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Simply cutting trading commissions is not enough to compete with Coinbase; I believe they already have competitors that offer lower rates. The main reason they

Simply cutting trading commissions is not enough to compete with Coinbase; I believe they already have competitors that offer lower rates. The main reason they remain one of the largest players in the marketspace is because they are one of the only "fiat bridges" -- a place where you can actually buy and sell crypto for government-backed dollars. There's a reason why there are a dozen crypto exchanges but not many more (any more?) fiat bridges -- it requires setting up banking relationships, complying with KYC regulations, etc.

chollida1 8y ago
> The main reason they remain one of the largest players in the marketspace is because they are one of the only "fiat bridges" -- a place where you can actually buy and sell crypto for government-backed dollars. Fully agree and as I said, when mentioning legal reach, I think this is one area where the big 5 can compete better than even coinbase. They will all - obviously follow the US KYC laws - already have huge legal teams - experience working with government regulators
- Wingman4l7 8y ago
  Yes, but they have absolutely no experience in this marketspace. It's fundamentally very tricky from a fraud perspective -- you have customers using various kinds of reversible payment systems (credit cards, ACH / SEPA bank transfers) to purchase assets that can be irreversibly sent elsewhere. It's also very customer-support heavy, and as another commenter mentioned, these companies may be loath to onboard the large numbers of support staff required.
  - pjc50 8y ago
    Can be made easier if they force everyone to link to their real Facebook account..
    - Wingman4l7 8y ago
      Facebook accounts don't have anywhere near the level of KYC as a bank (or a fiat bridge masquerading as a bank). Think social security numbers, DOB, verified residential address, and copies of government-issued ID. Heck, Facebook accounts don't even really have legal names, just maybe a legit phone number.
      - jacques_chester 8y ago
        Why it's as if it's in Facebook's interest to get this information too.
  - ThrustVectoring 8y ago
    The solution to that is pretty straightforward - do not allow outbound cryptocurrency transactions. Any financial institution already compliant with KYC and AML laws could add in a "deposit cryptocurrency" button and a cryptocurrency exchange and be in business relatively straightforwardly. Or at least have the bar for outbound cryptocurrency transactions be very inconveniently high. Like, "bring your passport into a local branch and wait a week".
    - Wingman4l7 8y ago
      You're not going to have many customers for long if you have a "roach motel" model for depositing funds. Customers get very worried and very angry, very quickly, if they cannot reliably withdraw their funds. You could have "WE DON'T DO CRYPTO WITHDRAWALS, ONLY DEPOSITS" in giant 30pt bright red letters on the account signup flow in three different places, and people would still think they could, and then threaten suits and class actions when they find out they can't. Why would they still think they could, despite all warnings to the contrary? Because withdrawals are a fundamental action in banking, and they think cryptocurrency is another form of money. (Don't get me started on the alien concept of an irreversible transaction...) When you target the cryptocurrency-newbie customer as your market, results like this are unfortunately predictable.

chollida1 8y ago

> The main reason they remain one of the largest players in the marketspace is because they are one of the only "fiat bridges" -- a place where you can actually buy and sell crypto for government-backed dollars. Fully agree and as I said, when mentioning legal reach, I think this is one area where the big 5 can compete better than even coinbase. They will all - obviously follow the US KYC laws - already have huge legal teams - experience working with government regulators

Wingman4l7 8y ago
Yes, but they have absolutely no experience in this marketspace. It's fundamentally very tricky from a fraud perspective -- you have customers using various kinds of reversible payment systems (credit cards, ACH / SEPA bank transfers) to purchase assets that can be irreversibly sent elsewhere. It's also very customer-support heavy, and as another commenter mentioned, these companies may be loath to onboard the large numbers of support staff required.
- pjc50 8y ago
  Can be made easier if they force everyone to link to their real Facebook account..
  - Wingman4l7 8y ago
    Facebook accounts don't have anywhere near the level of KYC as a bank (or a fiat bridge masquerading as a bank). Think social security numbers, DOB, verified residential address, and copies of government-issued ID. Heck, Facebook accounts don't even really have legal names, just maybe a legit phone number.
    - jacques_chester 8y ago
      Why it's as if it's in Facebook's interest to get this information too.
- ThrustVectoring 8y ago
  The solution to that is pretty straightforward - do not allow outbound cryptocurrency transactions. Any financial institution already compliant with KYC and AML laws could add in a "deposit cryptocurrency" button and a cryptocurrency exchange and be in business relatively straightforwardly. Or at least have the bar for outbound cryptocurrency transactions be very inconveniently high. Like, "bring your passport into a local branch and wait a week".
  - Wingman4l7 8y ago
    You're not going to have many customers for long if you have a "roach motel" model for depositing funds. Customers get very worried and very angry, very quickly, if they cannot reliably withdraw their funds. You could have "WE DON'T DO CRYPTO WITHDRAWALS, ONLY DEPOSITS" in giant 30pt bright red letters on the account signup flow in three different places, and people would still think they could, and then threaten suits and class actions when they find out they can't. Why would they still think they could, despite all warnings to the contrary? Because withdrawals are a fundamental action in banking, and they think cryptocurrency is another form of money. (Don't get me started on the alien concept of an irreversible transaction...) When you target the cryptocurrency-newbie customer as your market, results like this are unfortunately predictable.