Coinbase is one of the many digital currency marketplace where different crypto currencies such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Tezos and many others with fiat currencies in approximately 100 countries are traded as of 2020. It is the world’s largest Bitcoin broker.
Coinbase offers very high limits based upon the extremity of verification provided by the user. For ex. A fully verified US customer may buy upto $50K worth of bitcoin daily where as €30K in case of a European user. Although, the transaction gets lagged when bank wire or an ACH transfer is used as the payment takes about 3 to 5 days to complete. This may result an unwanted transaction due to the volatility of the market on such a long duration.
Coinbase tracks the user’s steps further on how they are spending bitcoin in order to analyze the blockchains to discover identities behind addresses on those chains. So, it can be said that Coinbase is not the best option if privacy is the primary goal while buying digital currencies. Similarly, Coinbase Bitcoin Wallet can be used to buy or sell bitcoin, but, not to store funds as they control all the private keys and acts more like a bank than a true decentralized Bitcoin wallet.
STATISTICS:
- 30M+ Users
- $150B+ Traded
- 100+ countries supported
PROS:
- High liquidity and buying limits
- Easy way for new users to buy bitcoin
- “Instant Buy” option available with debit card, credit card or mere bank transfer
CONS:
- Limited payment methods
- May track how it’s users spend bitcoin
- The Coinbase fees are quite high as card payment method charges 3.99% fee and bank transfers with 1.49%.
SUPPORT:
Depending upon the regional locations, a user can trade between the cryptocurrencies, but may not always convert local currency to crypto. Coinbase provides its services on following countries based on regions:-
| Region | Countries |
| Asia | Singapore |
| Europe | Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Gilbraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom |
| North America | Canada, USA, Mexico |
| South America | Chile |
| South-West Islands | Australia |
USD Coin stablecoin(USDC) has been marked as stablecoins that can be used for trading exchange by Coinbase customers. Also, it doesn’t have volatile relation as to other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, it’s easier to carry out financial trading.
References
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/exchange.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinbase
https://www.buybitcoinworldwide.com/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/coinbase-raises-75-million-in-funding-round-1421762403
