Coinbase Review 2025

Pros

• Coinbase, listed on Nasdaq, complies with strict financial regulations and is licensed in the US, UK, and Europe. It offers security features like FDIC insurance for USD balances (up to $250,000) and two-factor authentication (2FA).
• Coinbase offers over 240 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and new altcoins like $Trump, providing early access to emerging tokens.
• Platforms are available for all skill levels: beginners can use the simple Coinbase app, while Advanced Trade offers lower fees and professional tools.
• Coinbase Advanced enhanced its trading with two new futures products in 2025: Natural Gas (NGS) at 1,000 MMBtu per contract with up to 11x leverage, and Cardano (ADA) futures at 1,000 ADA per contract with up to 5x leverage.

Cons

• Advanced Trade provides TradingView charts but lacks research tools like news feeds, economic calendars, and AI market insights.
• Customer support is frustrating during testing because most help options require login, making it difficult for locked-out users or those without accounts to get assistance.
• Crypto fees are high based on tests, especially when compared to competitors like Kraken and BitMEX, particularly on the regular trading platform.

Regulation & Trust

Coinbase is one of the most established crypto exchanges, but like all crypto firms, it carries more risk than traditional brokerages.

Since its public listing on the Nasdaq in April 2021 (COIN), Coinbase has maintained a high level of financial transparency, which gives some reassurance about its operations.

Now available in over 100 countries, Coinbase follows various regulatory requirements to ensure its services are secure and legal.

It’s registered in the US and the UK and is authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011.

Across the EU, it’s registered for crypto services with the Central Bank of Ireland, the Dutch Central Bank, the Bank of Spain, and the Organismo Agenti e Mediatori in Italy.

Coinbase has approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Payment Services Act in Singapore.

As a publicly traded company, Coinbase gives access to its financial reports, which allow me to see how it manages and holds funds.

My assets are maintained on a one-to-one basis, meaning they’re always available—24/7, 365 days a year.

If you’re outside the US, funds are held as cash in custodial accounts, separate from Coinbase’s operating funds, ensuring they won’t be used for company expenses.

For US customers, funds are stored in FDIC-insured pooled custodial accounts, meaning deposits in USD wallets are insured up to $250,000 per individual.

Even with these security measures, I know Coinbase has been targeted by phishing, social engineering, and phone-based attacks.

That’s why I stay cautious, use strong security settings, and remain vigilant about potential threats.

Accounts & Banking

Coinbase gives plenty of account options, each designed for different needs, including retail investors like me. Unfortunately, choosing the right one can be overwhelming.

The standard Coinbase account lets you buy, sell, and store over 240 cryptocurrencies with easy-to-use features, though you pay higher fees when using a debit or credit card.

If you want complete control over your assets, the Wallet gives you a self-custody option to securely store, manage, and transfer cryptos and NFTs and full control over private keys.

For a premium experience, Coinbase One costs $29.99 monthly. It offers zero trading fees, priority customer support, and up to $1 million in account protection for security breaches.

If you’re into NFTs, the marketplace lets you create, buy, and sell digital collectibles.

For more advanced trading, Coinbase replaced Coinbase Pro in 2022 with Advanced Trade, which gives lower fees, advanced charting tools, multiple order types, and full API access for algorithmic trading.

Opening my Coinbase account was simple but required complete verification. To comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, I had to provide my name, email, phone number, and a government-issued ID.

Unlike some crypto exchanges that allow anonymity, Coinbase insists on complete verification before you can access your account and start trading. The process only took a few minutes, but I still found it frustrating.

Assets & Markets

Coinbase lets you buy, sell, and trade real cryptocurrencies instead of speculating on price movements with derivatives like CFDs.

Unlike some traditional brokerage platforms that only offer exposure to crypto prices, Coinbase gives direct ownership of digital assets.

When you buy crypto on Coinbase, you own it. You can store assets in your Coinbase account, transfer them to a private wallet like Coinbase Wallet or another external wallet, or even stake them to earn rewards.

With over 240 supported digital assets, you have access to major coins like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Ripple (XRP), as well as emerging tokens like Dogecoin (DOGE) and the 2025 added OFFICIAL TRUMP (TRUMP).

To reduce volatility, you can trade stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and Dai (DAI), which are pegged to the US dollar.

Coinbase makes trading between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies like USD, EUR, and GBP easy. You can fund your account with wire transfer, debit card, credit card, or even PayPal.

If you’re using Advanced Trade, you can access crypto-to-crypto trading pairs, such as BTC/ETH and SOL/USDT, with market, limit, and stop orders available.

Staking is another way to earn passive income by staking select cryptocurrencies like Ethereum 2.0 (ETH), Cosmos (ATOM), Tezos (XTZ), and Solana (SOL). However, Coinbase takes a commission from rewards.

Coinbase NFT Marketplace lets you buy, sell, and store Ethereum-based NFTs if you’re interested in NFTs.

With Coinbase Wallet, you can also interact with decentralized applications (DApps) and DeFi protocols.

For those trading at an institutional level, Coinbase Prime offers over-the-counter (OTC) trading, allowing high-net-worth individuals and institutions to execute large block trades without significantly affecting market prices.

I like that Coinbase is entirely focused on crypto trading and offers a wide range of coins and trading pairs.

However, it doesn’t provide access to newer investment options, like crypto ETFs, which are becoming more popular.

Fees & Costs

Coinbase offers a well-regulated platform for buying, selling, and trading cryptocurrencies, but its fees aren’t the lowest.

While some exchanges provide cheaper alternatives, Coinbase’s pricing reflects its strong security measures and compliance with regulatory standards.

The standard Coinbase platform has a complex fee structure that tends to be more expensive than the Advanced Trade platform.

When you buy or sell crypto, you pay a spread of around 0.50%, though this can fluctuate with the market.

In addition, Coinbase charges a separate ‘Coinbase Fee,’ which varies based on the transaction size.

For example, if you trade between $10 and $25, you could be charged up to $2.99. Coinbase applies a conversion margin of up to 2% if you want to exchange one cryptocurrency for another.

If you switch to Advanced Trade, you will get a maker-taker fee model based on your total trading volume of over 30 days.

Taker fees depend on my price tier when you place an order. If you fall into the $50,000 to $100,000 volume range, you’d pay a taker fee of 0.25%, while the maker fee would be lower at 0.15%.

Fiat deposits and withdrawals have their own costs. If you deposit USD via wire transfer, Coinbase charges $10, and if you withdraw the same way, the fee jumps to $25.

There are platforms with lower fees, but Coinbase is a safe choice.

Platforms & Tools

Coinbase gives a few different trading options, depending on what you need.

The standard Coinbase platform is where I started, letting me easily buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

I like how simple and intuitive the TradingView-powered interface is, whether using it on a web browser or through the mobile app.

Its tools make it easy to track price movements over different time frames—whether I want to see trends over the last hour, the past day, or even an entire year—before making a trade.

I use Advanced Trade for more advanced trading.

It’s built for experienced traders who need lower fees, better charting tools, and more control over their trades. I prefer it over the standard platform because it lets me place market, limit, and stop orders, giving me more flexibility.

Coinbase offers a secure platform for buying, selling, and trading crypto

The maker-taker fee model also saves money compared to the standard Coinbase fees.

Since it supports industry-leading APIs, you can integrate trading bots and automate transactions, making it a solid option for active traders.

If you want complete control over your crypto, you can use Coinbase Wallet. This self-custody option lets you store your private keys and manage funds however you like.

It supports thousands of cryptocurrencies and Ethereum-based NFTs and even connects with decentralized apps (DApps) for DeFi, staking, and other Web3 activities. You can access it easily through a mobile app or a browser extension.

Coinbase has a Web3 marketplace for NFTs where you can buy, sell, and discover Ethereum-based digital collectibles.

I appreciate that it doesn’t charge extra transaction fees beyond Ethereum’s gas fees and integrates smoothly with Coinbase Wallet and other self-custody wallets.

It also has features so you can follow your favorite creators and showcase your NFT collection.

Research

Coinbase doesn’t offer the same kind of in-depth research tools that some other platforms like eToro and IG that we’ve tested do.

For example, there is no economic calendar, daily market analysis, real-time news feeds, sentiment tracking, or trading signals.

That said, I do find some valuable insights on its YouTube channel.

Some of its videos cover big-picture topics like inflation and regulatory changes, which help me stay updated on the broader crypto landscape. But I wish it posted this kind of content more frequently.

Research videos include crypto trends and regulations, but content about trading is limited

If Coinbase wants to improve, regular market updates, expert commentary on price trends, and in-depth technical analysis of significant cryptocurrencies would be helpful.

Live Q&A sessions or interactive discussions on market movements would also help me to stay informed.

Even better, if it integrated sentiment analysis tools or AI-driven market forecasts, decision-making would be much more manageable.

Education

Coinbase gives a few ways to learn about cryptocurrency and blockchain, which is helpful as I navigate the space.

‘Coinbase Learn‘ is my go-to for beginner-friendly guides, detailed articles, and video tutorials.

It covers everything from how to buy and sell crypto to understanding blockchain fundamentals and managing risk.

I like that the content is regularly updated so I can always access the latest industry trends and regulatory changes.

Coinbase’s videos break down blockchain, trading, and market trends—perfect for beginners

I also use ‘Coinbase Earn,’ which lets me earn small amounts of crypto by watching short educational videos and completing quizzes.

It’s a fun way to learn about new projects and tokens while getting a little reward.

However, the earning opportunities aren’t always available, and sometimes, the rewards feel too small to make a real difference.

For more visual learning,  check out Coinbase’s YouTube channel, which posts tutorials, market insights, and explanations of crypto trends.

The videos help break down both fundamental concepts and more advanced blockchain topics.

I find this helpful format, but I wish there were more in-depth trading tutorials and regular market updates to understand price movements and trading strategies better.

Customer Support

Coinbase offers several ways to get support, but I’ve had a frustrating experience trying to reach agents when I needed help the most.

The Help Center is helpful for fundamental issues, with articles and video tutorials on account management, payment methods, and security.

However, when I needed genuine assistance, I quickly realized the limitations of their support system.

Live chat is only available if you already have an account, which I find incredibly frustrating.

When I was locked out because I couldn’t access my Coinbase Authenticator app, I couldn’t use live chat to resolve the issue.

Instead, I had to call phone support, wait three hours for a callback, and still didn’t get the help I needed.

Coinbase suggested I create an entirely new trading account rather than helping me regain access to my existing one.

Email support is another option, but Coinbase doesn’t make its contact email easy to find, which adds to the frustration.

It also responds to inquiries on social media platforms like X and Facebook, but don’t rely on them for urgent issues.

While there are some self-service options, Coinbase needs to improve accessibility, especially for users who are locked out of their accounts.

Should You Trade With Coinbase?

If you want an easy-to-use platform with strong security and regulatory compliance, Coinbase is a solid option, especially for beginners.

But fees are higher compared to some competitors we’ve evaluated.

If keeping trading costs low is a top priority or you want a more streamlined mobile trading experience, Kraken or BitMEX might be better choices.

While Coinbase provides peace of mind with its security and compliance, you’ll have to weigh that against the extra costs.

Article Sources

• Coinbase Website
• Coinbase Learn
• Coinbase Earn
• Coinbase YouTube Channel

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