How to Set Up a Coinbase Account
What is Coinbase?
Coinbase is a United States based cryptocurrency exchange, that provides account holders the ability to exchange between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. Coinbase is, in my opinion, the most secure cryptocurrency exchange currently available in the space.
Coinbase currently offers BTC (Bitcoin), LTC (Litecoin), ETH (Ethereum), BCH (Bitcoincash) available for trade. The exchange also provides users access to secure hot and cold storage wallets as a place to store coins on the exchange. Coinbase is also one of the few exchanges that insures its users against an exchange attack or breach.
Please research Cryptocurrency technology before investing so you are more knowledgeable about what you are investing in.
DYOR
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Necessities for Creating a Coinbase Account
In order to create a Coinbase account you will need these very basic things:
1. An email account
2. Address
3. Bank account of some sort
4. To be at least 18 years of age
Some optional things you will want to have are a phone, license of some sort, and debit card. The phone will help add and extra layer of security to your account giving you the ability to enable 2-factor authentication. The license will be used to later verify your account giving you the ability to trade on the pro exchange and deposit and withdraw larger amounts of money. The debit card will provide you with a simple way of funding your account (which I will be discussing more in depth next).
Setting up Your Coinbase Account
When you are ready to set up your account, you simply go to the website and in the very center of the page the website will ask you for your email which is the first step of setting up your account (as seen in the picture above). Once you input your email and it recognizes that you do not yet have an account, it will begin asking you for your information. Once, you have finished inputting all of your personal information you will be able to fund your account.
When you get to the step about funding your account, you will be given a few different options, by card, bank transfer, or by wiring funds. Of these three options people tend to chose the bank transfer method because it is easy and cheap but, there is a catch. Once you have made the decision to buy a coin on Coinbase and fund it through your bank transfer, you are locked into that trade at the price you bought until the transaction is confirmed through Coinbase. This means you paid for the coin before you actually received the coin and you cannot buy, sell, or transfer the coin until the transaction is cleared. This opens you up to a lot of risks. A better option for individuals looking to invest a modest amount of money is to use the debit card option (most credit cards have blocked Coinbase transactions and they will not go through). There is a very small fee associated with using your card, but the transaction is instant and you will have instant access to your coin. This option is not ideal for investors looking to invest large amounts of money, your best option will be wire transfer.
What Your Coinbase Account Does for You
Once you have established your Coinbase account, you have officially opened the door to investing in cryptocurrency. Coinbase will be your HUB and one of the only available that will be able to convert your fiat currency to cryptocurrency and vice versa and even has a mobile app available in all large app stores. As discussed above, it also provides you with a safe place to store your currencies without having to take the responsibility of keeping track and securing your coins on your own. With Coinbase you will now have the ability to transfer your coins to other exchanges for those looking to invest in altcoins (coins other than BTC) that are not offered on the exchange.
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Video Instructions On Setting Up Your Coinbase Account
© 2018 Nate Robbins