Coinbase is an exchange on the KYC system (Know Your Customer). They operate by taking a small fee for every transaction. Similar to all other KYC exchanges, you need to become verified by taking pictures of the front and back of your ID and uploading them in. You then can take advantage of the great things that Coinbase has to offer.
Pros:
*Coinbase has the only "Learn and Earn" campaign that pays in real time. Other sites like Coinmarketcap or Binance have similar campaigns, but you don't get instant crypto and for some you may only have a chance and no guarantee.
*The Learn and Earn campaign, allows you to view about 30 seconds worth of slides or video and then take a quiz. Each quiz has one question and is usually multiple choice. Answer correctly and get an instant amount of crypto. Answer incorrectly, and select a different choice until you get it.
*It costs nothing to be eligible for this campaign. While I was on coinbase, I earned about $100 in free crypto.
*While Coinbase will have to report to the IRS next year, per Biden's tax bill, Coinbase cannot report when there has been no sales or gains. I take my crypto and send it to a secure wallet and sometimes, even switch it over to a privacy (untraceable) coin first.
*If you don't like the crypto you have, you can convert it to another one, and in some cases, there is no fee and no minimum amount. However, this is considered a taxable exchange and you will be taxed on this, in America.
*Can be used as a Microwallet (online wallet for sending small amounts of crypto to, and then using that to convert to other crypto or sell). I use Coinbase a lot for this purpose.
Cons:
*Because it is KYC, anything involving FIAT (your bank held currency), could be reported to your government for tax purposes.
*Coinbase does charge a fee for some crypto, like Bitcoin, Etherium or USDC. I have stated that I have not spent that much on crypto, and that is correct. The only money I have ever spent, was through Coinbase, to purchase BTC and then that was used to send to a DEX (Decentralized Exchange or an exchange that doesn't use KYC) to purchase a different crypto. A lot of non-American faucet apps use Coinbase as their pay-out method and it is really easy for me to get a crypto from a faucet, convert it to a different crypto, and then send it off of the site to a secure wallet. Coinbase does offer a referral bonus, in which the person referring would receive a $10 bonus for every $100 the referee spends.
*Taxes. Coinbase operates with the US government IRS system. The way this works, is that everytime you exchange one crypto for another, in order to tax the most, the IRS considers that you sold that original crypto for FIAT and then used that FIAT to buy a new crypto. Both the selling and buying of crypto is considered a taxable event. There is no way around this.
I wrote this post a year ago and since then quit coinbase. I do not consider cryptocurrency a digital asset and I do not feel that I need to pay taxes on money I make.
I am not an expert nor a financial advisor and I will never ask for a tip or send you a referral link, unless you message me and ask for it first. There is enough spam online, that I don't want to contribute to it.
