Strong points
Today, numerous crypto wallets share the market. Are you interested in crypto wallets developed by the big names in the industry? Read this Coinbase Wallet review, where you will find all the information you need to know about this decentralized hot wallet designed by one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges.
Coinbase
Coinbase
| Hot / Cold | Hot (online) |
| Custodial / Non custodial | Non custodial |
| Support | Application mobile, extension Chrome |
| Supported cryptos | Networks Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and compatible EVM |
| Integrated functions | Purchase, exchange, NFT storage, DeFi applications |
| Prix | Free |
| Fees | 0% |
| Available in English | Yes |
Coinbase Wallet is a crypto wallet. Its primary function is to store your cryptocurrencies securely. You can therefore receive cryptos on this wallet, or send them to another wallet or crypto exchange. You could roughly say that the crypto wallet is the equivalent of a cryptocurrency bank account.
If you know anything about the cryptocurrency sector, the name Coinbase probably rings a bell. Indeed, the Coinbase exchange is the second leading crypto trading platform, according to data from CoinMarketCap). So it’s worth clarifying one important point: the Coinbase exchange offers its users an integrated wallet. However, this has nothing to do with Coinbase Wallet. Coinbase Wallet is independent of the Coinbase exchange. In practice, this means that you can use the Coinbase exchange without using Coinbase Wallet, and vice versa.
Today, there is a wide range of crypto wallets, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. What about Coinbase hardware Wallet? To get an idea of what Coinbase Wallet is, you need to know that it’s a hot wallet, not a custodial one. It is compatible with several blockchains and can manage different coins and tokens.
Read on to find out more about Coinbase Wallet’s features.
Coinbase
Coinbase
Coinbase Wallet is the product of Coinbase Inc. The Coinbase platform was created in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam. At the time, the idea was to make it easier to buy and sell Bitcoin.
Over time, the exchange opened up to other cryptocurrencies and the company developed other services. Coinbase Wallet was launched in 2018. Coinbase thus offers its users the opportunity to retain control of their funds in a decentralized and secure crypto wallet.
Let’s start with a quick rundown of Coinbase Wallet’s features.
One of the first parameters to consider when choosing a crypto wallet is the type of storage. More specifically, the question is whether it’s “hot” or “cold” storage.
A hot wallet is constantly connected to the Internet. The main advantage of hot wallets is that it’s very easy to access funds. For example, web wallets or wallets integrated into exchange platforms are hot wallets. They can also be a mobile application or browser extension, as is the case with Coinbase Wallet. In return for ease of use, hot wallets are more vulnerable to cyber-attacks due to their online presence.
Cold wallets, on the other hand, are mostly offline, which means that also Coinbase cold wallet will be totally offline. As such, they guarantee a higher level of security. On the other hand, they are often considered more time-consuming to use. Hardware wallets such as Ledger and Trezor are cold wallets.
It’s also important to know that Coinbase Wallet is non-custodial. What does this mean? In short, only the wallet user has access to his or her private keys. Why is this important?
A crypto wallet is characterized by a public key and a private key. The public key could be compared to the IBAN of your bank account in that it identifies the wallet. The public key can be communicated (for example, to someone who wants to send you cryptos), without compromising the security of your funds.
The private key, on the other hand, enables you to access and dispose of your funds. In this respect, it’s comparable to the credentials you use to access your online bank account. With the private key, you can decide how to use your funds.
With a custodial wallet, the wallet provider retains the private key and simply lets the user access their wallet. If for any reason the provider decides to block access… good luck finding your cryptos!
But Coinbase crypto Wallet is NOT custodial. This means that Coinbase Wallet transmits the private keys to you and does not keep any copies. So even if Coinbase’s servers were to come under attack, your cryptos would remain safe.
Coinbase Wallet is compatible with several blockchains. In fact, the wallet supports the following networks:
In total, Coinbase Wallet claims to be able to store thousands of tokens .
Important: As of January 21, 2022, Coinbase no longer supports certain coins due to low usage. These are the following cryptos: Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Stellar (XLM) and XRP (XRP).
Coinbase Wallet is available in 2 different formats:
Coinbase Wallet’s primary function is to store digital assets. Nevertheless, the application embeds a few additional features to facilitate the management and use of your cryptos. Find out what they are.
With Coinbase Wallet, you don’t need to use the services of a third party to buy cryptos. You can do it directly from the Coinbase Wallet interface. Simply click on the “Buy or Transfer” button and follow the instructions. Coinbase Wallet lets you buy cryptos by credit card from over 90 countries.
Alternatively, you can transfer your cryptos from another wallet or exchange (Coinbase or other). Remember that the Coinbase exchange and Coinbase Wallet are separate entities. Consequently, sending cryptos from Coinbase Exchange to Coinbase Wallet incurs the usual blockchain-related transaction fees.
Coinbase Wallet also enables you to make so-called crypto-crypto exchanges via its integrated decentralized exchange (DEX). This feature only concerns assets on the BNB Chain, Ethereum, Avalanche C-Chain and Polygon networks. This means that assets hosted on these blockchains can be exchanged with each other directly from the Coinbase Wallet interface.
This integrated service means you don’t have to send funds to an exchange to make a swap. This reduces the risk of error, and ensures maximum protection for your assets.
NFTs, or “Non Fungible” are becoming increasingly popular. The vast majority of NFTs are developed on the Ethereum blockchain. Nevertheless, other blockchains like Solana , Cardano or Klaytn are eating away at market share.
Coinbase Wallet focuses on Ethereum NFTs and Polygon NFTs. As such, it enables you to store these NFTs securely, and also helps you to buy and sell NFTs more easily.
The wallet also enables its users to explore the world of the decentralized web. For example, Coinbase Wallet can help you to:
Coinbase Wallet is a free crypto wallet. You can download and install the application free of charge. Likewise, no commission is charged for storing or receiving cryptos.
On the other hand, sending and exchanging cryptos generates different fees. Naturally, network costs are unavoidable. These fees do not accrue to Coinbase Wallet but to the miners or network nodes that process the transaction on the blockchain. In addition, the wallet applies fees for all exchanges made on its own interface. To date, Coinbase Wallet does not charge any fee on any exchange.
