San Francisco-based Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange and wallet established in 2012. About 20 million customers, mostly from the US, use the digital currency exchange in 32 countries. Within a year of its creation, Coinbase became the most funded cryptocurrency company, and it is presently the biggest exchange globally. Coinbase exchange basics for new users are pretty easy to follow.
Ben Reeves, a co-founder of Blockchain.info, Brian Armstrong, and Fred Ehrsam comprised Coinbase’s initial founding team. Because certain team members disagreed with how they wanted the wallet to function, they broke up with the group. Later, Armstrong and Ehrsam signed up for the summer 2012 program of the Y-Combinator Startup Incubator.
The business introduced a platform in 2012 that allowed users to purchase and trade Bitcoin with fiat bank transactions.
What Makes Coinbase Unique?
The quickly growing cryptocurrency exchange and wallet has secured a $5 million Series A funding round. Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures oversaw the investment fundraising. A $25 million investment from venture capital firms Ribbit Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Union Square Ventures came after this one.
The next year, Coinbase expanded its clientele to one million and bought out several businesses, such as Blockr and Kippt. In order to increase security and guarantee that the Bitcoins kept on its computers were insured, the company changed its Bitcoin storage system. With continuous expansion, the exchange now boasts a user base of over 25 million.
Coinbase for newbies
To enable them to begin taking Bitcoin payments, Coinbase has established relationships with several centralized IT behemoths, payment processors, and retail establishments, including Overstock, Braintree Dish Network, PayPal, Dell, and Stripe.
Regarding trading volume, Coinbase used to be the top Bitcoin exchange globally. Coinbase is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges, with over 25 million registered users and over 150 billion exchanges made on the platform.
One of the very few cryptocurrency exchanges that accept fiat funding via bank transfers and debit cards is Coinbase.
Coinbase does not offer market-based trading for the exchange of Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies. Each coin’s pricing is determined by Coinbase.
Features of the Coinbase Exchange explained.
Unlike other cryptocurrency exchanges that permit direct trades based on real-time market pricing, Coinbase acts as a middleman in this manner. Users of Coinbase benefit from the ease and speed with which they may purchase or sell cryptocurrency.
Users in the USA can now sell their Bitcoins to Coinbase and receive PayPal cash in return. It is anticipated that European citizens will get access to this service shortly.
Aside from bank transfers, Coinbase is one of the few cryptocurrency exchanges that also takes debit cards.
How to sign up and create a new Coinbase account
- Go to Coinbase’s website, find the “Sign Up” button from the drop-down menu in the upper right corner, and click it to register and open an account.
- Enter your details, such as your location, password, email address, and name.
- To verify that you are older than eighteen, you will be asked.
- To continue, fill out the captcha and accept the terms of the user agreement and privacy policy.
- Open your email and click the verification link to confirm your account.
- Select your nation, enter your phone number, and continue.
- You’ll be prompted to input a seven-digit code on a page that appears on your phone.
- Enter the code, then continue.
- You will be prompted to verify your ID after entering the code.
- Your account setup is complete for the time being if you are not prompted to verify your identity.
Verifying your ID for Coinbase account
Because Coinbase is situated in the USA, they are subject to KYC/AML regulations. Businesses are required by the Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) rules to authenticate the identity of their clients or customers. These legal measures aid in the suppression of other illegal activity including money laundering.
Customers must provide Coinbase with a significant amount of sensitive data, including their photo ID and the last four digits of their SSN.If the system does not prompt you to provide identification after you enter the SMS code, select the “Submit ID + Photo Verification” button on the “Buy/Sell” page.
After entering this data, you’ll need to provide a picture ID.
To upload a clear picture of the front and back of your driver’s license or other photo ID, you can use the camera on your phone, your webcam, or a file upload.
Including Payment Options
A payment method must be provided before you can purchase any cryptocurrency. Three different ways to pay are available:
- Debit card
- Financial institution account
- Transfer of wires
To add a payment method, click the “Settings” tab located in the center of the page at the top.
Choose the “Linked Accounts” tab from the Settings page. Choose the “Link a New Account” option after that.
Next, you can choose the payment option you wish to utilize.
Debit Card
A debit card is the ideal choice for minor, rapid purchases. With every debit card purchase, you receive an instantaneous deposit of cryptocurrency into your account.
Debit card purchases are subject to a hefty 4% fee in addition to having substantially lower purchase limitations than other payment methods. The next year, Coinbase expanded its clientele to one million and bought companies like Blockr and Kippt. The business upgraded its Bitcoin storage solution to a more secure option, guaranteeing that it insured the funds stored on its servers.
To link your debit card, select the “link debit card option” and enter your debit card details. You can’t use a Debit Card.
Once you finalize your card information, Coinbase will credit your account with two outstanding charges. To verify your card, enter the last two numbers of the charge. These transactions are free of cost. The $1.00 charge should be ignored if three are sent.
Withdrawals and Deposits
Go to the trade view and select the Deposit button under Assets to add money to your Coinbase account. Make sure the address matches the particular digital currency you want to deposit by choosing the currency you want to deposit, copying the account address supplied, and sending the money from your external wallet. Using the trading view, pick the Assets menu, choose the desired currency, enter the amount and destination address, and then click Withdraw.
