More and more traditional businesses have been using cryptocurrency as it is becoming popular as a storage of wealth besides being a medium of money. As a regional financial hub, Singapore sees more crypto exchanges, like Coinbase, offering crypto services to the Singaporeans for financial services and creating wealth, besides serving a regional crypto service center.
What is Coinbase?
Coinbase is a crypto exchange offering digital currency trading services, for example, purchases, sales, and cryptocurrency exchanges. Investors perform trading activities on its platform through its website, advanced technology, and security.
With its simple-to-use interface, people can buy, sell and exchange over 100 cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin.
Established in 2012, Coinbase has 98 million users and USD256 billion in assets trading on its platform. 2 trading structures are available to cater to investors’ sophistication. Beginning investors may prefer its original trading platform for ease and simplicity. Advanced and frequent investors may like more features, order types, and lower trading fees offered by Coinbase Pro.
Is Coinbase Legal in Singpaore?
Headquartered in the US and listed on the Nasdaq, Coinbase has registered as “Coinbase Singapore PTE ltd” or Coinbase SG. Though not registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore(MAS), Coinbase SG operates in Singapore under a licensing exemption for a specified period under the Payment Services Act and its regulations in 2019.
Investors should know the following before trading with Coinbase SG:
- Like other crypto exchanges, money entrusted with Coinbase is not under any financial protection scheme of the Government or Industry organizations. They may not recoup their money back by subjecting them to hacks, theft, faults, and business failures.
- The MAS advises people should not trade crypto assets if they are unfamiliar with the digital asset.
- The authority warns people may lose all their money as the cryptocurrency is high risk relating to sharp fluctuations in value.
Can I Exchange, Buy, and Sell Cryptos on Coinbase Singapore?
Coinbase offers more than 100 popular cryptocurrencies, including Stablecoins, to trade on its advanced platform. Examples are Bitcoin(BTC), Ethereum(ETH), Cardano(ADA), Solana(SOL), DAI(DAI), and USD Coin(USDC). Like other online stockbrokers, Coinbase investors can trade digital currencies through one of its three channels: the Coinbase website, Android, and iOS applications.
Can I use Coinbase Wallet in Singapore?
Besides crypto trading services, Coinbase provides its Coinbase Wallet service to let customers store, track, and transfer cryptocurrency balances in the electronic wallet. And Coinbase Wallet holders can store and view cryptocurrencies and NFTs in their wallets. Find out the best crypto wallet you can get in Singapore.
Is it Safe to Trade with Coinbase?
Coinbase has the following features:
- Offline storage: Coinbase stores most crypto assets in its offline storage. The offline storage’s advantage is that assets, less exposed online when clients are not trading, are less subject to hacks and other crimes.
- Added security: Besides passwords, clients should go through 2-step verification to access their accounts.
- Insurance cover: Coinbase provides insurance cover for assets stored on its servers and increases clients’ assets entrusted with the company.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Support for a vast number of digital currencies: More than 100 popular cryptocurrencies are tradable on the Coinbase platform, and the numbers are growing.
- User-friendly interface for beginners: The web interface and mobile phone applications make investing convenient and easy for new investors. Investors can easily find and trade their favorite digital currencies by y surfing the interface.
- Earn cryptocurrencies: Investors participating in the “Coinbase Earn program” can earn interest on eligible balances or get a new cryptocurrency.
- Coinbase Pro: Advanced and frequent traders can lower the fees and get more features through access to the platform.
Cons
- Above-average transaction fees: Coinbase charges higher transaction fees to its primary platform; only Coinbase Pro offers lower fees to frequent traders.
- No welcome offer: No gifts or rewards are available to new clients.
Coinbase vs. other Platforms in Singapore
| Exchanges | Cryptos traded | Fees structures | Deposit fees | Minimum investments | Funding methods |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coinbase | More than 172 | Plain | Subject to funding methods, order size and the market | SGD2.7 | ACH transfer, credit/debit cards, Apple pay, Google pay, wire transfer, Paypal |
| Crypto.com | More than 250 | Composite | 0 | Subject to funding methods and deposit currencies | Credit/debit cards, ERC-20 wallets, Crypto.com Pay, bank transfer |
| Binance | More than 600 | Plain | 0 | SGD13 | Credit/debit cards, bank wire/transfer, electronic wallet, P2P |
| Capital.com | More than 400 | Plain | 0 | SGD20 | Credit/debit cards, bank wire/transfer, ApplePay, iDeal and GiroPay |
| Zipmex | More than 42 | Plain | SGD34 for fiat, 0 for cryptos | 0 | Electronic wallets, Permata and Mandiri accounts. |
Summary: The number of coins traded in Coinbase is mid-range compared to other platforms. But Coinbase requires lower minimum investment amounts, leading to more budget investors.
How to Trade Cryptocurrencies on Coinbase
Like an online bank account or brokerage account, opening a Coinbase account is quick and easy. You are 18 or above, and provide your identity and residential address documents.
Like any other sign-up procedure, you must agree to the rules and regulations of the Authority and the company. Once account set-up procedures are complete and Coinbase verifies your account, you can start trading.
Fees
Trading fees: 2.49% for the original platform; 0.60% for Coinbase Pro
Other Fees and Payment Methods
| Charge | Fees |
|---|---|
| Spread-based fee | 0.5% of trade volume |
| ACH transfer | 0 |
| Bank account | 1.49% |
| Crypto conversion | 2% |
| Credit/debit cards | 3.99% |
| Wire transfer | $10 for incoming; $25 for outgoing |
| Wallet | $1.49% |
More Questions
What’re the most popular Cryptocurrencies?
Here are the most traded and popular cryptos:
| Cryptocurrencies | Symbols | Market cap in billion in USD(as of July 24, 2022) |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | BTC | 431.81 |
| Ethereum | ETH | 192.4 |
| Tether | USDT | 65.84 |
| USD Coin | USDC | 55.09 |
| Binance Coin | BNB | 42.40 |
| Binance USD | BUSD | 17.54 |
| XRP | XRP | 17.50 |
| Cardano | ADA | 17.51 |
| Solana | SOL | 14.10 |
| DogeCoin | DOGE | 9.12 |
| DAI | DAI | 7.39 |
| Polkadot | DOT | 7.36 |
| HEX | HEX | 7.28 |
| MATIC | Polygon | 6.94 |
| WTRX | Wrapped Tron | 6.81 |
Final Thoughts
Coinbase crypto exchange provides an excellent trading platform with more than 100 digital coins for investors. Beginning investors find the low minimum investment amounts, the reasonable number of cryptocurrencies, and convenient funding methods attractive.
Sophisticated and frequent traders may find the advanced system Coinbase Pro cost-competitive and helpful due to more features available.
Key Takeaways
- Coinbase operates under the licensing exemption under the Payment Services Act 2019.
- Coinbase offers crypto trading services on its platform and Coinbase Wallet service.
- Coinbase provides 2 tier fee structure to the beginning and advanced investors.
- The low investment amount requirement is appealing to beginning investors.
- Coinbase supports more than 100 cryptocurrencies, and the number is growing.
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