Bitstamp vs Coinbase | Why Coinbase Is Our Preferred Exchange
Jack Moreau
Apr 2024
9 min read
Fact checked
Looking to buy and sell cryptocurrencies but not sure which exchange to use? Our detailed comparison of Bitstamp vs Coinbase covers everything you need to know. We break down factors such as fees, security, customer support, and available crypto assets to help you make an informed choice. Keep reading to find out which exchange is right for you.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
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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 choosing a cryptocurrency exchange, there are plenty of factors to consider. Two well known and popular exchanges are Bitstamp and Coinbase, both of which have millions of users worldwide. Let's begin with a basic overview of both exchanges.
Bitstamp was founded in 2011 and is the oldest continuously operating cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The exchange focuses mainly on the European amrket where it offers over 80 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, USDT and USDC.
Bitstamp exchange
The exchange has a solid reputation for security and transparency and has a workforce of over 400 employees. Bitstamp is available in over 100 countries, has over 4 million users and over 500,000 downloads of its Android app, which has a 3.7 rating based.
Bitstamp app
Coinbase was founded the year after Bitstamp in 2012. It is a publicly listed company based in the United States and has become one of the world's biggest exchanges with over 100 million users.
The userbase of Coinbase is primarily based in the US and Europe. Coinbase offers over 200 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum.
Coinbase exchange
The exchange has a strong reputation for security, regulatory compliance and ease of use. Coinbase of course also has a mobile app which available on both Android and IOS. The apps have been downloaded over 10 million times with a 4.1 star rating based on over 750,000 reviews.
Coinbase app
So while Bitstamp was launched a year earlier, Coinbase has done a better job of building a larger company with more users, products and cryptocurrencies on offer.
Bitstamp vs Coinbase Signup & KYC
When it comes to signing up for cryptocurrency exchanges, users are often required to go through a verification process known as KYC. In the case of Bitstamp and Coinbase, this is no exception and both require their users to pass KYC in order to access their services.
Bitstamp's signup process is simple and can be completed in less than a minute. All you need to do is enter your full name, email, date of birth, and country of residence.
Once you've completed the signup process, you'll need to pass KYC verification before you can use the exchange's services. The verification process typically takes a few minutes to complete, but in some cases, it may take up to several days.
Bitstamp KYC
Coinbase also requires users to pass KYC verification before accessing its services. The signup process is quick and can be done in about a minute. Users will need to enter their full name, email and password and then verify their email address.
Coinbase signup
Once users have accessed their account, they can begin completing the KYC process which means uploading a government ID and providing some personal information.
The verification process typically takes a few minutes to a few hours, and once completed, users will have full access to the exchange's services.
While both Bitstamp and Coinbase require KYC verification, the processes they use are slightly different. For those that are interested in alternative exchanges that do not require KYC for trading, we recommend signing up to OKX and Phemex.
Bitstamp vs Coinbase Products & Services
Bitstamp is an exchange with a small selection of products such as spot trading for over 80 cryptocurrencies which let's users buy and sell popular digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano and others.
In addition to trading, Bitstamp also features staking and lending services for coins such as BTC, ETH, USDC, USDT, and others.
Bitstamp spot trading
These services enable users to earn rewards by holding certain cryptocurrencies in their account or earn interest on their digital assets.
Bitstamp also offers professional trading tools and powerful APIs that cater to more experienced traders who require sophisticated tools to execute their trading strategies.
Bitstamp supported cryptocurrencies
Bitstamp offers a user-friendly platform that makes it easy to buy and sell crypto either through the exchange or via the app.
Overall the website is easy to navigate as the company only offers a limited selection of crypto products. The average daily spot trading volume on Bitstamp is $140 million which is not too shabby.
On the other hand, Coinbase being one of the largest exchanges in the world has developed a product range mostly tailored to beginners and institutional clients.
Coinbase USPs
Due to strict US regulations, Coinbase has not been able to launch more risky products with high leverage that can often be found on most offshore exchanges.
While this made Coinbase less relevant for professional traders, it made the platform easier for beginners to use and navigate with more beginner friendly product.
Coinbase Dashboard
Coinbase offers two different user interfaces that are named just regular Coinbase and Advanced. The regular Coinbase version is more beginner-friendly while Advanced is more tailored to experienced traders.
Coinbase Buy & Sell
Coinbase offers trading for over 240 cryptocurrencies that can be bought or sold either via the more UX-friendly buy-and-sell feature or via spot trading in the Advanced section.
Coinbase Spot Trading
For those that just want to Dollar Cost Average their Bitcoin or Ethereum, the option recurring purchases is available on Coinbase.
Coinbase also recently introduced BTC and ETH futures in addition to perpetual contracts for BTC, ETH, LTC, SOL, XRP and AVAX with up to 5X leverage.
Coinbase Crypto Futures
In terms of trading volumes, Coinbase is frequently a top 3 exchange with billions in 24/7 spot trading volumes but is less competitive on the futures side.
Coinbase Trading Volumes
For those who want to earn interest on their USDC, Coinbase is currently offering a very attractive 5% interest on USDC.
Coinbase Earn
Another beginner-friendly product that Coinbase offers is the learn-and-earn program where users can learn about blockchains and earn tokens in rewards.
Coinbase Learn & Earn
Coinbase has also developed its own NFT platform where users can easily mint, explore, buy and sell NFTs on blockchains like Ethereum, Base and Polygon.
Coinbase NFTs
For users who want to spend their crypto in the real world and earn rewards, Coinbase has launched a Visa Card that allows for just that. With Coinbase’s Visa card, users can easily spend cash (USD) or crypto (USDC) and earn rewards from everyday spending.
Coinbase Visa Card
For users who prefer to access the world of crypto in a non-custodial manner, Coinbase has also developed its own Web 3 Coinbase Wallet.
Coinbase Wallet
This allows users to store and manage thousands of coins across blockchains such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Avalanche, Dogecoin and many others.
Coinbase also recently launched the Coinbase One Membership which costs $29.99 per month and gives users access to zero-fee trades, boosted staking rewards and priority support.
Coinbase One Membership
Another plus being a public company based in the United States is that Coinbase has to adhere to strict regulations and accountability standards. This makes Coinbase by far one of the safest exchanges to use.
This is why Coinbase is also the home to the biggest institutions like BlackRock and Grayscale that want to trade or custody over 240 crypto assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana.
Coinbase Institutions
With Coinbase Prime, high-net-worth individuals and institutions can safely get access to advanced trading, financing solutions, cold storage access, staking services and much more.
When it comes to trading fees, let's take a closer look at what Bitstamp and Coinbase have to offer.
On Bitstamp, the spot maker fee is 0.30% while the spot taker fee is 0.40%. The exchange also offers trading fees rebates for those whose trades exceed $1,000 during a 30-day period. This means that the more you trade, the lower your fees will be.
Bitstamp spot fees
Meanwhile, on Coinbase, the spot maker fee is 0.40% while the spot taker fee is 0.60%. The exchange also offers a way to lower your trading fees if your monthly trade volumes exceed $10,000. This means that if you trade frequently and in large volumes, you can benefit from lower fees.
Coinbase spot fees
So while Bitstamp has slightly lower fees than Coinbase, both exchanges are quite average compared to the rest of the market with many exchanges such as OKX, Phemex and Binance offering way lower trading fees.
If you're looking to deposit funds on a cryptocurrency exchange, Bitstamp and Coinbase are two exchanges that offer similar options for fiat deposits.
Bitstamp supports fiat currencies such as USD, EUR and GBP and offers multiple deposit methods including Wire, ACH and SEPA transfers, Faster Payments and debit/credit cards. ACH, SEPA and FSP deposits are free of charge, while Wire Transfers come with a minimum $7.5 fee.
Meanwhile, Coinbase also supports fiat currencies such as USD, EUR and GBP. In terms of deposit methods, Coinbase provides access to Bank transfer via ACH, Wire, SEPA and Swift transfer.
ACH deposits are free of charge while Wire and SEPA deposits incur a small fee of 0.15 EUR respectively. Swift deposits on the other hand are free of charge while Wire deposits of USD come with a $10 fee.
Let's delve into the withdrawal methods provided by each exchange and see how they compare.
Starting with Bitstamp, this exchange offers its users the ability to withdraw fiat currencies such as USD, EUR and GBP via Wire, ACH, SEPA, and FSP.
The fees for these withdrawals vary depending on the method used. SEPA withdrawals cost 3 EUR while FSP withdrawals cost 2 GBP. Alternatively, ACH withdrawals are free while Wire withdrawals cost $25.
When it comes to withdrawing cryptocurrencies from Bitstamp, Bitcoin withdrawals incur a fee of 0.0005 BTC, ETH withdrawals incur a fee of 0.0006 ETH, Solana withdrawals incur a fee of 0.01 SOL and USDT withdrawals incur a very high fee of 20 USDT.
Moving on to Coinbase, this exchange offers its users a wide variety of fiat withdrawal methods, including ACH, Wire, SEPA, and Swift.
ACH withdrawals are free, while Wire withdrawals cost $25. SEPA withdrawals incur a fee of 0.15 EUR and Swift withdrawals cost 1 GBP.
Withdrawals of cryptocurrencies from Coinbase come with low fees as well. Bitcoin withdrawals incur a fee of 0.0005 BTC, ETH withdrawals incur a fee of 0.0035 ETH, Solana withdrawals incur a fee of 0.01 SOL and USDT withdrawals incur a fee of 3.55 USDT.
In conclusion, Bitstamp and Coinbase are two of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, with millions of users worldwide.
Bitstamp is best known for its focus on the European market with a good a reputation for security and transparency. The exchange supports a limited 80 cryptocurrencies and few products such as buying, selling, staking and lending.
Coinbase which is the must larger exchange with it's over 100 million users primarily based in the US and Europe. It offers over 200 cryptocurrencies and is renowned for its regulatory compliance and ease of use.
Similar to Bitstamp, Coinbase requires all of it's users to complete KYC in order to trade on the exchange. Coinbase offers a wider range of products than Bitstamp which includes spot trading, lending, borrowing, a Web 3 wallet, a Coinbase card, and an NFT marketplace.
As for trading fees, both offer rebates for high volumes traders with maker fees starting at 0.30% for Bitstamp and 0.4% for Coinbase. oth exchanges support multiple fiat deposit options with fees and deposit methods differ depending on the exchange.
For those who are looking to buy a wider range of cryptos and access more products and features, Coinbase has the clear advantage over Bitstamp. While Bitstamp has slightly lower fees, that's about the only advantage that the exchange has compared to Coinbase.
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.
