The first thing I did when I decided to start my crypto journey a few months ago was google what to do and as I have blogged before it is fair to say the Coinbase completely owned the first page of my results. I was drawn particularly by the words trust and underwritten which gave me the confidence that any funds invested would at least be secured and any profits or losses will ultimately only come down to my decision making and there was no chance of being ripped off.
Given that US-based Coinbase is the largest player in the world there is little wonder they feature so dominantly on the market. It is well known that Google skew results and money talks.
I soon realised that compared to other providers Coinbase are expensive and their trading model has laid out a number of fees that could eat your profits away. Having said that they are upfront and straightforward with fees – you just have to be a bit careful of the shown prices, which are not the trading prices (I have discussed this in an earlier article). There are many services out there that seemingly offer services for free claiming that they make money on the spread, but then you end up making a flat rate payment for services which can easily wipe out profits especially in the case of making micro or relatively small trades as many beginners do as they start with a modest fund.
For the first couple of months I thought it might have been a mistake to throw my lot in with Coinbase, but now I am having second thoughts...
It is notable that Coinbase are evolving and as a result are becoming more attractive to the investor. I guess the old adage of adapt or die comes to mind.
Their staking rates on TEZOs (4.67%) and the more recently introduced Cosmos staking (5%) is relatively competitive and offers a reasonable return. DAI staking is offered at a steady 2% which while being far from inflation busting is much better than you would get from the bank (mine offers 0.01%). With it being a stablecoin investors are even better off just taking their savings from their fiat currency and dumping it all in DAI on Coinbase.
It is not the best investment, but it beats it rotting in the bank. If you consider doing this just remember to factor in the original purchase cost of the DAI beforehand as it will not be worthwhile if it outstrips the staking rewards before you wish to draw on it.
However, the main way that Coinbase have become more competitive is that they have extended their Earn rewards scheme with them offering rewards in, Compound, Stellar, Algorand, Maker, Celo and BitCoin. Earn rewards can potentially amass $171 in free crypto.
Rewards are offered for joining up that are payable upon completing your first $100 transaction. More are being added all the time and in the last month I have made $40 in crypto just for watching a few videos and answering a few simple questions.
Please consider visiting the following links:
Join Coinbase to join and earn both of us £7.57 (about $10) although some simple terms and conditions apply
Earn Stellar. Be advised there is a waiting queue. The other listed coins are available under similar conditions
All in all it seems that Coinbase have opened their eyes to what their competitors are doing and in their own way they have become a serious consideration for investors.
This can only be good news as each provider seeks to outdo the others and that means better offers for us.
Finally I think it is important to note that I no longer hold all of my funds in Coinbase. I am now hodling profits on Celsius Network, although this is not without it's problems as discussed in previous articles.
Stay safe and stay well
