CoinEX vs Coinbase | The Many Upsides of Using Coinbase!
Jack Moreau
Apr 2024
9 min read
Fact checked
Are you trying to decide between Coinex vs Coinbase? We've done the research for you. Our comparison covers important factors such as KYC requirements, country availability, product offerings, trading fees, deposit methods, and more. Keep reading to determine which exchange is the perfect fit for you!
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
When it comes to cryptocurrency exchanges, there are numerous options available to investors. Two popular exchanges that have gained a reputation for their user-friendly interfaces and wide range of supported cryptocurrencies are Coinex and Coinbase.
Coinex was founded in 2017 by Haipo Yang and is based in Hong Kong. The exchange has over 250 employees mainly based in Asia and is available in most countries around the world, with the exceptions being the United States, China, and Canada.
Coinex exchange
Coinex is known for its user-friendly interface and offers trading in a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, Avalanche and many others.
The exchange supports over 600 cryptocurrencies and has a strong user base of over 2 million users worldwide.
Coinex app
Coinbase was founded as early as 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsa and is one of the biggest exchanges in the world known for its user-friendly interface, security, and regulatory compliance.
The exchange is registered in the District of Columbia and has over 5000 employees worldwide with support for over 100 countries.
Coinbase exchange
Coinbase offers a range of services, such as spot trading, recurring buys, staking, learn & earn programs NFTs and a few additional products for beginners and institutions alike.
For users who wish to use Coinbase on mobile, the exchange is available on both Android and IOS where it has been downloaded millions of times.
Coinbase app
Coinex vs Coinbase Signup & KYC
When it comes to signup and KYC, Coinbase and Coinex have different signup processes and KYC requirements. To create an account on Coinbase takes one minute and users simply need to provide their full name, an email and a password.
Coinbase signup
KYC verification is mandatory on Coinbase and users are required to submit the required documents (country of residence, government ID etc), which can take a few minutes to a few hours to be verified by Coinbase's team.
On the other hand, creating an account on Coinex takes less than 30 seconds as all that is required is entering an email, password, and verifying the email address.
KYC is not mandatory on Coinex, but for those who wish to access increased withdrawal and trading limits, they will need to go through the KYC process.
Coinex signup
This involves submitting personal information, uploading a valid ID, and taking a selfie. The verification process can take up to 1-3 working days.
So while Coinbase has a mandatory KYC requirement, Coinex does not and users can deposit cryptocurrencies and begin trading right away after signup.
Coinex vs Coinbase Products & Services
Coinex and Coinbase each provide a unique range of services for users with different needs and experience levels.
Coinex, although not offering a wide variety of products, covers the basics effectively. The platform supports spot trading for over 600 cryptocurrencies, ranging from well-known large caps to lesser-known altcoins.
Coinex spot trading
Coinex's daily trading volumes range between $25-$75 million, placing it outside the top 20 exchanges in terms of liquidity. This means the spreads might not be as competitive as on larger, more liquid exchanges.
Users can also engage in margin trading with up to 10X leverage and futures trading with perps settled in stablecoins and cryptocurrencies. The platform offers adjustable leverages ranging from 3X to 100X.
Coinex futures trading
Coinex provides some trading bots for recurring buys and auto-buying and selling, and allows users to earn on their digital assets by lending them to others.
While the platform does offer some sophisticated trading products, it is primarily tailored for beginners, featuring a newbie zone with easy-to-follow tutorials.
Coinex cryptocurrencies
On the other hand, Coinbase is the most well-known cryptocurrency exchange in the world with a product offering tailored to beginners and institutional clients.
Coinbase Products
This also means that the website is simpler and easier to navigate because it doesn't have an overwhelming range of more complicated products.
Coinbase Interface
To accommodate different levels of traders, Coinbase provides two user interfaces: the standard Coinbase and the Advanced version. The standard interface is very beginner-friendly, offering a simple and intuitive experience for new users.
Coinbase Buy & Sell
On the other hand, the Advanced version is suited for experienced traders, equipped with more complex tools and features.
Coinbase allows trading in over 240 different cryptocurrencies that can be bought either through the more user-friendly buy-and-sell feature, or via spot trading found in the Advanced section.
Coinbase Orderbook
For those who prefer a gradual investment strategy, Coinbase offers a recurring buy feature that is perfect for implementing the Dollar Cost Averaging approach, where you invest a fixed amount regularly.
Coinbase Cryptocurrencies
Recently, Coinbase has expanded its offerings to include BTC and ETH futures, and perpetual contracts for several cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, LTC, SOL, XRP, and AVAX, with leverage up to 5X.
Coinbase Futures
While Coinbase is often among the top three exchanges in terms of spot trading volumes, it's less competitive in the futures market.
For users interested in earning interest on their crypto holdings, Coinbase offers a lucrative 5% interest rate on USDC. Additionally, users have the option to earn staking rewards by staking various cryptocurrencies such as ETH, SOL, ATOM, AVAX, and others.
Coinbase Staking
One of Coinbase's most beginner-friendly offerings is its learn-and-earn program where users can learn about different blockchain projects and earn rewards in the form of tokens.
Coinbase Learn
Coinbase has also ventured into the NFT and digital collectibles with its own platform. Here, users can mint, explore, buy, and sell NFTs on various blockchains like Ethereum, Base, and Polygon.
Coinbase NFTs
For those who prefer to use their cryptocurrency for everyday purchases and earn rewards, Coinbase offers a Visa Card that lets users to spend either cash (USD) or crypto (USDC) and earn rewards from their spending.
Coinbase Visa Card
In addition, Coinbase has developed the Web 3 Coinbase Wallet for users who prefer a non-custodial way to manage their crypto assets.
This wallet supports thousands of coins and tokens and provides access to DeFi platforms across several blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and others.
Coinbase Wallet
Coinbase recently introduced the Coinbase One Membership, priced at $29.99 per month, which offers benefits like zero-fee trades, enhanced staking rewards, and priority support.
Being a publicly listed company in the U.S., Coinbase adheres to strict regulatory standards, making it one of the safest exchanges to use.
This is a key reason why large institutions like BlackRock and Grayscale use Coinbase for trading and custody of over 240 crypto assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
Coinbase Custody
With Coinbase Prime, high-net-worth individuals and institutions have access to advanced trading features, financing solutions, cold storage, staking services, and much more.
When it comes to trading fees, Coinex charges a 0.2% spot fee for both makers and takers. However, this fee can be lowered if users hold a certain amount of CET tokens.
Coinex spot fees
For example, users that hold more than 1,000 CET tokens (VIP 1) will see their spot trading fees reduced to 0.18% for makers and takers. For futures trading, Coinex charges a competitive fee of 0.03% for makers and 0.05% for takers.
However, if you are a high volume trader and your monthly trade volumes exceed $10,000, you will be eligible for lower trading fees on Coinbase. It's clear that Coinex offers more competitive trading fees across the board compared to Coinbase.
Coinex does not directly support fiat deposits on its platform. For users who wish to buy cryptocurrencies with traditional currencies, they must go through third-party service providers such as Banxa, Mercuryo, MoonPay, and Advcash.
This method, however, can be quite costly as these third-party services charge commission fees ranging from 3-8%.
Contrastingly, Coinbase offers a more seamless and direct process for fiat deposits. The platform supports transactions in three major fiat currencies: the United States Dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), and British Pound (GBP).
Coinbase fiat deposits
Users can deposit these currencies through various payment methods. For USD deposits, options include Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers, which are free, and wire transfers, which come with a $10 USD fee.
For EUR deposits, users can utilize the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) system with a minimal charge of 0.15 EUR per transaction.
As for GBP deposits, they can be made via Swift transfers, which are free of charge. This range of options offers Coinbase users flexibility and convenience when it comes to funding their accounts with traditional currencies.
On Coinex, the procedure for fund withdrawal is solely cryptocurrency-based. The platform does not facilitate fiat withdrawals, limiting the options for users who might prefer to cash out their earnings or holdings in traditional currencies.
When it comes to cryptocurrency withdrawal fees, Coinex implements specific rates depending on the type of cryptocurrency.
For instance, the withdrawal fee for Bitcoin is set at 0.00014 BTC, for Ethereum it is 0.003 ETH, and for Solana, the fee is 0.01 SOL.
In contrast, Coinbase offers a more flexible withdrawal process by accommodating both fiat and cryptocurrency transactions. For fiat withdrawals, users can use several options depending on their location and preference.
Coinbase fiat withdrawals
These include Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers, which are free, wire transfers, which carry a fee of $25 USD, Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) withdrawals, which cost 0.15 EUR per transaction, and Swift withdrawals, which are charged at 1 GBP per transaction.
If users prefer to withdraw in cryptocurrencies, Coinbase supports this as well. For Bitcoin withdrawals, the fee is 0.0003 BTC, for Ethereum it's 0.003 ETH and for Solana, the fee is 0.008 SOL.
These varied withdrawal options on Coinbase provide users with the flexibility to choose the method that best suits their needs and preferences.
In conclusion, while Coinbase is the much larger and more established exchange, Coinex is a newer exchange that has quickly gained popularity due to its user-friendly interface and wide range of supported cryptocurrencies.
When it comes to the signup process, Coinbase has a mandatory KYC requirement, while Coinex does not.
And in terms of trading fees, Coinex charges a 0.2% fee for both makers and takers for spot trading while Coinbase charges a higher fee of 0.4% for makers and 0.6% for takers. Coinex also offers futures trading, with a competitive fee of 0.03% for makers and 0.05% for takers.
While both exchanges offer beginner friendly interfaces, Coinbase overall provide it's users with a wider range of product and services not available on Coinex such as NFTs, Visa card, learn and earn and staking.
And when it comes to options to deposit and withdraw fiat currencies, Coinbase offers a wider range of options at low to no fees while Coinex does not offer support for any fiat currencies.
For those looking for a larger and more established exchange with a wider range products and fiat currencies, you will likely prefer Coinbase, while those looking for lower fees and a user-friendly interface with out KYC will find Coinex more appealing.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
Author
Jack Moreau
Jack is a crypto writer and reviewer who has been active in the space since he caught the crypto bug in 2017. With a passion for trying out new shiny things, Jack is always eager to try the latest cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets or DeFi applications.
