Poloniex vs Coinbase | Numerous Reasons Why Coinbase Is Better
Jack Moreau
Feb 2024
10 min read
Fact checked
Are you trying to decide between Poloniex vs Coinbase and wondering which exchange is better? Our team has conducted an in-depth comparison analyzing factors such as signup and KYC requirements, supported countries, trading fees, product offerings and user experience. Read on to discover which exchange comes out on top!
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.
Poloniex and Coinbase are two well known and popular cryptocurrency exchanges (Coinbase in particular) that offer solid range of cryptocurrencies for trading.
Poloniex was founded in 2014 by Tristan D'Agosta and is headquartered in Boston while registered in Seychelles.
Poloniex exchange
Poloniex supports over 350 cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin, BitTorrent, Polkadot, and many others.
It facilitates spot, margin, and futures trading with up to 100X leverage. The exchange currently has over one million users, and its Android app has been downloaded over 500,000 times, garnering a pretty average rating of 3.8 stars based on 9,000 reviews.
Poloniex app
On the other hand, Coinbase was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsa and is registered in the District of Columbia. Coinbase is one of the biggest exchanges in the world with over 100 million users mainly based in the US and Europe.
The exchange offers over 200 cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Chainlink and many more. The exchange and has a strong focus on security and regulatory compliance. The Coinbase app is available on both Android and IOS, with over 10 million downloads and a 4.1 star rating based on over 750,000 reviews.
Coinbase app
Poloniex vs Coinbase Signup & KYC
When it comes to signing up for cryptocurrency exchanges, there are a lot of options out there. Let's find out more about the signup and KYC requirements of Poloniex and Coinbase.
Let's start with Poloniex. The signup process itself is very quick and easy taking less than a minute to complete. Once you've signed up, you'll need to connect your 2FA in order to deposit cryptocurrencies.
Poloniex signup
One of the great things about Poloniex is that KYC verification is not required for all users. If you just want to deposit cryptocurrencies, trade futures or withdraw assets, you can do so without going through the verification process. However, if you want to access other features or higher withdrawal limits, you will need to complete KYC.
On the other hand, Coinbase requires KYC verification for all users. But the signup process is also very fast taking just about a minute to complete.
Coinbase signup
With Coinbase, you can submit KYC documents such as country of residence and government ID and be verified in just a few minutes to a few hours.
From there, you can begin trading and using all of the features that Coinbase has to offer. The verification process for both exchanges can take some time, but Coinbase is generally faster.
Poloniex vs Coinbase Crypto Products
Poloniex and Coinbase each offers their own set of products and services to satisfy the needs of crypto traders and investors.
Poloniex offers both spot and futures trading, grid trading, the option to buy crypto with a card via simplex, earn products, NFTs and a launchpad for new token sales.
Poloniex earn
The user experience on Poloniex is not very polished but it is easy to navigate and the exchange offers a decent range of products and features.
The average daily spot volume on Poloniex is over $80 million and futures leverage can go up to 100X. For cross-margin trading, Poloniex supports a maximum leverage of 3x.
Poloniex spot trading
In contrast, Coinbase offers a good range of features considering it's regulated in the US such as spot trading, lending and borrow, NFTs, learn and earn, and recurring buys.
Coinbase product page
Coinbase provides a great user experience with a beginner-friendly and easy-to-navigate website, though the website frequently has connection issues where users have to wait to log in.
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 access up to 3x leverage on USD-quoted books, but no futures products or leverage of any kind are available.
Coinbase Pro
While Poloniex and Coinbase offer different products and services, they both have their strengths and weaknesses. Poloniex is more suitable for traders looking to trade futures with high leverage while Coinbase is better suited for beginners and US investors looking for a highly regulated exchange with a beginner-friendly interface.
Poloniex and Coinbase offer different trading fees for their users. Let's take a look at their fees and compare them. Poloniex charges a 0.145% maker fee and a 0.16% taker fee for spot trading, while Coinbase charges a higher 0.40% maker fee and a 0.60% taker fee.
Coinbase spot fees
For futures trading, Poloniex charges a 0.02% maker fee and a 0.05% taker fee, while Coinbase does not offer futures trading. Both exchanges offer lower trading fees for users who trade in high volumes. Poloniex users can have their fees reduced if they trade over $50,000 worth of cryptocurrency per month or have a TRX balance exceeding $49.
Poloniex spot fees
Coinbase users can have their fees reduced if they trade over $10,000 worth of cryptocurrency per month. In terms of overall trading fees, Poloniex obviously offers more competitive rates than Coinbase for spot and futures trading.
For those that are looking for even more competitive exchanges in terms of trading fees, we recommend using exchanges such as OKX and Phemex which offer spot trading fees as low as 0.1% for makers and takers.
When it comes to depositing funds into cryptocurrency exchanges, there are a variety of options available. Let's take a look at the deposit methods offered by Poloniex and Coinbase.
Unfortunately, if you're looking to deposit fiat currency into Poloniex, you're out of luck. The exchange only allows for crypto deposits or the option to buy crypto via credit card through Simplex.
Buy crypto with Card Poloniex
On the other hand, Coinbase does offer deposit options for three fiat currencies including USD, EUR, and GBP. For fiat deposits on Coinbase, users can choose from ACH, Wire (USD), SEPA (EUR), and Swift (GBP).
ACH deposits are free, while wire transfers come with a $10 USD fee. SEPA deposit fees cost 0.15 EUR and Swift deposits for GBP carry no additional charge.
Coinbase fiat deposits
It's worth noting that while Poloniex doesn't support fiat deposits, they do accept a wide range of cryptocurrencies which can be deposited and traded on the platform. But in terms of fiat deposits, unfortunately Poloniex does not deliver at all.
When it comes to withdrawing your funds from your cryptocurrency exchange, it's important to know what options are available and the associated fees.
Once again and not surprisingly, Poloniex does not offer fiat withdrawals. They do of course offer crypto withdrawals with varying fees depending on the blockchain. For Bitcoin withdrawals, there is a 0.0005 BTC fee. For ETH withdrawals, the fee is 0.0032 ETH and for SOL withdrawals, the fee is 0.01 SOL. If you're withdrawing Tether USD, the fee is 5 USDT on Poloniex.
On the other hand, Coinbase offers fiat withdrawals via ACH, Wire, SEPA, and Swift. ACH withdrawals are free, wire withdrawals cost $25 USD, SEPA withdrawals cost 0.15 EUR and Swift withdrawals cost 1 GBP.
The fees for withdrawing cryptocurrencies on Coinbase are lower compared to Poloniex. Withdrawing Bitcoin comes with a 0.0001 BTC fee, ETH withdrawals are free, SOL withdrawals cost 0.005 SOL and USDT withdrawals are charged a $3 fee.
Overall, whether you are looking at fiat withdrawal options or fees for withdrawing cryptocurrencies, Coinbase beats Poloniex in both categories.
In conclusion, Poloniex offers a wider range of 450 cryptocurrencies and altcoins which is quite a bit more than the 200 cryptos offered by Coinbase.
Poloniex also offers some trading services not available on Coinbase such as futures and grid trading. In terms of spot trading fees, Poloniex offers lower fees than Coinbase by some margin.
Coinbase on it's end provides a more user-friendly interface and a strong focus on security and regulatory compliance. This is one of Coinbase's strong points which has made it's user base grow to over 100 million users.
In terms of product and services, Coinbase places a great emphasis of more retail focused products such as learn and earn, NFTs and simple buy and sell of cryptocurrencies.
And when it comes to fiat deposit and withdrawal options, Coinbase really excels with a solid range of fiat currencies and deposit methods with low fees.
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.
