Coinbase Exchange

Coinbase Overview

A public listed company with the stock ticker COIN, Coinbase is a well-known platform in the cryptocurrency space. One could argue that Coinbase's listing is helping to drive the adoption of cryptocurrencies because a public company's financial is available to the public, scrutinized, and transparent - removing the mystery and fear of getting into crypto.

Currencies

Coinbase is available to over 100 countries and it's main priority does not seem to cater to Canadians. Depositing is only available through Debit and Credit card and you are not able to hold Canadian funds in the account but can convert to a USD stablecoin such as Dai or TerraUSD.

Coinbase offers a growing 36+ tradable cryptocurrencies on their main app and over 90 on their Pro exchange app.

Services

Coinbase offers buying and selling with fiat on their main app and advanced trading with more cryptocurrencies on their Coinbase Pro app.

One of the awesome features Coinbase is known for is Coinbase Earn. You can earn free cryptocurrencies ranging from $3-$10USD by watching and learning about new cryptocurrencies and completing a few multiple-choice questions. Coinbase has given out more than $100 million in free crypto!

A new offering that launched in 2021 is Earn Yield, which allows you staking interests on a few cryptocurrencies such as Dai, Cosmos, Tezos, and Algorand which ranges from 2%-5%APY for Canadians.

Coinbase referral program rewards you and your referral $10 USD when you invite your friends and they completes a buy/sell order worth $100 USD. Join Coinbase and reward yourself with $10 USD.

Fees

Trading fees are high compared to other exchanges available to Canadians. Transaction fees vary depending on the amount purchased and can range from a minimum of $0.99 to as high as 4%

Funding with a Debit/Credit card is also high at 3.99% for Canadians. Furthermore, withdrawals are only available through PayPal with fees at 1%. Depositing with Crypto is free and withdrawals are any network fees that applies.

Overall Experience

Coinbase's platform is a relatively safe place to purchase cryptocurrencies being a publicly traded company with 98% of customer funds stored offline. As a Canadian there are better alternatives for exchanges that will save you some money on transaction and funding fees and the ability to hold Canadian funds. Having that said, security in the crypto space offers peace of mind and I also enjoy using their platform for the free crypto while learning about new cryptocurrency projects.