Coinbase
What is Coinbase?
Coinbase started in 2012 with the idea that anyone, anywhere, should be able to easily and securely send and receive Bitcoin. Coinbase is an American company that operates as a cryptocurrency exchange platform. Founded by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, Coinbase operates remote-first and doesn’t have an official physical headquarters. Coinbase is widely considered to be one of the most reliable and legitimate cryptocurrency exchange platforms on the internet. Approximately 73 million verified users, 10,000 institutions, and 185,000 ecosystem partners in over 100 countries trust Coinbase to easily and securely invest, spend, save, earn, and use crypto.
Coinbase products
Coinbase offers different products to its users. For individuals Coinbase offers:
Trusted cryptocurrency exchange
They store the vast majority of the digital assets in secure offline storage.
They offer crypto insurance and all USD cash balances are covered by FDIC insurance, up to a maximum of $250,000.
Coinbase supports a variety of the most popular digital currencies.
Wallet gives you full control of your crypto
You can store and view your NFTs in your wallet
You can directly link your Coinbase account to the wallet to easily access your crypto
You can watch tutorials and learn about different cryptocurrencies
After each tutorial there is a quiz to test what you’ve learned
You’ll receive crypto for every quiz you complete
A Visa debit card that makes crypto as spendable as the money in your bank, powered by your Coinbase account balance
Ready to use in millions of locations around the world. Pay with contactless, PIN or withdraw cash from any ATM.
World-class security as standard. Two-step verification, instant card freeze and plenty more to keep your card secure.
Choose which crypto to pay with through the app. It takes just a few seconds to switch between bitcoin, ethereum and more.
A cryptocurrency with stable price (stablecoin)
For customers with a US dollar bank account, 1 USDC can always be redeemed for US$1.00, giving it a stable price.
Each USDC is backed by one dollar or asset with equivalent fair value, which is held in accounts with US regulated financial institutions.
USD Coin is an Ethereum token, so you can store it in an Ethereum-compatible wallet, like Coinbase Wallet.
USD Coin is designed to let dollars move globally from your crypto wallet to other exchanges, businesses, and people.
Websocket feed lets you easily gain access to real-time market data, while our trading API lets you develop secure, programmatic trading bots.
All digital assets held in online storage are fully insured. All USD balances are covered by FDIC insurance, up to a maximum of $250,000 per customer.
Dynamic fee structure with lower fees for higher volume trading.
Pros and Cons of Coinbase
Pros
Quality cross-platform UI.
Free payments between Coinbase accounts.
For merchants: the first $1m in payments are processed for free.
They store all bitcoins in cold storage.
You get free bonuses through their referrals
Cryptocurrency is insured in event the website is hacked.
Offers access to nearly 100 cryptocurrencies.
Cons
Higher fees than other cryptocurrency exchanges.
iPhone app was taken off the App Store