Coinbase Review | Crypto Exchange Guide For Casino Players

Coinbase exchange allows you to sell, buy, transfer, and convert crypto currencies for free. It also offers you instant exchange for quick conversions.

What is Coinbase Exchange?

coinbase review

Coinbase is an online platform designed for cryptocurrency trading that’s a bit hard on online gamblers. Apart from crypto trading, Coinbase offers a well-proven wallet app, the feature Coinbase Pro for more seasoned users looking for advanced trading options, and a widely accepted Coinbase Debit Card backed up by Visa. Coinbase is also home to neatly packed educational resources so if you are interested in cryptocurrency investing and know nothing about it, this could be a good place to start.

However, all of the above comes with a price and Coinbase’s direct competitors tend to have lower fees, as well as less restrictive gambling limitations. Keep reading and see what trading apps might suit you best in your pursuit of the biggest casino prizes.

Coinbase Exchange Company Overview

Coinbase Global Inc. was founded in 2012, and at the time of writing this review it had over 3,700 employees. The company has no physical headquarters and in 2012 it had a revenue of $7,84B.

This company is one of the most trusted crypto exchanges in the world, allowing you to securely trade crypto via a bank account. It went public in April 2021 via a direct listing on the Nasdaq. Coinbase provides educational resources for beginners. In terms of online gambling, it is quite restrictive and prohibits depositing money for the purposes of sports betting, esports betting, and all odds-based wagers. More on that later on.

At the time of writing this Coinbase review, the FTX exchange platform has just collapsed, and Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong told investors there’s no reason to panic, stating that Coinbase is not in trouble. Coinbase platform didn’t have any material exposure to FTX or Alameda Research, and it has $5 billion in US dollars, making it safe from the broader crypto volatility.

How to Create a Coinbase Account?

If you want to open a new account at Coinbase, here’s the whole process described step-by-step. It may seem radius and boring, but in reality, it’s not that hard, really.

  1. Visit the official website and click [Get Started].
  2. Verify your email address.
  3. Verify your phone number with a seven-digit code.
  4. Add your personal information – full name, email address, password, and country of residency.
  5. Verify your identity by completing the ID verification process.
  6. Link your preferred payment method.

What is Coinbase Wallet?

Coinbase wallet is virtual storage for your digital assets, allowing you to store your crypto and NFTs, explore the decentralized web, protect and keep your crypto assets, and trade with more than 500 trading pairs. Activating your wallet is just the first step in your trading endeavors, necessary for seamless transactions and acquisition, as well as storing your cryptos. Coinbase wallet comes free of charge, and it’s ideal for beginners and those still feeling insecure about their crypto investments.

What is Coinbase Pro?

The biggest difference between Coinbase and Coinbase Pro lies in the user interface. While Coinbase offers a simple, easy-to-navigate platform paired with only necessary trading options, Coinbase Pro has advanced trading options suitable for experienced crypto traders, such as stop orders, limit orders, time in force order policies, along with copious market analyses. Here are some key differences between Coinbase and Coinbase Pro, not counting the above-mentioned differences experience-wise.

  • Coinbase provides free educational material and enables claiming crypto rewards for learning.
  • Using a watchlist, Coinbase alerts users when crypto prices suddenly change.
  • Coinbase features a useful newsfeed on current events.
  • Coinbase Pro has multiple trade options with advanced charting similar to the stock exchange.
  • Coinbase Pro gives access to API keys, allowing third-party apps to integrate with your account.

The Pro account is great for seasoned traders and it includes real-time order books, charting tools, and trading history. Websocket Feed gives you easy access to market data, while its trading API gives you the option to develop secure trading bots. Coinbase Pro’s fee structure is comprised of taker fees and maker fees.

What is Coinbase Advanced Trade (CAT)?

According to Coinbase, the Advanced Trade platform replaces Coinbase Pro in order to satisfy the needs of more experienced and versatile crypto traders. There is no subscription fee for using a CAT, and low volume-based fees remain the same. Users can expect interactive charts, advanced order types, staking, app Wallet, borrowing options, and Coinbase Card. If you want to switch from Coinbase Pro to Coinbase, here’s a detailed instruction.

Using Coinbase Crypto Exchange in Online Casinos

If you are a seasoned Coinbase user you probably know this already, but for those new to Coinbase and similar crypto exchanges, it’s only fair to say that Coinbase is not the best pick if you plan to use it for online gambling. It’s one of the most frequent Coinbase FAQs, and here’s why.

First of all, Coinbase strictly prohibits depositing your crypto holdings into an illegal (and/or unlicensed) online casino, which sounds reasonable enough. But the rules of the exchange also state that users cannot use their Coinbase wallet for deposits made for purposes of lotteries, bidding fee auctions, sports forecasting or odds making, fantasy sports leagues with cash prizes, internet gaming, contests, sweepstakes, and games of chance. In other words, if you want to gamble in said casino segments using Bitcoin, Coinbase upholds the right to block your account, and in some extreme cases – confiscate your funds.

So, what can you do if you own a Coinbase account and still want to play online casino games? In strict legal terms, the only correct way to deposit assets from your Conibase crypto storage is to acquire written approval from the Coinbase team, allowing you to send funds into an online casino. Sadly, this is not all. In order to get written approval from Coinbase, only skill-based gambling sites will be taken into account.

This can be a bit confusing because even casual gamblers know that not all casino games fall into the games of skill category. In fact, the vast majority of perfectly legal games in equally legit online casinos are entirely luck-dependant with no skill involved. On the other hand, games of skill are often very scarce, so as a rule of thumb, they come with devastating wagering requirements and/or wagering contributions set by profit-run casinos.

Ultimately, we cannot recommend Coinbase if you plan to use it for gambling alone, due to complex and contradictory Terms and Conditions regarding legal online casinos, mandatory written approval by Coinbase, and the nerve-wracking definition of what a skill-based game truly is.

Coinbase supported cryptocurrencies

You can store literally thousands of tokens in your Coinbase Wallet, including all ERC-20 tokens, as well as tokens on EVM-compatible chains such as Polygon and Avalanche C-Chain. Due to low usage, Coinbase will no longer support the following cryptos and networks: BCH, ETC, XLM, and XRP.

Needless to say, your funds will not be lost. They will remain tied to your address and accessible via the Coinbase Wallet recovery phrase. The following list is formed by the market cap:

bitcoin btc Bitcoin
ethereum eth Ethereum
ethereum 2 Ethereum 2
tether usdt Tether
USD Coin usdc USD Coin
binance coin bnb Binance Coin
ripple xrp Ripple
binance us dollar busd Binance USD
dogecoin doge Dogecoin (DOGE)
cardano ada Cardano
polygon Polygon
polkadot Polkadot
dai Dai
litecoin ltc Litecoin (LTC)
solana sol Solana
tron Tron
shiba inu Shiba Inu
Uniswap uni Uniswap
avalanche avax Avalanche
wrapped bitcoin Wrapped Bitcoin
unus sed leo Unus Sed Leo
chainlink Chainlink
toncoin Toncoin
cosmos Cosmos
monero xmr Monero
ethereum classic Ethereum Classic
stellar xlm Stellar Lumens
bitcoin cash bch Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Algorand Algorand
crypto com coin Crypto.com Coin

For ERC-20 tokens Coinbase supports USDC, USDT, SHIB, APE, and DAI, via the Ethereum network only. APE, SHIB, and USDT are currently supported just for Coinbase Managed Commerce accounts, but these assets will be supported on Self-Managed and Coinbase Managed Commerce accounts in the near future.

Coinbase Exchange PC App

This exchange is well-prepared for all types of users and it’s only natural to come with a dedicated PC application you can download directly from the Coinbase website. It allows users uninterrupted and easy-to-follow trading and to manage multiple accounts, and it will not affect your daily business thanks to the neatly designed, distraction-free window.

Coinbase Exchange Mobile App

coinbase app

Practically all crypto exchanges feature a mobile app, but what sets Coinbase apart from competitors is the fact that its app actually looks and acts efficiently. Coinbase mobile app is available in the Google Play store and App Store as well, so if you have an Android or iOS operating mobile phone, you are taken care of. Both apps are easy to use and have great reviews, suitable for both beginners and advanced users.

Coinbase Exchange Security

Coinbase is one of the rare crypto exchanges without any major hacker intrusions. It is one of the most trusted trading platforms in the world. Apart from the expected security measures in realms of SSL and software, Coinbase is quite strict towards employees, due to the fact that people work from home and Coinbase has no physical HQ. But what keeps our mind at ease is that Coinbase keeps most of its funds in cold storage, not accessible via the internet, and it secures cash on FDIC-secured accounts, on sums up to $250,000.

Coinbase Fees

Opening or creating a Coinbase account is free of charge, but Coinbase charges transactions, including taker fees, maker fees, etc. Coinbase charges a flat 1% transaction fee on all cryptocurrency transactions. Let’s take a look at Coinbase’s fee structure.

  • Pricing tier $0-$10,000: Taker fee 0,60%, Maker fee 0,40%
  • $10K-$50K: 0,40% and 0,25%
  • $59K-$100K: 0,25% and 0,15%
  • $100K-$1M: 0,20% and 0,10%
  • $1M-$15M: 0,18% and 0,08%
  • $15M-$75M: 0,16% and 0,06%
  • $75M-$250M: 0,12% and 0,03%
  • $250M-$400: 0,08% and 0%
  • $400M+: 0,05% and 0%.

Fiat deposit and withdrawal fees

  • ACH: free Wire (USD): $10 deposit fee, $25 withdrawal fee.
  • SEPA (EUR): €0,15 and €0,15.
  • Swift (GBP): free deposits and £0,15.

Margin or Spread Fees

The margin or spread is a service charge of up to 2.00% added to the exchange rate. It enables Coinbase to temporarily lock in a price for trade execution while you review the transaction details before submitting your transaction. This spread applies to all Cryptocurrency transactions, as well as your Coinbase Card transactions.

Primary Balance

Cash and crypto hosting is free of charge. You can store crypto coins and your fiat currencies with zero expenses and you can send crypto assets from one Coinbase primary balance to another with no transaction fees. According to Coinbase, there is a transaction fee for crypto transfers off the Coinbase platform. Account holders can expect additional fees imposed by other money transfer services, which can occur during deposits and withdrawals.

Crypto Transactions

Like any other exchange, Coinbase may charge fees whenever you sell, buy, or convert cryptos. Fees are determined by a combination of factors – your location, the size of the order, the selected payment method, the size of the order, liquidity, etc. Imposed fees will be listed in the trade preview screen before you submit your transaction and may differ for similar transactions.

The exchange also includes a spread, in cases where you trade to buy or sell cryptocurrencies, as well as in the exchange rate when you convert cryptocurrencies. Advanced traders will be pleased to hear that they are spared from the spread because they are interacting directly with the order book.

Transaction fees vary depending on the payment method, cryptocurrency type, transaction size, and platform. Coinbase claims it charges “a flat 1% transaction fee on all cryptocurrency transactions.For a $200 Bitcoin purchase, fees turn out to be $2.99, or about 1.5%.

  • Under $10 = $0,99.
  • $10 – $25 = $1,49
  • $25 – $50 = $1,99
  • $50 – $200 = $2,99.

Credit Transactions

If you decide to borrow US dollars from Coinbase, or an affiliate of Coinbase, and they have to sell your BTC collateral, it will come with a flat fee of 2% of the total transaction.

Coinbase Staking

Staking is a process similar to bank savings. You can earn free cryptocurrency and earn free crypto rewards just by setting aside a certain amount of crypto and not using them for a long period of time. The more money you set aside, and for a longer period of time, the better the rewards. Coinbase staking is based on proof of staking rather than proof of work, which takes more energy and yields lower results. Unfortunately for Coinbase, its APY is somewhat lower compared to competitors, and users can expect up to 5,75% APY, depending on several factors, including the type of crypto, etc.

Crypto rewards

Apart from trading itself, there are five ways you can earn rewards at Coinbase.

  • Learning rewards – Coinbase Earn lets you make money just by learning things about cryptos, usually via short videos.
  • Staking – use your Ethereum, Cosmos, and other cryptos to earn up to 5,75% APY in cryptos by staking the assets you will not use for a long period of time.
  • Convert dollars into stablecoins – Volatility aside, you can make a profit by simply buying and holding dollar-pegged stablecoins like USDC (0,15% APY just for holding USDC).
  • Lend your cryptos with CeFi – Centralized Finance products provide compelling yield if you opt to keep crypto in stablecoin. Low-risk investments start at 4% APY via USDC.
  • Lend your cryptos with DeFi – Decentralized Finance products offer higher risk investment-wise, but they correspondingly bring higher returns. It enables transparent peer-to-peer lending, with better yields than traditional loans.

Additionally, if you refer to a friend, Coinbase will give you $10 in Bitcoin. Coinbase rewards come with a 25% commission.

Coinbase Card

advantages-coinbase-cardIssued by Metabank, Coinbase Card is a debit card backed by Visa. It allows you to spend assets anywhere in the world where a Visa debit card is accepted. For example, if you want to buy something abroad and intend to spend crypto, you can pay using Coinbase Card and it will momentarily convert your crypto funds into US dollars.

The most attractive benefit of this card is the option to get cashback rewards whenever you make a purchase. You can opt for several cryptos, each with a specific cashback percentage.

  • USD Coin 1% cashback
  • Dai 1% cashback
  • Ethereum 1% cashback
  • Bitcoin 1,5% cashback
  • Amp 2% cashback
  • The Graph 4% cashback
  • Stellar Lumens 4% cashback

Keep in mind that earning rates are on a rotating schedule and you will be notified whenever a particular option is about to expire. Here’s the list of potential benefits one can unlock with a Coinbase debit card.

  • 0$ annual fee
  • Earn rewards with every purchase via selected cryptos
  • Easy to fund
  • Trade and store multiple cryptocurrencies

Once you earn a crypto reward, you can transfer it to your wallet, trade it for other cryptos, or stake your rewards and earn passive income. Sadly, Coinbase cards can not bypass imposed limitations regarding making deposits to online casinos, and you will still need written consent.

Coinbase KYC Procedure

As expected, Coinbase uses Identity Verification in order to comply with KYC (Know Your Customer) regulations. The exchange may collect the following information:

  1. Full name, date of birth, nationality, gender, signature, utility bills, photographs, phone number, home address, and email.
  2. Passport, driver’s license, ID card, tax ID number, Visa information, etc.
  3. Employer identification number, proof of legal formation, etc.
  4. Bank account information, payment card primary account number, transaction history, trading data, and tax identification.
  5. Office location, job title, and description of the role.
  6. Geolocation, tracking details, browser fingerprint, operating system, and personal IP address.
  7. Authentication data, security questions, click-stream data, public social networking posts, and other data are collected via cookies.

Coinbase Exchange Customer Support

coinbase customer support

Support Coinbase runs a reliable and quick-to-respond customer support service – when it’s working properly. Unfortunately, this is not always the case and Reddit is packed with user complaints regarding different issues, from having their accounts locked, to extremely slow responses.

Well, it turns out that Coinbase actually listens to these complaints and it’s open about its problems, committing to resolving delays and expanding the support team to the point where a live chat option became a reality. Nowadays, users can reach the support team using a direct phone line, email service, and live chat option.

As we see it, the quality of customer support has increased in the last year, but some problems regarding slow response time might still occur.

User Reviews

What users like about Coinbase Exchange

  • Safe and trusted exchange with a user-friendly design
  • Free tips, guides, and educational materials
  • Additional features for advanced traders
  • Zero annual and ATM fees on Coinbase Card
  • Earn cryptos by making purchases and staking coins

What users dislike about Coinbase Exchange

  • Prohibits depositing assets from its Wallet for sports and esports betting
  • Funds can be deposited only in legitimate casinos with written consent
  • Slightly more expensive fee structure
  • Capped monthly earnings

Coinbase Review Summary

Our Coinbase exchange review proved that Coinbase is a potentially lucrative place for your digital assets and crypto purchases, but we are sorry to say that Coinbase is not the best choice when it comes to online gambling due to legal issues and numerous restrictions.

Coinbase entirely forbids depositing funds for sports betting and similar odds-bases prediction games, and if you want to send money into a legit online casino you will need written consent from Coinbase, AND you have to state that you are only going to play skill-based casino games.

However, if gambling is not on your mind, then Coinbase is a great multiple-asset trading platform made both for beginners and pros. The minimum amount needed to buy cryptocurrency on Coinbase is $2. Coinbase is known for its slightly higher trading fees, but those higher fees come with substantial benefits in terms of security insurance, cashback rewards for spending, and a lot of zero-fee services.

You can earn crypto rewards by staking, making Coinbase Earn option a good way to make new cryptos. You can make money just by learning, buying, or staking cryptos for a long period.

How does Coinbase compare to other exchanges?

Without any doubt, Coinbase is a great asset for crypto trading and one of the biggest exchanges in the world. While not perfect, it is a great place to start if you are a trading rookie, and you want to invest, spend, earn, or get a crypto card backed by Visa. Granted, if staking is your number one priority, Coinbase may not be the perfect choice for you, because some other crypto exchanges offer higher annual percentage yield (APY). Potential advantages are truly numerous and diverse, but is it any good for gambling purposes?

Sadly, it is not. With that in mind, you can still open a Coinbase account and purchase cryptocurrency, but if you plan to use it for online gambling we advise you to send those assets to another wallet and make casino deposits from there.

FAQ

  • Is Coinbase Exchange safe?

    Despite the latest rumors and near-panic reactions when FTX crashed, Coinbase Exchange is still one of the most reliable and trusted cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. It features a Two-factor authentication and it falls under the regulation of the State of California.

    The company had no successful hacker attack so far, and around 98% of customers’ funds are stored in cold storage, offline. The cash you hold in your Coinbase wallet is FDIC insured in the amount of $250,000.

  • Is Coinbase Exchange good for online casinos?

    Coinbase is not an ideal choice for online gambling. Although it offers unparalleled convenience, security, anonymity, and speed, it strictly forbids depositing money for the purposes of sports and esports betting. Players can deposit money in legitimate online casinos only for the purposes of playing skill-based games after receiving written consent to do so.

  • Is Coinbase Exchange available in my country/region?

    At the time of writing this Coinbase review, Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange was available in the following countries:

    Canada, USA, Bahamas, Barbados, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Albania, Andora, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Georgia, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Oman, Rwanda, South Adfrica, Togo, Tunisa, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, and Zambia.

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