Coinbase offers a wide variety of cryptocurrencies and has several unique features that have made it a popular crypto platform, especially in the United States. However, its trading fees are too high, making it very expensive to use as a Canadian.
For a better overall trading experience with significantly lower fees, I recommend opening an account with Kraken, my #1-ranked Canadian crypto exchange. Kraken has 250,000+ satisfied users, charges very low trading fees, and is offering a $10 signup bonus (no referral code required) from now until May 21, 2025.
What Is Coinbase?
Coinbase is an American cryptocurrency exchange that was originally founded in 2012. It's based in San Francisco and it's one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. It's also the second largest crypto exchange in the world, the first being Binance.
Coinbase was designed to be one of the easiest places to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency, and it serves retail investors, businesses, and institutions alike. Originally, Coinbase only supported Bitcoin, but Coinbase now supports a much wider array of digital assets.
Coinbase Features
1. Coinbase Pro
Coinbase grants users access to Coinbase Pro, which basically acts as the platform's premium service and advanced trading platform at the same time.
As a Coinbase Pro user, you'll have access to advanced charting tools that the standard Coinbase service doesn't have, and you'll also have a reduction in the trading fee percentages across the board.
2. Coinbase Earn
Coinbase will also grant you access to its Coinbase Earn feature, which is a collection of educational resources that will be especially helpful for beginner crypto investors.
Coinbase Earn comes with video tutorials on individual cryptocurrencies. Once you've watched them all, you'll be prompted to answer a quiz about the crypto in question to see how much you've learned. If you answer the quiz correctly, you'll get a small reward in said crypto into your Coinbase account.
3. Coinbase Wallet
Coinbase will also grant you access to online storage wallets through its Coinbase Wallet app, allowing you to manage your private keys and crypto assets from the comfort of your mobile phone.
If you're not completely convinced by a software wallet service like this, do know that your private keys remain protected on your own device with Secure Enclave, biometric authentication, and even cloud backups if you wanted to do so. You’ll also get a unique recovery phrase so no one but you can access your crypto wallet.
Cryptocurrencies On Coinbase
Coinbase supports over 100 digital assets. Here are some of the most popular cryptocurrencies that Coinbase currently supports:
| Bitcoin (BTC) | Uniswap (UNI) | Yearn.Finance (YFI) | Stellar (XLM) |
| Ethereum (ETH) | Chainlink (LINK) | Tezos (XTZ) | Aave (AAVE) |
| Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | Ethereum Classic (ETC) | Algorand (ALGO) | Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) |
| Litecoin (LTC) | Maker (MKR) | Compound (COMP) | Internet Computer (ICP) |
| Cardano (ADA) | Cosmos (ATOM) | Polygon (MATIC) | Tether (USDT) |
Coinbase Fees
For crypto purchases up to $200 USD, Coinbase charges between $0.99 to $2.99 in fees. Once you exceed $200, these percentages apply:
| Payment method | Fee percentage |
| Bank account | 1.49% |
| Debit or credit card | 3.99% |
| Coinbase USD Wallet | 1.49% |
| Credit transaction | 2% |
| Wire Transfer | Between $10 to $25 |
| ACH Transfer | Free |
Coinbase also charges a spread starting at 0.5% and varying depending on how much crypto you're buying and market fluctuations.
Introducing Kraken: Our #1-Rated Crypto Exchange In Canada
Best In Canada
|
Total Fees: ~0.16% |
★★★★★ Rated 4.9/5 |
Based in the U.S. and regulated by FINTRAC in Canada, Kraken is undoubtedly the best crypto exchange in Canada. Founded in San Francisco back in 2011, Kraken outperforms the smaller Canadian crypto exchanges due to its significantly lower fees, better customer support, and superior overall trading experience.
For starters, Kraken's fees are far lower than any Canadian exchange, with most users paying 0.16% per transaction (fees decrease down to 0% if you trade high volumes). Kraken's spreads are also absurdly low, typically around $0.10 per Bitcoin, which is 0.0003%. Compare that with the other Canadian exchanges—which routinely charge up to 2% in commissions plus an additional 2% or more in spreads—and it's easy to see why Kraken is such a popular exchange.
Kraken also has better customer support than any other Canadian exchange, and is the only exchange in Canada offering telephone support (available in English, French and Spanish). It supports 100+ cryptocurrencies and has a world-class trading platform and mobile app that's powerful yet easy to use.
If that wasn't enough, Kraken's trading platform is far more professional and robust than its Canadian peers, offering features like NFT trading, staking and support for a wide range of fiat currencies including CAD, USD, EUR, and more.
Overall, Kraken is the best fit for most Canadian crypto investors because it has lower fees, better support and a better trading platform overall. If you're looking to start trading crypto in Canada, we strongly recommend Kraken.
Features
- Extremely low trading commissions (0.16%)
- Extremely low spreads (0.0003%)
- Trade 100+ cryptocurrencies
- Stake 100+ cryptocurrencies
- Simple, intuitive user interface
- Kraken Crypto Watch allows you to keep track of the crypto market
- NFT trading inside the Kraken app
- 24/7 customer support via phone, email and live chat
- Plenty of free educational resources available to users
- 95% cold storage policy
- Regulated by FINTRAC
Cost
- Trading Fees: 0.16% (spot trades cost 0.26%)
- Spreads: 0.0003%
- Fiat Deposit Fee: 0%
- Fiat Withdrawal Fee: $10 CAD
Best For
Canadian cryptocurrency investors looking to trade with the industry's lowest fees.
In Summary
Coinbase offers a wide variety of cryptocurrencies and has several unique features that have made it a popular crypto platform, especially in the United States. However, its trading fees are too high, making it very expensive to use as a Canadian.
For a better overall trading experience with significantly lower fees, I recommend opening an account with Kraken, my #1-ranked Canadian crypto exchange. Kraken has 250,000+ satisfied users, charges very low trading fees, and is offering a $10 signup bonus (no referral code required) from now until May 21, 2025.
Coinbase FAQs
How To Withdraw From Coinbase
To withdraw funds from your Coinbase account, all you need to do is follow these three simple steps:
- Sign in to your Coinbase Commerce account.
- Click on the Withdraw button in the Balances section.
- A window will pop up and ask how much do you want to withdraw and where will you send these funds to.
Is Coinbase Safe?
Yes, Coinbase is a safe crypto exchange to use. 98% of all of their crypto tokens are held offline in cold storage, and the remaining 2% of crypto assets that are held online are insured. If Coinbase were to be hacked at any point in time, their insurance policy would cover any funds lost in the process.
Is Coinbase Available In Canada?
Yes, Coinbase is available for Canadians, though with its spotty track record in Canada and high foreign exchange fees for using Canadian dollars, we can't recommend it.
Is Coinbase Legal In Canada?
Yes, Coinbase is legal to use in Canada, and it's a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange as well.
Coinbase Referral Code
Unfortunately, there are no Coinbase referral codes available at this time. If you want a $10 signup bonus with our #1-ranked exchange Kraken, though, you can get that here.
Does Coinbase Report To The CRA?
No, Coinbase is not obligated to report its users' activities to the Canada Revenue Agency. Considering that Coinbase is originally based in the U.S., you'll have to download your transaction history in order to report your transactions to the CRA. Coinbase does not provide tax forms for international customers, including Canadians.
