Cryptocurrencies or digital currencies exist for more than a decade and during this time, they have shown that they can function as a potential improvement on fiat currencies like the U.S dollar (USD), which by now are becoming outdated and are government-controlled in the first place. The time for an alternative currency is nigh.
When Bitcoin (BTC) emerged back in 2009 and jump-started the blockchain machine, there weren’t many platforms where you could purchase a couple of coins. By 2012, however, cryptocurrency exchanges were on the rise. This is the year when the US-based crypto platform Coinbase was also launched.
Coinbase has been a real game-changer when it comes to purchasing cryptocurrencies. These days, Coinbase is one, if not the most popular and widely utilized crypto exchange in the world. It’s suitable for both beginners and seasoned active traders as it offers a variety of crypto purchasing options. From its tiered account structure to its crypto pairing options, Coinbase has it all.
This article will delve into the details of Coinbase, particularly the question of whether you can have more than one Coinbase account with the same credentials.
About the Exchange
Coinbase is one of the oldest and most popular cryptocurrency exchanges, second only to Binance. After its creation and launch in 2012, it quickly became a staple in the world of crypto trading due to its constant improvements, customer identity, and asset safety, as well as its regular updates and options for different cryptocurrencies. Coinbase offers a wide variety of cryptocurrencies, an advanced trading platform, custodial accounts, and even their own digital wallet for storing crypto. They also boast their own U.S dollar pegged cryptocurrency in the stablecoin category, USDC.
The Coinbase exchange platform has an easy-to-use and beginner-friendly user interface, a range of cryptocurrency educational tools, as well as a security system with multiple verification tools such as two-factor authentication, 24/7 Coinbase support for customers, and over 50 cryptocurrencies for trading.
All of these features are available for every type of user but this convenience is charged with slightly higher transaction fees compared to other competitor exchanges. Another drawback is that users are not in total control of their private keys if they choose to store their assets into the Coinbase Wallet which the platform offers for free. This can be avoided if the user purchases their own wallet, preferably a cold storage hardware wallet.
All in all, Coinbase is an excellent trading platform due to its wide selection of cryptocurrencies, its layered security system, the insurance policies for protection against fraud or theft, and the availability of mobile apps. The platform also includes daily crypto rewards for participating in the educational tools section and taking part in daily activities that vary daily. One of the more interesting features that Coinbase has is its $2 minimum purchase. Many other exchanges have a $50 or $100 minimum purchase and that principle of operation might seem expensive for beginners, which is where Coinbase steps in.
Mobile Apps and Accounts
The platform’s app is called Coinbase: Mobile wallet for Android and iOS and it’s available on mobile devices that use Android and iOS or as a desktop variant. The app utilizes the 2-factor authentication system, sports a friendly user interface and everything could be accessed from the home page without going through endless windows and being overwhelmed with features and notifications.
The account creation on Coinbase comes in multiple layers. The more information you provide, the more you can participate on the platform and purchase, sell, or exchange cryptocurrencies. When you first sign up for an account, Coinbase will ask you just for some light information like an email address. With these credentials, your trading will be limited to higher daily purchase limits until you provide more detailed information about yourself.
How to Create Your Coinbase Account
The initial account creation on Coinbase is an effortless task. They offer a single account for both of their platforms including the regular Coinbase exchange and the advanced Coinbase Pro variant.
To return to account creation, users should visit Coinbase’s official site, coinbase.com, and click on the Sign-Up prompt. Then, they will have to fill out an informational form. The preliminary information that will be required is very basic: the user’s full name and surname, email address, bank account, and password. The one thing that users must be cautious about here is to use their name as it’s written on their legal documents, i.e their ID card.
After all of this is completed there is a captcha and a User Agreement and privacy policy checking box. This is all that is required of new users, the next step is to click on the Create prompt and wait for a confirmation email.
After this process is finished, you will be presented with additional steps for identity confirmation. Users can delay this step but will be subjected to strict daily limits for purchasing crypto. The first step for providing more detailed information is providing proof of address that’s easily acquired through a simple bank statement and a mobile phone number.
For Coinbase Pro, users don’t need another account, they just have to upgrade their existing account through the Coinbase app or website. Unless users want to have another account with different credentials they don’t need further info for upgrading. Users will have to provide different credentials like email address, different bank account, and password. This eliminates the possibility to have more than one Coinbase account with the same credentials.
Payments on Coinbase
American users on Coinbase can use PayPal to exchange cryptocurrency for fiat currency, make wire transfers for withdrawing and depositing funds, or use your credit cards and debit cards for purchasing crypto. The remaining users across the world can utilize their bank account and link it with their Coinbase account from which they can purchase, sell, and exchange cryptocurrencies and also withdraw and deposit funds. Another reason why users cannot have another account on Coinbase with the same credentials is that every bit of information about you is linked with your existing Coinbase account.
Coinbase supported cryptocurrencies
When users update their information and present their debit or credit card information, the verification process is usually instant and they can start purchasing crypto right away. The PayPal method is also instant but it’s limited to users inside the US.
When users are submitting their bank information for the first time there can be a waiting period for identity verification. Users should remember that the more information they provide to Coinbase, the more their weekly purchase limit will be increased and their account security will be greatly improved when they become legitimate users. The verification centre can be accessed through the Settings tab from the menu of the platform.
Free Crypto on Coinbase
Users might be tempted to create several accounts in order to get their hands on some free cryptocurrency because Coinbase offers $10 worth of Bitcoin for every new account that’s referred from an existing Coinbase user. If you create your account in this way, both the person who invited you as well as you as the new user will get the $10 reward when you spend over $100 dollars. Every user can refer to new users and receive the same $10 reward.
To have multiple accounts users will have to spend $100 on each one in order to get that $10 bonus, not to mention creating different email addresses, bank accounts, and other credentials. This makes it virtually impossible to have multiple accounts on Coinbase. We didn’t even mention the fees that could rack up for a single person trying to have multiple accounts.
Coinbase Fees
Coinbase has a layered fee system and it might feel a bit overwhelming to beginners. There are deposit fees and spread fees. The fees can rack up and become expensive if users are trading in large amounts without utilizing the Coinbase Pro variant. The regular Coinbase platform has higher fees when compared to the Pro platform but beginners aren’t likely to start purchasing large amounts, so it’s better for users to leave the Pro variant for when they’ve gained some experience with crypto.
Here are some of the fees charged by Coinbase:
CoinbasePRO fees
- For accounts that are based in the US, Coinbase charges a fixed 1.49% fee.
- For PayPal or debit card transactions, Coinbase charges a fixed 3.99% fee.
- For instant card withdrawals, Coinbase charges up to 1.5% with a $0.55 minimum withdrawal.
- For ACH transfers, Coinbase doesn’t charge any fees.
- For wire transfers, Coinbase charges a $10 to $25 fee.
- For crypto conversions, Coinbase charges a fixed 2% fee.
Along with the deposit fees, Coinbase charges spread fees on trades and purchases that tend to get lower with higher value purchases. The more crypto you buy, the lower the spread fee is:
- Below $10,000 the spread fee is 0.50%
- Between $10,000 and $50,000 the spread fee is 0.35%
These spread fees continue to lower down until the sum of $500,000,000 or above has been reached and then they range from 0.04% to 0.0%.
There is also a Coinbase fee besides the deposit and spread fees that is dependent on the purchase value and the user’s location in the world, which is why it’s always a good idea to consult the official website and calculate the exact fee. The Coinbase Pro variant has different fees and it’s also free to use.
Coinbase Pro
When compared to the regular Coinbase platform, Coinbase Pro offers a larger and more robust trading experience. Users shouldn’t bother themselves creating additional accounts in order to use Coinbase Pro, all that is required is a click on the Update to Pro prompt in the Coinbase app. Coinbase Pro is completely free to use but offers higher-tiered trading options like different markets, order limits, stopping orders, margin trading, and refined charting options.
Coinbase Pro, besides regular crypto trading also offers cryptocurrency pairing, up to 100 currencies are available with more than a dozen of them being connected to the US dollar. What’s more interesting is that Coinbase Pro offers up to 80 crypto-to-crypto trading pairs with the Pro platform available in more than 40 countries worldwide.
Some of the major currencies are available for trading including altcoins and some of the most popular ones are Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and many others.
Coinbase Pro is mainly used by seasoned active traders rather than beginners. Users can see it as a graduation present from Coinbase when they’ve mastered the basic platform and gained some experience in crypto trading. The fees are significantly smaller when using Coinbase Pro. ACH transfers and digital assets are free for deposits and withdrawals and wire transfers are charged $10 for deposits and $25 for withdrawals.
Coinbase Safety and Wallet
Coinbase offers a couple of safety and security measures but a big part of an account’s security is the credentials the user provides and the password’s strength for the account. The more information you provide, the greater support and security you would get. This is another reason why the same user cannot have multiple accounts with the same credentials.
Coinbase offers 2-factor authentication, biometric fingerprint protection, complete asset insurance in case of a breach in the Coinbase firewall, and as an extra layer Coinbase stores 98% of the user assets in cold storage.
Digital currencies are not yet considered legal tender in the US, which means that they aren’t supported by the FDIC and SIPC, so to achieve better security and insurance, Coinbase stores account balances in USD custodial accounts and liquid US treasuries.
The Coinbase wallet is a standalone app from the regular Coinbase platform. You don’t have to have an account on Coinbase to use their wallet, so this is the only possibility for you to have “two” Coinbase accounts – one would be on the main Coinbase platform and the second one would be on their standalone app. However, it’s recommended that you stick with one account instead, by simply signing in to your wallet with your Coinbase account because of the better security features that they offer and the convenience of having access to your assets on the go.
Coinbase wallet
Connecting your wallet to your Coinbase account is pretty simple. To transfer your assets from the platform to the wallet just click on Settings and click on the Transfer icon. To send coins from your wallet to the platform just tap on the Send icon that’s located under your balance number on the homepage.
A Few Words Before You Go…
When summed up, Coinbase is one of, if not the greatest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. Both beginners and seasoned active traders can benefit from the options that it offers. From the standard Coinbase platform to the more advanced and refined Coinbase Pro, every user will find the platform according to their needs and skills. As far as having multiple accounts goes, unfortunately, that is unavailable for users who wish to use the same credentials.
This is possible however with different bank accounts, email addresses, and different names, but these accounts would not be fully verified and thus will remain limited both in trading options and security features. We highly recommend that users stay with one verified account in order to receive the best options, with reasonable daily limits, and maximum security for their accounts.
We can therefore say we did our job and explained in detail what Coinbase is, how it works, and whether you can have more than one account on the platform or not. The rest is up to you, the readers. Good luck on your crypto journey and remember the $10 crypto reward when creating your account.