Coinbase vs Crypto.com | Reasons Why We Prefer Coinbase
Jack Moreau
Apr 2024
9 min read
Fact checked
Are you looking to trade cryptocurrencies but not sure which exchange to use? We have compared Coinbase vs Crypto.com across various factors like product features, trading fees, supported cryptocurrencies, user experience and more. By the end, you'll have a clear understanding if Coinbase or Crypto.com is best suited for your needs.
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.
Coinbase and Crypto.com are two leading cryptocurrency exchanges that have gained massive popularity in the past few years.
Coinbase was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsa is registered in the District of Columbia, and has over 5000 employees.
In contrast, Crypto.com was founded in 2016 by Kris Marszalek and Bobby Bao, based out of Singapore it has over 4000 employees.
Despite their differences, both exchanges have similar characteristics, such as being available in numerous countries worldwide, offering spot trading, staking, and recurring buys.
In terms of user base, both exchanges have grown impressive numbers. Coinbase has accumulated over 100 million users mainly based in North America, Europe and Asia.
In contrast, Crypto.com has an impressive 80 million users with a footprint across 180 countries spanning the United States, Europe, and Asia.
When it comes to cryptocurrencies, Coinbase and Crypto.com differ in the range of assets they support. Coinbase offers a decent range of 200 cryptocurrencies while Crypto.com supports a larger variety of over 250 coins and tokens.
Furthermore, Crypto.com offers derivatives and margin trading, along with wallet services and a Visa card, while Coinbase offers Coinbase Pro, a more sophisticated platform catering to advanced traders.
Additionally, both exchanges have mobile apps available in Android and IOS, having downloads in the millions, and a high rating based on customer reviews.
Coinbase vs Crypto.com Signup & KYC
When it comes to signup and KYC procedures, both Coinbase and Crypto.com have taken the same approach. Both exchanges require KYC verification before users can access their full range of services.
Coinbase offers a simple signup process that takes only about a minute to complete. Once the account has been created, users need to provide additional information to pass the screening process known as Know Your Customer (KYC). This entails providing personal information combined with a government ID and and a selfie.
Once all the documents have been provided to Coinbase, Coinbase will need 20 minutes to a few hours to process the information and verify the account.
Users will need to wait until the verification has been completed before they can buy and sell cryptocurrencies. On the other hand, Crypto.com also offers a quick and easy signup process that requires only an email and password.
Similar to Coinbase, the KYC verification process on Crypto.com also requires users to provide their full legal name and a picture of a government-issued ID.
While the signup process is quick, the verification process can take up to a few days to get processed.
Coinbase vs Crypto.com Products & Services
Coinbase is a leading player in the global cryptocurrency exchange market and has crafted a suite of products and services that primarily cater to the needs of beginners and large institutional clients.
Operating within the strict regulatory environment of the United States, Coinbase has shied away from offering highly leveraged products, such as those with 100X leverage commonly found in exchanges outside the U.S.
This conservative approach, though possibly less attractive to traders seeking high-risk ventures, benefits beginners by simplifying the platform with a more manageable range of products.
To suit different levels of trading expertise, Coinbase provides two separate user interfaces. The standard Coinbase interface which is user-friendly and ideal for beginners, and the Advanced interface which is customized for experienced traders.
Coinbase enables trading in a diverse array of over 240 cryptocurrencies. These can be traded using a simple buy-and-sell feature, or via the more detailed spot trading option available in the Advanced section.
For investors interested in gradually building up their crypto holdings, Coinbase offers a recurring buy feature. This feature allows users to consistently invest over time, a strategy known as Dollar Cost Averaging.
Adding to its trading options, Coinbase recently introduced futures trading for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), along with perpetual contracts for a variety of other cryptocurrencies.
Among those include BTC, ETH, LTC, SOL, XRP and AVAX with leverage of up to 5X. While Coinbase is often ranked among the top three exchanges globally in terms of spot trading volume, its presence in the futures market is comparatively less pronounced.
For users looking to earn interest on their cryptocurrency holdings, Coinbase currently offers an attractive 5% interest rate on USD Coin (USDC).
Additionally, Coinbase provides a unique learning opportunity through its learn-and-earn program where users can educate themselves about various blockchains and earn tokens as rewards.
Exploring the dynamic world of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Coinbase has developed its own NFT platform. Here, users can mint, explore, purchase, and sell NFTs on popular blockchains such as Ethereum, Base, and Polygon.
Coinbase also offers a Visa Card, enabling users to spend their cryptocurrency or cash (USD) in real-world transactions and earn rewards from their everyday spending.
For those who prefer a more direct control over their cryptocurrency assets, Coinbase has developed the Web 3 Coinbase Wallet. This wallet allows users to store and manage a wide range of coins and tokens across various blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
Recently Coinbase launched the Coinbase One Membership which costs $29.99 per month. This monthly membership offers numerous benefits like zero-fee trades, increased staking rewards, and priority customer support.
As a publicly traded company in the U.S., Coinbase adheres to strict regulatory standards, positioning it as one of the safest platforms for trading and storing cryptocurrencies.
This level of safety and compliance is why major institutions such as BlackRock and Grayscale choose Coinbase for trading and custody services.
Coinbase Prime provides high-net-worth individuals and institutions with access to advanced trading tools, financing solutions, secure cold storage, staking services, and much more, offering a comprehensive and secure environment for managing significant crypto investments.
Crypto.com has surged onto the global stage and onboarded over 80 million users mainly via its eye-catching marketing campaigns and solid product offering.
At the heart of Crypto.com's appeal is its spot trading feature where users can trade over 290 renowned cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, SOL, ATOM and many others.
For those looking to take on more risk by longing or shorting, Crypto.com also offers the thrill of margin trading with up to 5X leverage.
Crypto.com caters to the seasoned traders with a robust offering of over 100 perpetual and quarterly futures, letting users ramp up their trades with up to 20X leverage.
For those who prefer a hands-off approach but still crave the action, Crypto.com offers its automated trading bots including grid, DCA, and TWAP.
While Crypto.com's trading volumes might not top the charts, they stand at a solid top 30 with $1 billion in 24-hour spot and derivatives volumes.
Beyond just trading, Crypto.com offers a treasure trove of financial products, including earn and staking options.
Here, users can earn interest on over 20 digital assets even though at the time of writing, the rates and staking rewards offered by Crypto.com are not the best.
For the NFT enthusiasts and digital collectors, Crypto.com offers a marketplace where users can buy and sell from hundreds of collections like the famed Bored Apes and Pudgy Penguins.
These digital treasures are scattered across various blockchains, including Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and Cronos Chain. Crypto.com has released its own non-custodial wallet putting the power back in the hands of users.
Available as a desktop wallet, a browser extension, and a mobile app, this DeFi wallet is a versatile tool for those who want private control over their digital assets.
And for the crypto elite and institutions, Crypto.com opens the doors to its exclusive OTC section where large-scale trades between $50,000 to $5,000,000 can be executed with low fees.
When it comes to trading fees, Coinbase and Crypto.com offer different rates for their users. Let's start with Coinbase's trading fees. The exchange charges a spot maker fee of 0.40% and a spot taker fee of 0.60%. These fees can be lowered if monthly trade volumes exceed $10,000.
On the other hand, Crypto.com charges a spot maker fee of 0.075% and a spot taker fee of 0.075%, which is significantly lower than Coinbase's fees. These fees can be lowered if monthly trade volumes exceed $250,000 or if users hold at least 1000 CRO tokens.
Crypto.com also offers futures trading with a maker fee of 0.017% and a taker fee of 0.034%. Overall, while Coinbase may be more easier to use for beginners, Crypto.com's lower fees and the option for futures trading may make it more appealing for experienced traders.
When it comes to depositing fiat currencies, both Coinbase and Crypto.com have something to offer their users. Let's take a closer look at the deposit methods offered by each exchange.
Coinbase offers the ability to deposit funds with three fiat currencies: USD, EUR, and GBP. The deposit methods available include ACH, Wire (USD), SEPA (EUR), and Swift (GBP).
ACH deposits are free of charge, but wire deposits come with a $10 USD fee, SEPA deposits come with a 0.15 EUR fee, and Swift deposits are free. While Coinbase doesn't offer the most extensive list of fiat currencies, they do provide a variety of deposit options to choose from.
Crypto.com only supports USD for deposits via wire transfer. The good news is that there are no deposit fees for wire transfers or USD bank transfers. Unfortunately, the limited options for fiat deposits on Crypto.com is a big drawback for users who don't have access to US dollars.
Coinbase charges no fees for ACH withdrawals but a $25 fee for Wire withdrawals. SEPA withdrawals incur a fee of 0.15 EUR while Swift withdrawals incur a fee of 1 GBP.
And in terms of cryptocurrency withdrawals, Coinbase charges a 0.0001 BTC withdrawal fee for Bitcoin and a $3 fee when withdrawing USDT on Etheruem.
On the other hand, Crypto.com offers zero fees for USD bank withdrawals and when it comes to withdrawing cryptocurrencies, Crypto.com charges a 0.0001 BTC withdrawal fee, 0.04 ETH withdrawal fee for Ethereum, 0.03 SOL withdrawal fee for Solana and a 10 USDT for Tether USD.
In short, Coinbase has the advantage over Crypto.com in terms of supported fiat currencies, number of deposit methods while also managing to offer lower withdrawal fees on cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase and Crypto.com are two of the most popular and established cryptocurrency exchanges in the market today.
Both exchanges also offer plenty of overlapping products such as spot trading, earn opportunities, NFT marketplaces and their own Visa Cards.
While Coinbase is more tailored to beginners with a simpler and more user friendly product offering, Crypto.com casts a wider net where they hope to catch newbies, traders and more institutional clients.
In terms of the range of assets supported, Coinbase offers 200 cryptocurrencies while Crypto.com supports 250.
Crypto.com offers derivatives and margin trading, along with wallet services and a Visa card, while Coinbase offers Coinbase Pro, a platform catering to advanced traders
Both exchanges have impressive user bases, with Coinbase boasting over 100 million users mainly based in the US and Europe, while Crypto.com holds an impressive 80 million users with a footprint spanning North America, Europe, and Asia.
When it comes to trading fees, Coinbase charges a spot maker fee of 0.40% and a spot taker fee of 0.60%, while Crypto.com charges a lower spot maker fee of 0.075% and a spot taker fee of 0.075%.
Crypto.com also offers futures trading, with a maker fee of 0.017% and a taker fee of 0.034% which are very competitive.
Both exchanges offer deposit and withdrawal options for fiat currencies, but Coinbase provides more options for fiat currencies, while Crypto.com offers free deposit options for USD.
So while Crypto.com offers more slightly more cryptocurrencies, products and lower fees, Coinbase offers easier fiat deposits and withdrawals, better UX and high interest on USDC.
As such we give the slight edge to Coinbase as the overall better exchange compared to Crypto.com!
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.