7 ms·

As a user of both, I'm excited that Coinbase finally has a competitor. The fees alone on Coinbase, not to mention transfer times, are getting too ridiculous in

As a user of both, I'm excited that Coinbase finally has a competitor. The fees alone on Coinbase, not to mention transfer times, are getting too ridiculous in my opinion.

marcell 9y ago
> transfer times, are getting too ridiculous Then I got good news for you! the RobinHood app's transfer times are infinite, because you can't transfer the coins out :). They never let you hold the bitcoin--all buys/sells take place on their system. I imagine they did this to avoid a lot of challenges that come with being able to transfer coins out.
- bolasanibk 9y ago
  You cannot transfer in, but you can transfer out. Refer: https://ibb.co/dHNENc https://ibb.co/dHNENc
xd1936 9y ago
I bought one ETH last fall that Coinbase took away from my account and has been holding hostage from me for 8 months. Apparently my Credit Card expiration date was not correct or something, but they successfully took my money... and show that I have no crypto either. Their support has been a nightmare. I'm really excited to move away from Coinbase to Robinhood as soon as possible.
- artursapek 9y ago
  https://www.reddit.com/r/CoinBase/ https://www.reddit.com/r/CoinBase/ paints a pretty ugly picture of Coinbase's support. I'm glad I never had issues but took all my money out this year.
  - tenaciousDaniel 9y ago
    I had a few issues with them and I contacted them in every way I could. No response, ever. Not even after months of trying. Coinbase support just doesn't exist.
  - thisisit 9y ago
    I think we need to see how Robinhood shapes up. AFAIK their customer care isn't great either. And with their estoeric rules on coin transfer this might not go down well.
    - farrelljohn 9y ago
      I agree. Hopefully they turn into a serious competitor, but right now it's a little too early to tell.
  - DennisP 9y ago
    But keep in mind that Coinbase has millions of customers, so even a small percentage with problems can make a scary-looking subreddit.
  - random_rr 9y ago
    Just wanted to say that I've passed hundreds of thousands of dollars through Coinbase and have always received stellar support. Not everyone hates them :)
billmalarky 9y ago
You can buy crypto for no-fee on Coinbase by using their integrated GDAX exchange. Simple post a limit buy order instead of a market order for zero fee purchases.
- farrelljohn 9y ago
  Interesting, wasn't aware you could do that. I'll have to look into it more.
christophclarke 9y ago
so far in the market I feel like Coinbase has acted as one of the only – and certainly most vocal – trustworthy marketplaces. Especially with a concept like cryptocurrency which in and of itself seems a bit "sketchy" to most (especially becuase of its association with black markets), many competing marketplaces dont instill a lot of confidence in users. That may be something as simple as UX/UI or branding, either of which would solidly add Robinhood into the "easy to understand for non-techies" category along with Coinbase.
- greenleafjacob 9y ago
  What about Gemini?
  - christophclarke 9y ago
    Disclaimer: I have not used gemini. On first glance, it seems to fall into the category of "not-intimidating" along with the previously mentioned markets. The point i was trying to illustrate was that there are many laces on the web that skew much more towards LocalBitcoins or the like*. A lot of these kind of sketchy sites have been stomped out in the frenzy that was the Bitcoin Bubble, being replaced by these more legitimate - at least at first glance - sites. As more scandals like Mt. Gox etc arise, however, trust in the currency - and random places on the internet to buy and sell said currency - will drop, leaving only those more "reputable" and known brands like Coinbase and Robinhood behind.
  - wmf 9y ago
    I use Gemini and it works fine. The amount of Coinbase Stockholm Syndrome that I see boggles the mind.
  - tgb 9y ago
    I signed up for it weeks ago but they haven't verified my ID yet and haven't responded to inquiries about how long it will take. It'll be 4 weeks this weekend. Also, their process to link my bank account felt like a scam - they required a huge amount of information that traditional banking institutions don't need to withdraw/transfer. It needed my bank account password(!) and all of my security question answers! Plus copies of my ID.
sidko 9y ago
If you're a Coinbase user, please don't use Coinbase to buy. The fees are really high. Instead, use GDAX. Your Coinbase account is sufficient to register with GDAX and all your privileges like limits, KYC, etc. is carried over. It supports both Market Orders and Limit Orders. Transfers from GDAX to Coinbase are instantaneous and off-blockchain, so there are no fees. As a bonus fun fact, if you transfer BTC from GDAX to your personal wallet, there is no Bitcoin network fee charged to you. However, if you use Coinbase, you'll end up paying a lot more in fees than you must because Coinbase uses very inefficient fee-estimation systems and still haven't deployed SegWit or batching which would reduce network fee for their customers.
- htormey 9y ago
  This is good advise. The problem right now is getting verified on gdax takes a really long time and doesn’t accept government ids like greencards. I have a coinbase account that I can buy with but I am stuck at the verification stage on gdax..
  - rock_hard 9y ago
    Why don’t you just walk into your next best DMV and get an ID? Doesn’t need to be a driving license...they can easily also just issue a ID.
    - htormey 9y ago
      That’s what I am doing. I have an appointment booked. I don’t own a car so I had let my old ID expire.
      - selectodude 9y ago
        How did you buy beer or fly?
        htormey 9y ago
        With my greencard or Irish passport.
sethgecko 9y ago
What fees ? I have never paid a single cent in fees in coinbase. Buying/selling with limit orders is free in GDAX and they pay the miner's fees themselves when you withdraw. I don't even know how they make money.
- htormey 9y ago
  Check the screen before you buy, they display fees: https://ibb.co/eCkthc https://ibb.co/eCkthc Also the base price is more expensive than gdax (also owned by coinbase).
scrollaway 9y ago
US-only competitor. Not sure how much that helps. It's a start...

As a user of both, I'm excited that Coinbase finally has a competitor. The fees alone on Coinbase, not to mention transfer times, are getting too ridiculous in my opinion.

marcell 9y ago

> transfer times, are getting too ridiculous Then I got good news for you! the RobinHood app's transfer times are infinite, because you can't transfer the coins out :). They never let you hold the bitcoin--all buys/sells take place on their system. I imagine they did this to avoid a lot of challenges that come with being able to transfer coins out.

bolasanibk 9y ago
You cannot transfer in, but you can transfer out. Refer: https://ibb.co/dHNENc https://ibb.co/dHNENc

xd1936 9y ago

I bought one ETH last fall that Coinbase took away from my account and has been holding hostage from me for 8 months. Apparently my Credit Card expiration date was not correct or something, but they successfully took my money... and show that I have no crypto either. Their support has been a nightmare. I'm really excited to move away from Coinbase to Robinhood as soon as possible.

artursapek 9y ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/CoinBase/ https://www.reddit.com/r/CoinBase/ paints a pretty ugly picture of Coinbase's support. I'm glad I never had issues but took all my money out this year.
- tenaciousDaniel 9y ago
  I had a few issues with them and I contacted them in every way I could. No response, ever. Not even after months of trying. Coinbase support just doesn't exist.
- thisisit 9y ago
  I think we need to see how Robinhood shapes up. AFAIK their customer care isn't great either. And with their estoeric rules on coin transfer this might not go down well.
  - farrelljohn 9y ago
    I agree. Hopefully they turn into a serious competitor, but right now it's a little too early to tell.
- DennisP 9y ago
  But keep in mind that Coinbase has millions of customers, so even a small percentage with problems can make a scary-looking subreddit.
- random_rr 9y ago
  Just wanted to say that I've passed hundreds of thousands of dollars through Coinbase and have always received stellar support. Not everyone hates them :)

billmalarky 9y ago

You can buy crypto for no-fee on Coinbase by using their integrated GDAX exchange. Simple post a limit buy order instead of a market order for zero fee purchases.

farrelljohn 9y ago
Interesting, wasn't aware you could do that. I'll have to look into it more.

christophclarke 9y ago

so far in the market I feel like Coinbase has acted as one of the only – and certainly most vocal – trustworthy marketplaces. Especially with a concept like cryptocurrency which in and of itself seems a bit "sketchy" to most (especially becuase of its association with black markets), many competing marketplaces dont instill a lot of confidence in users. That may be something as simple as UX/UI or branding, either of which would solidly add Robinhood into the "easy to understand for non-techies" category along with Coinbase.

greenleafjacob 9y ago
What about Gemini?
- christophclarke 9y ago
  Disclaimer: I have not used gemini. On first glance, it seems to fall into the category of "not-intimidating" along with the previously mentioned markets. The point i was trying to illustrate was that there are many laces on the web that skew much more towards LocalBitcoins or the like*. A lot of these kind of sketchy sites have been stomped out in the frenzy that was the Bitcoin Bubble, being replaced by these more legitimate - at least at first glance - sites. As more scandals like Mt. Gox etc arise, however, trust in the currency - and random places on the internet to buy and sell said currency - will drop, leaving only those more "reputable" and known brands like Coinbase and Robinhood behind.
- wmf 9y ago
  I use Gemini and it works fine. The amount of Coinbase Stockholm Syndrome that I see boggles the mind.
- tgb 9y ago
  I signed up for it weeks ago but they haven't verified my ID yet and haven't responded to inquiries about how long it will take. It'll be 4 weeks this weekend. Also, their process to link my bank account felt like a scam - they required a huge amount of information that traditional banking institutions don't need to withdraw/transfer. It needed my bank account password(!) and all of my security question answers! Plus copies of my ID.

sidko 9y ago

If you're a Coinbase user, please don't use Coinbase to buy. The fees are really high. Instead, use GDAX. Your Coinbase account is sufficient to register with GDAX and all your privileges like limits, KYC, etc. is carried over. It supports both Market Orders and Limit Orders. Transfers from GDAX to Coinbase are instantaneous and off-blockchain, so there are no fees. As a bonus fun fact, if you transfer BTC from GDAX to your personal wallet, there is no Bitcoin network fee charged to you. However, if you use Coinbase, you'll end up paying a lot more in fees than you must because Coinbase uses very inefficient fee-estimation systems and still haven't deployed SegWit or batching which would reduce network fee for their customers.

htormey 9y ago
This is good advise. The problem right now is getting verified on gdax takes a really long time and doesn’t accept government ids like greencards. I have a coinbase account that I can buy with but I am stuck at the verification stage on gdax..
- rock_hard 9y ago
  Why don’t you just walk into your next best DMV and get an ID? Doesn’t need to be a driving license...they can easily also just issue a ID.
  - htormey 9y ago
    That’s what I am doing. I have an appointment booked. I don’t own a car so I had let my old ID expire.
    - selectodude 9y ago
      How did you buy beer or fly?
      - htormey 9y ago
        With my greencard or Irish passport.

sethgecko 9y ago

What fees ? I have never paid a single cent in fees in coinbase. Buying/selling with limit orders is free in GDAX and they pay the miner's fees themselves when you withdraw. I don't even know how they make money.

htormey 9y ago
Check the screen before you buy, they display fees: https://ibb.co/eCkthc https://ibb.co/eCkthc Also the base price is more expensive than gdax (also owned by coinbase).

scrollaway 9y ago

US-only competitor. Not sure how much that helps. It's a start...