Coinbase Review

If you are a professional or even new to crypto, you probably would have heard of the name “Coinbase,” whether you are from the USA, Pakistan, or any other Tier-1 country. It is one of the leading crypto exchanges well-known for a large number of cryptocurrencies’ support and safety. Not only it is one of the world’s largest exchanges in terms of market cap, but it also is the first cryptocurrency-related company to get a public listing on NASDAQ as an authorized U.S. stock exchange.

In this Coinbase review, we’ll do a thorough rundown of the platform and closely examine the services they provide while discussing its features such as costs, acceptable payment methods, and other benefits along with drawbacks of using it. 

We’ll also share details if Coinbase adheres to the legal ethics of blockchain technology. So, without wasting any time, let’s get started.

Coinbase is the most well-known of the “compliant exchanges” and has benefited from the cryptocurrency market. Coin-Labs is the official business partner of Coinbase. By following the link above to sign up, you can earn 2,727 Pakistani rupee worth of Bitcoin!

What is Coinbase?

Known for its easy-to-navigate UI, Coinbase is a popular cryptocurrency exchange with almost $0.90 Billion dollars in 24h trading volume, right below Binance, which has comparably higher trading volume on average.

Who created Coinbase?

Coinbase exchange was initially established in May 2012 by Brian Armstrong and his partner Fred Ehrsam at the very beginning of blockchain technology and Bitcoin. Considering its launch date, it won’t be wrong if we say it is one of the oldest exchanges functional right now after Bitstamp, which was launched a year before in August 2011. Although, you wouldn’t have heard of the name Bitstamp because of its accessibility and regulation issues.

Why is Coinbase on NASDAQ?

One of the main reasons why Coinbase is the first Exchange that got listed on NASDAQ and is very famous among U.S., Indian, and Pakistanis traders is because it complies with the laws and regulations of traditional centralized systems and operates under the scrutiny of U.S. regulators. 

Coinbase was given $75 million in funding in 2015 by different financial institutions, with the New York Stock Exchange serving as the organization’s primary backer. This grant has significantly aided in its expansion since then. According to the financial report 2021, the Exchange has generated more than $7.84 Billion in revenue in a single year.

With more than 70 million verified users and a quarterly traded volume of more than $300 billion, Coinbase continues to be the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. 

Pros and Cons of Coinbase for Pakistani users

Is Coinbase safe in Pakistan?

Yes, Coinbase is as safe for trading as crypto for Pakistani users, and let us explain why.

Unlike cash in the bank and other traditional financial institutions, Federal regulations do not protect cryptocurrency or give assurance. However, after all that, Coinbase was the first U.S. cryptocurrency exchange to complete an initial public offering successfully. Coinbase offers multi-layer of protection, and 98% of customer assets are safely stored in cold wallets, making it one of the most regulated and secured exchanges in history.

That’s not all; other security layers for assets protection include 2FA authentication, funds password, and Mobile number binding.

The Exchange also has an insurance policy to safeguard its cryptocurrency assets. Although the platform has insurance, users can still lose their money if their cryptocurrency is stolen in a significant security breach. There is no guarantee that coins will return to your wallet if overall losses exceed insurance reimbursements. Also, the insurance policy does not cover damages brought on by unauthorized access to your account. In other words, traders might not be able to recover their lost funds if their identity gets stolen or if someone discovers their Coinbase account password and steals it from their wallet.

However, it’s just a disclaimer, and a security breach is highly unlikely possible because now the platform has been functional for almost a decade, and to date, it has never happened.

How to secure assets on Coinbase

If you are a newbie trader, then make sure to bind your phone number with the code they text to verify your number. It is also suggested to set up a two-factor authentication mechanism after verifying your phone number to keep your account secure. Data encryption and biometric logins are some additional security measures provided by the Exchange.

In order to provide users with a variety of options, users are free to choose their wallet type from a Third-Party private wallet to a non-custodial built-in centralized wallet on the platform. Private wallets are more secure as if a security breach occurs, you still won’t lose access to your wallet or assets.

However, the ability to engage in more advanced activities, such as yield farming, which enables cryptocurrency owners to lend out their assets to produce greater profits, comes with having a non-custodial wallet.

When users delete their account with Coinbase, they can ask them to remove their data from the platform’s servers permanently.

Although Coinbase takes numerous security precautions to keep your account and investments as secure as possible, security is ultimately a shared responsibility. Here below are some concrete actions you can take to protect your money and prevent illegal access to your account.

Use the strongest form of 2-step verification

The basic step in protecting your internet accounts, including Coinbase, Gmail, Facebook, Dropbox, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, is using a very powerful security key.

The next best choice is a Time-based One-Time-Password (TOTP) with mobile authenticator software like Duo or Google Authenticator which is available in Pakistan in Play Sotre.

You significantly reduce the chances of getting your account compromised by using TOTP. Under the security settings of the profile, users can enable security keys and TOTP options.

Additionally, if you are a newbie, then we would recommend considering setting up two-step verification for any cryptocurrency transaction to offer additional security to your account. From the security settings, users can enable this capability with ease as well.

If you are a mobile user in Pakistan, set up a passcode as well from the Coinbase Mobile app. The passcode can be made available for both opening the app and sending money through it.

Protect your cloud storage accounts

Many smartphone users frequently use cloud storage services like Google Drive or iCloud to create backups of the information stored on their portable devices. This data often includes messages, contacts, emails, photographs, and other data.

The device backup will be restored onto a device under the attacker’s control if they acquire access to your cloud storage account. At that point, they will have access to a wealth of data that will enable them to compromise your different online accounts, including Coinbase. Do not underestimate the capability of an attacker who has access to this data!

So, the best option is to turn off backups in your cloud account for Coinbase to eliminate the chances of getting your account hacked.

Secure your email

Your email address is one of the essential things that connect your Coinbase account to you. Make sure it is safe! Coinbase interacts with its user via email if needed for any support, such as confirming new devices or sending crucial account alerts.

Check if your email address has ever been exposed to a third-party data breach. If that’s the case, reset any passwords connected to that email address. Your email account should also have two-step verification enabled.

Services provided by Coinbase as of 2023 for Pakistani users

NFT Marketplace on Coinbase

There are other dedicated NFT marketplaces available also if you go deep down into this side of cryptos, such as OpenSea, Aliens World, Axie Infinity, and The Sandbox.

Coinbase Pro Account for Pakistani users

For investors who want to acquire and collect lesser amounts of cryptocurrency while also learning as they invest, Coinbase provides its primary account. But there is Coinbase Pro for aggressive traders who want to execute more significant trades at minimal costs.

Investors with Coinbase Pro can get access to more cryptos to invest compared to traders with a free plan, as dozen of cash (fiat) and cryptocurrency trading is available on Pro including PKR (the local Pakistani currency.)

Another worth noticeable point is if you have a Pro account, then you can directly trade in cryptocurrencies using fiat currencies like USD without converting it to USDT or blockchain-based stablecoins.

There are no restrictions on who can get access to the Pro account. Anyone who meets the requirements for a Coinbase account can use Coinbase Pro services. It provides a user-friendly interface, a straightforward ordering procedure, charting tools, trade histories, and real-time order books. 

Coinbase Advanced Trading

Coinbase enables simple spot trading for novice traders with few clicks with its advanced trading option. To get started, select the cryptocurrency you wish to purchase. Then input the desired quantity, and choose whether to pay in fiat or cryptocurrency.

The taker fee for trading on Coinbase varies from 0.40% to 0.60%, similar to the basic plan. Exchange doesn’t limit your order accessibility on both plans (basic+advanced), as you are free to place limit, market, and stop limit orders in both Spot and futures trading.

If you are a beginner, we would rather suggest you go with a basic U.I. interface as it offers a straightforward trading interface, whereas an advanced one has technical features you might find hard to understand unless you have some experience trading on centralized exchanges previously.

Coinbase Learn to Earn

To make crypto and blockchain in general interesting for newbies to learn, traders can learn more about particular cryptocurrencies using the library of courses offered by Coinbase. Many of those courses let you make money while learning about cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. 

For instance, you may get up to $3 in MATIC tokens by enrolling in the Polygon MATIC course on resolving Ethereum’s scale challenges by creating an internet of blockchains.

Even though this isn’t much, it’s worth it while you are gaining knowledge. Newbies are free to enrol and complete multiple courses at the same time and earn up to as much as $20 to $30 free in crypto by just completing these small courses.

Staking Rewards

For proof-of-stake coins, locking up your cryptocurrency will assist the blockchain in validating transactions. You receive free cryptocurrency as payment for validating transactions.

Many exchanges have staking services that allow investors to stake their favourite cryptos on the Exchange and earn passive income. Here on Coinbase, by staking your cryptocurrencies for a fixed term or flexible, traders can earn a high yield of up to 6.12% on Major currencies like SOL, ETH, ATOM, and more.

This rate is less than what you would get on lending marketplaces like BlockFi or Nexo. However, it’s comforting to know that if you use Coinbase frequently, you can get extra benefits via their staking program.

Coinbase Card

Using your Coinbase Card to make purchases earns you incentives. Users currently receive 4% back in lumens or 1% back in bitcoin. 

Conclusion of Coinbase Review

Overall, based on our experience with the Coinbase exchange as well as the security measure maintained for more than the past ten years described in this Coinbase review, we would say it’s as legitimate as crypto businesses can be. With attractive features like access to hundreds of cryptos, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, Support for fiat currencies, and tons of charting and customization tools, we believe it is worth using Coinbase for crypto trading.

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