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Add to SafariWhen comparing Coinbase Bitcoin Wallet vs Coinbase, the Slant community recommends Coinbase for most people. In the question“What are the best ways to buy/sell bitcoin?” Coinbase is ranked 1st while Coinbase Bitcoin Wallet is ranked 5th. The most important reason people chose Coinbase is:
The entire process of using Coinbase is seamless. All you need to do to start buying/selling Bitcoin is link your bank account to Coinbase, and if you provide a credit card as a backup payment method you can start buying Bitcoin instantly.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Stores 85% of users' funds offline
If security is one of your top priorities, Coinbase takes a unique approach at protecting users by storing most information offline.
Pro Converts Bitcoin to USD
By integrating a US bank account, Bitcoin can be converted to USD using ACH.
Pro Web and mobile
You can open your bitcoin wallet and fully manage it on both web and mobile, and access your bitcoin any time.
Pro Bitcoin can be transfered through email
Allows avoiding using Bitcoin addresses by transferring funds through email instead.
Pro Very easy to set up and use
The entire process of using Coinbase is seamless. All you need to do to start buying/selling Bitcoin is link your bank account to Coinbase, and if you provide a credit card as a backup payment method you can start buying Bitcoin instantly.
Pro Trustworthy
Coinbase have raised over 6 million from reputable investors.
Pro Secure
Wallets (and private keys) are stored using AES-256 encryption and the site runs entirely over SSL. Also, 90% of customer funds are stored offline in bank vaults to prevent theft or loss.
For more information, visit here.
Pro You can instantly buy Bitcoin
If you provide a credit card as a backup payment method and verify your identity, you can instantly buy and sell bitcoins without waiting the usual 4 days.
Pro Acts as a hosted wallet
You can also use Coinbase to store your bitcoins in their hosted wallet. This makes the entire process of using bitcoins really simple, as you only need to use one service.
Pro Limited to the most stable coins
Coinbease is limited to the most stable coins, making it less likely to run into problems in the world of Crypto
Pro Great for cryptocurrency beginners
Coinbase is extremely easy to get started with. This is especially true for beginners looking to get their feet wet in the world of Bitcoins/cryptocurrencies — there’s no figuring out the process because everything is clearly laid out in front of you.
Pro Intuitive user interface
Coinbase’s user interface is well-designed and easy to grasp in a short amount of time. Compared to other exchange platforms, Coinbase has the best user experience for those who are new to cryptocurrencies.
Pro Offers phone support
Coinbase offers phone support for customers needing urgent help with ID/account verification issues, limit increases, and such.
Pro Great mobile apps
As well as the website, you can access Coinbase on Android, iPhone and visa SMS.
Pro No fees for deposit through SEPA bank transfer
For Europeans, there is no fee for depositing to Coinbase through SEPA bank transfers (but your bank may charge a fee).
Cons
Con You don't own your Bitcoins
If they don't like you (KYC/AML) they can lock you out. This is the antithesis of what Bitcoin is able to provide. If you own the private keys, you own the Bitcoins, on Coinbase you don't.
Con Bank account integration is limited
It's only available in US and has a limit for spending and receiving.
Con Tracking you
Bitcoin is anonymous by design but Coinbase is tracking and reporting all transactions.
Con Questionable politics
Con Shuts down and freezes transactions during heavy request for fiats and during bubble burst
Con Month of June 2017 - just horrible experience so far
Continual outages hold your money and/or coins hostage at the times they are most useful to trade. Site does not scale for busy profitable days/hours. Support is effectively non-existant. They treat everyone the same - poorly. Expect your funds to be captive during volatile activity. Poor leadership relegateds support staff to begging Your "patience." New policies are NOT updated online in a timely manner. Beware if you have much to lose. Considering all the kinds of hiccups this website and its app regularly experience, a large catastrophic data leak of sensitive information would not surprise me at all.
Con Fees are quite high
Coinbase is beginning to increase their fees. Credit/debit card purchases also carries an upwards of 3.49% fee.
Con Too focused on altcoins
Con You'll experience a painful process to restore multiple device access
As soon as a device becomes unregistered from Coinbase, it seems to cause a cascade of other devices also complaining and asking or a code. If you're using certain mail providers, Coinbase emails don't even make it to your spam box - they're blocked at the server level. Folks should take care to use a known, white-listed service to ensure you don't lose access to your email resets, or you have to go through a very painful process to restore it. You have to register an entirely new account and follow up with a request for verification. This is all well and good for security's sake, but takes too long.
It can be done much more professionally and quickly if there were secure features to restore device connectivity and access, such as a backup or two step verification with a mobile. This would save days and days, even weeks of lock-out, from what is YOUR money.
Con Few choices
Coinbase is extremely limited in choices. Granted... to the most trusted and secure coins, but accessing other options requires a secondary service, and incurs fees.
Con Not available in many countries
Con Device disconnection happens all the time if you use several devices
It also seems that geolocation and Coinbase do not get along too well from a user perspective, with the same type of device disconnection occurring constantly if you move between a lot of devices, which some of us do, and some of us have to do by virtue of the way we work and live and move through the world.
Con Terrible customer support
Relegates users to a support "bot" which is incapable of supporting escalated issues. Email support takes days to weeks to respond and is not geared to handle time sensitive issues. Avoid Coinbase if at all possible.
