especially since Coinbase are planning to continue adding more in the near future. Overall, our experience on the site was certainly a positive one and we would highly recommend becoming a Coinbase South Africa customer. Check out our Kraken review to see how Coinbase stacks up against one of their competitors.
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