Huobi vs Coinbase | Why Coinbase Today Is Both Safer & Better
Jack Moreau
Feb 2024
10 min read
Fact checked
In this Huobi vs Coinbase comparison, we've analysed both exchanges across multiple factors including their KYC requirements, country availability, product offerings, trading fees, deposit methods and more. By the end, you'll be able to decide if Huobi or Coinbase is the best fit for your trading 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.
When it comes to cryptocurrency exchanges, two of the biggest players in the industry are Huobi and Coinbase. Let's take a closer look at both of these exchanges to see what they have to offer.
Huobi was founded in 2013 by Leon Li and is registered in Seychelles. The exchange has over 1000 employees and is available in 184 countries.
However, there are 11 prohibited jurisdictions such as China, US, Canada, Japan, and Singapore that can't use the platform. And countries restricted from using derivatives include Israel, UK, Spain and New Zealand.
Huobi exchange
One of the standout features of Huobi is its wide range of trading services which includes spot and margin trading, futures products settled in USDT and crypto, and a range of trading bots and copy trading.
Huobi supports an impressive 500 cryptocurrencies, making it a great option for those looking for a wide range of altcoins. The platform has an impressive 10 million users and its app has over 20 million downloads with a 4.1 star rating based on over 42,000 reviews.
Huobi app
Coinbase was founded even earlier than Huobi in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsa. The exchange is registered in the District of Columbia, has over 5000 employees and is available in more than 100 countries.
Coinbase exchange
One of the standout features of Coinbase is its user-friendly interface, security, and regulatory compliance. The platform supports over 200 cryptocurrencies such as well known BTC, ETH, SOL, ATOM, DOT, AVAX and many others.
Coinbase offers a range of services, such as spot trading, recurring buys, staking, Coinbase learn and earn, NFTs and institutional products. The exchange caters to both retail and institutional investors and is estimated to have over 100 million users worldwide.
The Coinbase app has been downloaded over 10 million times with a 4.1 star rating based on over 750,000 reviews.
Coinbase app
Huobi vs Coinbase Signup & KYC
While both exchanges have their own unique features and benefits, one area where they differ is their KYC requirements and signup process.
Huobi is known for its relaxed approach to KYC verification, with users able to sign up and trade without KYC as long as they stay within the $1000 deposit limit and 0.06 BTC daily withdrawal limit. Signing up for Huobi is easy with users only needing to provide their email or phone number and confirmation code to get started.
Huobi KYC
For those who want to increase their limits or access more leverage, completing KYC verification only takes a few minutes by providing additional information and uploading a government iD.Â
On the other hand, Coinbase has a strict policy requiring KYC for all users. However, the signup process is quick and straightforward taking about a minute to complete. Once the account has been opened, users can submit their required documents to complete KYC.
Coinbase signup
While Huobi offers a more flexibility with its KYC requirements, Coinbase's strict policy ensures that all of it's users must complete the KYC before they can trade.
Huobi vs Coinbase Products & Services
Continuing with product range, Huobi offers a very large set of trading services and financial products. These include spot trading, futures trading which is settled in USDT and crypto, margin trading and European and American style options.
Huobi spot trading
Besides this, copy trading is also available for beginners who would rather rely on the track record of more experienced traders.
Huobi copy trading
The average spot trading volumes on Huobi tend to range between $250 and $500 million per day which is in the top 20 category compared to other exchanges. The max leverage on Huobi for futures is 200X while the max leverage for margin is up to 100X.
Huobi futures trading
In terms of financial products, Huobi offers it's users access staking services for a wide range of cryptocurrencies and the ability to lend and borrow digital assets.
Huobi earn
For retail users who want access to NFTs and a non-custodial wallet to store their digital assets, this is also available on Huobi with their NFT marketplace (APENFT) and Web 3 wallet (iToken Wallet).
NFTs on Huobi
The interface on Huobi has gotten a facelift and is now more pleasant to use. The exchange offers a wide range of services targeting both beginners and more sophisticated traders.
On the other hand, Coinbase is one of the largest exchanges in the world, regulated in the US, and offers a decent range (albeit smaller than Huobi) of products and services.
Coinbase interface
These services include spot trading, allowing users to buy and sell over 200 cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, SOL, ATOM and others. Coinbase also offers lending and borrowing for those who want to earn interest or get loans using their digital assets.
Coinbase earn
For users who hold Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Tezos (XTZ), Polkadot (DOT) or Cosmos (ATOM), staking services are also available on Coibase.
Coinbase staking
Liquidity on Coinbase is in the top 5 category with daily spot trading volumes frequently exceeding $1 billion. Coinbase Pro customers in 23 U.S. states can also access up to 3x leverage on USD quoted books.
Coinbase pro
Coinbase also has its own non-custodial Web 3 wallet, a handy Coinbase Card that lets users spend cryptocurrencies and earn cashback, and a recently introduced NFT marketplace to meet the increasing demand for digital art and collectibles.
Coinbase NFTs
The exchange also offers "Learn and Earn" program encourages users to learn about cryptocurrencies and rewards them with digital assets. Coinbase provides a great user experience with a beginner-friendly and easy-to-navigate website.
When it comes to trading fees, Huobi and Coinbase are in different categories.
Let's start with Coinbase trading fees which comprise of a spot maker fee of 0.40% and a spot taker fee of 0.60%. Coinbase also offers trading rebates which means that traders can lower their trading fees if they exceed $10,000 trading volume during a 30-day period.
Coinbase spot fees
On the other hand, Huobi charges a spot maker fee of 0.20% and a spot taker fee of 0.20%. Similar to Coinbase, Huobi also offers fee discounts based on trading volumes and  usage of the native Huobi Token (HT) when trading.
Huobi spot fees
Overall, while Huobi offers more competitive fees than Coinbase, exchanges such as Binance and OKX offer even lower trading fees than both.
While both Huobi and Coinbase offer a wide range of services, their deposit methods differ significantly.
Huobi accommodates a wide range of users by supporting eight major fiat currencies, such as USD, EUR, and GBP. The platform offers various deposit methods tailored to each specific currency.
For EUR deposits, users can choose between SEPA and Skrill, with fees of 0.15% + 1 EUR and 2.9% + 0.1 EUR, respectively. GBP deposits can be processed through the Faster Payments Service (FSP), which carries a fee of 0.15% + 1 GBP.
For those depositing in TRY, Advcash is a fee-free option. Additionally, BRL deposits can be made using bank transfers without any associated fees.
On the other hand, Coinbase only supports three fiat currencies in USD, EUR, and GBP. For USD deposits, users can opt for ACH or Wire transfers, with ACH being free and Wire transfer incurring a $10 deposit fee.
Coinbase fiat deposit
For EUR deposits, SEPA transfers can be used with a 0.15 EUR deposit fee, while GBP deposits can be made via Swift with no extra fees. In conclusion, both Huobi and Coinbase have developed support for a wide range of fiat currencies with a wide range of deposit methods.
When it comes to fiat withdrawals, Huobi supports SEPA, FSP, Advcash, Skrill and bank transfers, but different fees apply for each method.
For instance, SEPA incurs a 0.15% fee plus a 1 EUR fee, while Skrill charges a 2.9% fee plus a 0.1 EUR fee. Moving on, TRY withdrawals via Advcash are free and BRL withdrawals via bank transfer also don't have a fee.
Huobi crypto withdrawal fees
As for cryptocurrency withdrawals, Huobi charges a 0.0004 BTC fee when withdrawing Bitcoin, a 0.0012 ETH fee for withdrawing Ethereum and a 0.01 SOL fee for Solana withdrawals.
Coinbase supports fiat withdrawals with ACH bank transfer, Wire, SEPA, and Swift with each method having it's own fee. For instance, ACH withdrawals are free, while wire withdrawals incur a $25 USD fee. SEPA withdrawals, on the other hand, have a 0.15 EUR fee, while Swift withdrawals have a 1 GBP fee.
Coinbase fiat withdrawals
Cryptocurrency withdrawals on Coinbase come with 0.0001 BTC withdrawal fee for Bitcoin and 0.003 ETH for Ethereum. Overall, Coinbase charges lower withdrawal fees for both fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies than Huobi.
Huobi and Coinbase are two of the biggest players in the cryptocurrency exchange industry, each offering their unique features and benefits.
Huobi as an offshore exchange has the option to offer more cryptocurrencies, more trading products and higher leverage than Coinbase. This is because Coinbase is much more restricted by US regulators. This means for example that KYC is optional on Huobi while it's obligatory on Coinbase.
This also means that Coinbase is the more regulated and secure exchange as they have to comply with a very different set of rules than Huobi.
This also means that Huobi can offer over 500 cryptocurrencies while Coinbase is currently limited to 200. Huobi also offers a wide range of trading services not available on Coinbase such as futures, perps, options and up to 200X leverage.
In terms of trading fees, Huobi is lower with 0.2% for makers and takers compared to the 0.4% and 0.6% charged by Coinbase, On the other hand, when it comes to fiat deposits and withdrawals, Coinbase offers lower fees in general than Huobi.
Overall, Coinbase is the more beginners friendly platform that also offers services for institutions while Huobi is the more degen friendly exchanges with plenty of trading services and crazy high leverage.
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.
