Coinbase Pro & Should you use it anyway?

Coinbase Pro

What is Coinbase Pro?

Coinbase Pro, earlier known as Gdax, is a popular cryptocurrency exchange platform that offers a convenient, insurance-backed environment for the users.

The platform rebranded from the original name Gdax to Coinbase Pro and offers the same functionality, look and feel Gdax used to offer. Coinbase Pro allows “fiat-to-crypto”, “crypto-to-fiat”, and “crypto-to-crypto” transactions. 

All transactions made in the platform are insured up to a maximum of $250,000 per customer. All USD balances deposited to Coinbase are covered by FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), and all investor assets are kept in fully insured storage.

The platform offers the ability to trade a wide variety of digital assets, and not limited only to the major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin.

There are 29 different cryptocurrencies listed on Coinbase Pro yet not all of them are tradable by all members. We are going to talk about that later in this post.

Coinbase trading platform interface
This is how Coinbase Pro trading platform looks like.

That said, cryptocurrencies available for trading on Coinbase are still much limited compared with Binance.  

Coinbase Pro allows tracking the trading history, monitoring open orders, and placing market and limit orders. 

Who is Coinbase Pro for?

Coinbase Pro is geared towards individual traders. You can quickly create a Pro account provided you live in a Pro account allowed location. Also, not all Coinbase Pro accounts are allowed to trade all trading pairs.

The geographical location you define when you create your account dictates your allowed trading pairs. Even more interestingly some cities in Pro account allowed countries are not allowed to create a Pro account, like New York. 

I really don’t know why Coinbase went so granular defining who can trade what on the Coinbase Pro platform. But I guess it is due to staying in alignment with the laws and regulations of each geographical location.

Coinbase Pro is available only in states where Coinbase, Inc. is either authorized to proceed money transfer, where it has agreed that no such license is currently necessary, or where licenses for Coinbase's business are not yet issued.

Coinbase Pro accounts linked up with Coinbase accounts, therefore it is not needed to create a separate account for it. Having a Coinbase account you automatically have a Coinbase Pro account. You will use the same username and password to login to your Coinbase Pro account. 

Coinbase Pro announced they will be offering Margin trading that allows users to borrow up to $10,000 and increase their buying power up to 3x starting by late 2020.

Coinbase Prime

Institutional investors are suggested to create a Coinbase Prime account, instead of a Coinbase Pro account, which is quite similar to the Coinbase Pro but targeted to business professionals. 

It operates on the same Coinbase Pro platform, which provides institutional trading features such as margin finance, high-touch OTC (over-the-counter) trading, execution algorithms, exposure to qualified third-party platforms like TT, designated institutional coverage, and so forth.

What is the difference between Coinbase and Coinbase Pro?

You can save money by trading fewer transaction fees on Coinbase Pro compared with Coinbase itself. With Coinbase you will pay 2.99% for credit or debit card payments however with coin

based Pro this fee can be cut all the way down to zero depending on the amount you are trading. You can save a lot if you spend some time learning how to use it. 

Trading Charts

You will find trading charts with all types of trading instruments available to use on them. However, the charts don’t offer much functionality. If you want to plan work on charts regularly you will need a more professional solution like Tradingview.

You will be able to see the last trading price, 24h price change, and 24h volume of any cryptocurrency traded on the platform.

How does deposit and withdrawals work?

1. Crypto Deposits

Depositing cryptos to a Coinbase Pro account is fairly straightforward. You simply click the “Deposit” button and you will be asked which cryptocurrency to deposit.

Once you choose the cryptocurrency you want to deposit then you will need to choose from where you want to deposit crypto.

Available crypto deposit options are:

  • Crypto address (After required amount of network confirmations are completed)
  • Coinbase Pro portfolio (Instant transfer without any fees)
  • Coinbase.com (Instant transfer without any fees)

2. Crypto Withdrawals

Crypto withdrawals work pretty much the same as crypto deposits. Once you want to withdraw your cryptos you will be given the same options as your withdrawal destinations we have named under deposits.

Again there will be no fees for the withdrawals that didn’t require you a fee to pay when depositing your cryptocurrencies.  

3. Deposit and withdrawal fees

Applied deposit and withdrawal fees will depend on the selected depositing or withdrawal option users will choose.

Digital Assets and ACH can be deposited and withdrawn without any fees, while Wire, SEPA, and Swift transfers may bring fees depending on if the transaction is a deposit or withdrawal.  

4. Accepted cryptocurrency deposits

Based on your location, you will be issued different trading pairs (BTC / USD, ETH / BTC, etc.). Coinbase Pro supports US Dollars, Euro, and the British Pound.

Some customers noted that their money deposits took 5 days to appear on their dashboard. Therefore, it is not an instant process as the company claims it.  

5. Trading fees

Coinbase Pro trading fees depend on the pricing tier (the amount exchanged), and the transaction's liquidity contribution described as being on either the maker or taker side of the market.

Applied trading fees get lower if the total exchanged amount for the particular transaction grows. 

You can find more detailed information about the deposit, withdrawal, as well as trading fee structure on this page.

Regulations

Like Coinbase, Coinbase Pro in the US and other supported countries is fully licensed and regulated.

Coinbase is obliged to follow the Bank Secrecy Act, the USA Patriot Act, and other local money transmission laws due to the nature of its business and current regulatory structure. Coinbase also is registered with FinCEN as a Money Services Business.

Coinbase Pro users are also expected to pass strict Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) scans. Usually, these mandate that you send the supporting information including:

  • State identification, passport, or driving license.
  • Respond to a set of verification questions.
  • A document proving residential addresses like a utility bill, or bank statement (usually no older than three months).
  • Facial shot.

The verification process should take 3 minutes according to Coinbase. However,  it will very likely take much longer than that especially during busy times.

It is important to note that accounts cannot be verified using Coinbase Pro mobile app. Institutional accounts verification as you may have guessed it will take much more documentation and processing times. 

What are the Pros & Cons of Coinbase Pro?

As for everything you can imagine, there are always pros and cons to talk about.

👍Pros

  • Easy to use convenient platform 
  • Zero crypto withdrawal fees
  • The secure platform, and insurance coverage for the customers' assets
  • Advanced trading features

👎Cons

  • Extensive KYC procedures
  • Support requests are responded slowly

Limits and Liquidity

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and other coin deposits through the Coinbase Pro wallet are unlimited. Similarly, wire transfer deposits are not limited as well. You can trade as many times as you wish, with no limit on the number of trades that you can perform.

Coinbase Pro provides an extremely liquid trading environment for users. Individual accounts are allowed to withdraw $10,000 a day, while institutional accounts can withdraw up to $50,000 a day.

Coinbase representatives may change these daily withdrawal limits on request and approval. Visit the Coinbase website to have the most current information about the withdrawal rules and limitations

Customer Support

Maybe the only drawback to using Coinbase Pro is its customer service, which may take time to respond. However, there are some ways you can get assistance:

  • Comprehensive knowledge that is center packed with how-to articles and videos, training materials, and other interesting stuff.
  • Live support chat.
  • Contact form at the help center.
  • Phone support if you think your account has been compromised.

Coinbase Pro Alternatives

Coinbase Pro is a great platform. However, it's not the only one to offer traders an excellent trading environment. Here are some alternatives worth considering:

Conclusion

Coinbase Pro is a trusted, user-friendly platform for cryptocurrency trading. It offers fast and low-cost transactions with high volume and liquidity that make it easy to trade digital assets of your choice quickly without any headaches.

If you have used Coinbase before, shifting to Coinbase Pro takes only a few clicks! It is very easy to use with an almost zero learning curve that makes it an attractive trading platform even for total newbies.