Coinbase: Is it Worth It?

In today's financial landscape, cryptocurrency (or simply, crypto, for short) is emerging as a mainstay player in the global money market. Since the inception and rise of the infamous Bitcoin, thousands - if not millions - of investors have dipped their hand in the crypto pot in hopes of substantial returns on profit. You can even make the argument that crypto may indeed be the "future of global currency". With the rise of crypto, came numerous servicers looking to cash in on the profit - Etoro, Gemini, WeBull, SoFi, Binance - even Robinhood, of all platforms. However, one company has emerged as a major player in the crypto servicing world. That platform is known as COINBASE.

According to Wikipedia, Coinbase Global, Incorporated, branded Coinbase, is an American company that operates a cryptocurrency exchange platform. Coinbase operates remote-first, and lacks an official physical headquarters. The company was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, and as of March 2021 was the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States by trading volume. Coinbase is operational in over 100 countries and is even publicly traded as a stock on the NYSE Nasdaq. With its growing popularity, Coinbase has amassed over 5 billion dollars in total assets since its inception in 2012 - in other words, consumers like what they see when they use the platform and their base is only growing by the numbers annually. Sounds interesting, right? Wait a minute. As always, the objective here is effective consumer education - and I can't let you put your money into something without knowing how good the product is, right?

The main questions is, just how effective is Coinbase and it is worth investing my assets into, in comparison to other mainstream platforms? The following tips aim to address Coinbase at the root and well, in the end, the choice is always yours. Here we go!

COINBASE: THE "PROS"

1. Ease of use: Coinbase is very easy to use and - it's FREE. The simple interface and accessibility is one of the developers' main selling points when attracting new customers. Whether you use it on your laptop or phone, Coinbase's user dashboard is very easy to understand 7 comes with a complete Watchlist of crypto coins to analyze and users have the ability to extract particular coins that they're interested and build their "watchlist", per se. Users can even trade right from their homepage.
2. Low minimum deposit: On Coinbase, the bare minimum deposit you need to make in order to start investing & trading is $10, compared to platform like EToro (where the minimum deposit is $50). I'd say that's a pretty small price to pay if you want to start your pathway to getting rich on crypto.
3. Wide Range of Crypto Coins: If access to variety is your thing, then Coinbase is definitely for you. With over 50 crypto coins available on their platform, Coinbase is currently the largest digital currency servicer in the world, and far outnumbers all other platforms in terms of its wide variety of investments options. Mo' crypto, mo' money.
4. Ability to collect crypto: Along with it's many currencies available, Coinbase also offers users ample opportunities to add to their portfolio. These opportunities are available on the user homepage. All users have to do is watch 2-3 minutes videos on different coins and the crypto is yours! As an added bonus, you can even convert that coin into your desired asset. For example, I can watch a 3 minute video on Compound and whenever I want, convert it to another coin (Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum - you name it).
5. Plethora of Learning: This speaks for itself. Coinbase has thousands upon thousands of learning videos for the beginner, intermediate and expert - right from the palm of your hand.

COINBASE: THE "CONS"

1. Customer Service: As great as Coinbase is in terms of the effectiveness of its app operations, their customer service could use a bit more refining. According to CNBC, Coinbase has faced more than 11,000 customer service complaints since 2016. Most of these complaints resolve around users' ability to communicate with Coinbase Support staff. Given that Coinbase doesn't have a primary customer service line, their main source of communication is their Coinbase Support email - and most of the time, consumers have had zero luck with that forum. The Division of Banking for the New Jersey Department of Banking & Insurance has faced over 10 Coinbase complaint since January 2021, and that number is increasing on a monthly basis. The best way to reach Coinbase effectively and resolve a complaint would be through your State Regulator (for example, in New Jersey, consumers should submit a complaint to the NJ Department of Banking & Insurance).
2. Fees...Fees...FEES: What more can I say? Coinbase's fees are indeed concerning. Now, if you have a small amount of assets in your portfolio and your looking to withdraw some money, the fee is manageable; however, if you're withdrawing, let's say, $1,000, well, Coinbase is going to take a chunk out of that. Below are their fees breakdown - just for consumers to prepare:

COINBASE FEES BREAKDOWN

Total trade amount

Fee

$10 or less

$0.99

More than $10 and up to $25

$1.49

More than $25 and up to $50

$1.99

More than $50 and up to $200

$2.99

And these fee guidelines for payment type in the U.S.:

U.S. bank account or Coinbase wallet

1.49%

Debit card

3.99%

Instant card withdrawal

Up to 1.5% (minimum fee of $0.55)

ACH transfer

Free

Wire transfer

$10 ($25 outgoing)

These pros and cons are just a few (and probably most important) in the world of Coinbase, and are deciding factors in whether new customers sign up for their services or not. If you feel you can handle these cons, then Coinbase is for you. If not, then I would recommend any of the platform listed above. Keep in mind, those platforms - although could be better - have less of what Coinbase offers in terms of access and variety - just food for thought for the average consumer. For more information on Coinbase, please see the following links:

https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/investing/brokers/coinbase; https://www.investopedia.com/tech/coinbase-what-it-and-how-do-you-use-it/; https://www.trustradius.com/products/coinbase/reviews?qs=pros-and-cons