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If you know any cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase is probably the one you’ve heard of. This is because of a market share of 64.7% as of March 2020. But it’s important to look at this review as a Coinbase Canada review because Coinbase’s features are different in every country.
Coinbase is known to have high and complicated fees among cryptocurrency exchanges. Let’s break them down:
The free Coinbase Pro account for larger transactions has lower and more straightforward fees:
| Pricing Tier | Maker Fee | Taker Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Less than $10k | 0.50% | 0.50% |
| $10k – $100k | 0.35% – 0.25% | 0.35% – 0.15% |
| $100k – $1M | 0.20% | 0.10% |
| $1M – $10M | 0.18% | 0.08% |
| $10M – $50M | 0.15% | 0.05% |
| $50M – $100M | 0.10% | 0.00% |
*Current as of November 2021
The accessibility of Coinbase is its standout feature. Its dashboard is designed so those completely new to cryptocurrency can instantly use the platform with little to no learning curve. If you can navigate online banking, you can use Coinbase. Signing up for an account is a matter of completing an online login, verifying your identity and clicking a few buttons.
Buying and selling is as easy: enter an amount, put in your debit card or PayPal information and execute the transaction with no lag or wait time.
The only drawbacks are, your payment and withdrawal options for buying crypto are limited in Canada. You can only buy crypto with a credit or debit card and you can only withdraw (not purchase) crypto using PayPal. You can visit Coinbase’s website to find more information on Coinbase’s payment methods for Canadians.
Coinbase is an American mobile cryptocurrency exchange allowing anyone to buy or sell cryptocurrency right from their smartphone. Founded in 2012, it was the first major U.S. cryptocurrency company to go public when it started trading on the Nasdaq in April 2021. It has over 73 million verified users in over 100 countries, trading $327 billion in quarterly cryptocurrency volume, which makes it one of the most used cryptocurrency platforms in the world.
It allows you to buy and sell over 75 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and more. Like many other exchanges, it also allows you to convert one cryptocurrency into another, and send and receive cryptocurrency to or from anyone.
Like a stock ticker, Coinbase also keeps you plugged in to the larger cryptocurrency world. It lets you see the current prices of each of its supported cryptocurrencies and whether their value is trending upward or downward over time. They also provide investment services for high net-worth cryptocurrency investors as part of their private client investment advisor services.
In addition to its main buy-sell capabilities, Coinbase also offers a separate mobile, self-hosted cryptocurrency wallet app where users can securely store their cryptocurrencies without needing a Coinbase account. This provides additional security by reducing the risk that Coinbase could ever walk away with your crypto (they don’t host the wallets on their website).
Just because Coinbase has users in over 100 countries, doesn’t mean its supported in yours. So before you download the exchange or wallet app, make sure it can be used from the following list. Also, check that the features you want are available in your country.
After that, go to Coinbase.com and enter your e-mail. Once you click “Get Started,” a new window will pop up asking for your full name, a strong password, and your age (you cannot use Coinbase if you’re under 18).
Once you click “Create an Account,” you’ll need to provide your phone number for two-step account verification. Once this is done, Canadian registrants will be asked to provide a debit card or Paypal account information for purchasing and withdrawing cryptocurrency.
You don’t have to purchase cryptocurrency right away. You can transfer any crypto you may have from your other wallets and exchanges.
Easy-to-use design and dashboard make it accessible to those new to cryptocurrency
Coinbase Wallet makes it easy to send cryptocurrency using just a username
High liquidity
Coinbase Earn that pays its users in cryptocurrency to learn more about cryptocurrency
Not many altcoin options
High fees (lower if you get the pro version)
Limited buy/sell payment and withdrawal options in Canada
Customers can’t control private keys that give access to their cryptocurrencies
Coinbase’s ease-of-use makes it a good choice for those new to crypto and need a bit of guidance to get started. However, if you’re Canadian, the expensive fees and limited payment and withdrawal options will likely have you looking for an alternative once you’ve got your feet under you in the crypto world.
Yes. You can absolutely withdraw cryptocurrency from Coinbase as a Canadian user. However, your options for withdrawing are down to one. You can only withdraw cryptocurrency to your own wallet using Paypal, while U.S. customers can use a myriad of other options, including bank transfers, credit cards, debit cards and Paypal. This is probably the main reason you’re likely to move away from Coinbase as your chosen cryptocurrency exchange and choose something else based in Canada like Shakepay, BullBitcoin and Coinsquare.ything else they aspire to achieve in a shorter time.
Yes. Canadians can use Coinbase. It is a stable and legitimate option for acquiring cryptocurrency, especially with so many coin options. However, since it’s based in the U.S., most of its capabilities and features are ideal for and fully available to the American customer. If you’re Canadian, you’re at a significant disadvantage using Coinbase. The fees are incredibly expensive compared to other exchanges out there and the payment and withdrawal options for acquiring and using cryptocurrency are limited to debit, credit and Paypal.
Coinbase is as safe as any third-party cryptocurrency exchange can be. Most of its assets under management are safely offline in a custodial bank, which makes those assets safe from hackers. The 1% of those assets that remain online are insured, so users will get their money back if anything were to happen. However, we wouldn’t trust any third-party exchange to store our crypto, given the alarming frequency of exchanges defaulting, being hacked, and not being able to return cryptocurrency to their customers. Instead, keep your cryptos in your own offline wallet that can only be used when you plug it into a computer. This is particularly important with Coinbase because you don’t control the private keys that give you access to your cryptocurrency—they do. As a result, your access is facilitated by them and not yourself, which is a red flag if you’re concerned about security.
