Is Coinbase Safe?

Are you a cryptocurrency investor? Then, you’ve probably heard of Coinbase. Coinbase is one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States and worldwide. It offers a comprehensive platform for advanced trading and investments, but is Coinbase safe? Coinbase might offer promising security features, but you should always consider the possible risks that come with it.

Is coinbase safe

Table of contents

What is Coinbase?

Coinbase is primarily recognized as one of the top-leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States and worldwide! In fact, it’s one of the best Bitcoin wallets till today. Its services offer users a platform for advanced trading, cryptocurrency investments as a secure storage wallet for investors, where users can make crypto payments. The service alone has managed to grasp around 56 million users worldwide. Even though the advantages are plentiful, there are still some concerns surrounding possible risks and threats using Coinbase.

How does Coinbase work?

Coinbase is a user-friendly cryptocurrency app that allows users to sell or buy around 50 different cryptocurrencies. It works by allowing you to convert one cryptocurrency to another, to receive or send it to others. This app operates like a stock trading platform, where users can check their cryptocurrency portfolios, check the varying cryptocurrency prices and trends, and more.

To create a Coinbase account, the app requires a fair amount of legal information for documentation, like your name, address, social security number, date of birth, etc. To sign up, you will need to download the Coinbase app on your smartphone and create your account by clicking on “Get Started.”

Provide a legit name and email address and click on “Start” to complete creating your account. You will then receive verification codes via email and your cell phone number for identification. Once the sign up procedure is done, you will be asked to choose how you use the Coinbase app.

It ranges from options like online payments, investing, buying or selling, or whether you’d like to invest in other exchanges. Click on “Continue,” and that’s about it! Lastly, you will be asked to link your bank account and log in with your online banking information.

Knowing that extremely sensitive information and bank account details are linked to Coinbase, most users ask whether Coinbase is safe or not.

What coins are available on Coinbase?

Aave (AAVE)Dash (DASH)DistrictOx (DNT)EOS (EOS)
Ethereum Classic (ETC)Bitcoin Cash (BCH)Bancor Network Token (BNT)Stellar Lumens (XLM)
Ripples (XRP)Tezos (XTZ)Yearn.finance (YFI)Zcash (ZEC)
0x (ZRX)Bitcoin Satoshi’s Vision (BSV) (Send Only)Bitcoin (BTC)Celo (CGLD)
Compound (COMP)Algorand (ALGO)Cosmos (ATOM)EThe Balancer (BAL)
Band Protocol (BAND)Basic Attention Token (BAT)Civic (CVC)Dai (DAI)
Ethereum (ETH)Filecoin (FIL)Litecoin (LTC)Decentraland (MANA)
Maker (MKR)Numeraire (NMR)NuCypher (NU)OMG Network (OMG)
Orchid (OXT)Ren (REN)Augur (REP)The Graph (GRT)
Golem (GNT)Kyber Network (KNC)Chainlink (LINK)Loom Network (LOOM)
Loopring (LRC)Synthetix (SNX)USD Coin (USDC)Universal Market Access (UMA)
Uniswap (UNI)Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)

Is Coinbase safe?

To what degree can we be certain whether a cryptocurrency app like Coinbase is safe or not? Coinbase operates using extremely high levels of security precautions that are promised to protect user privacy, data, and all crypto assets. However, that level of security is only safe to a certain limit.

Coinbase stores around 98% of its customer funds offline, distributed in safe deposits according to regions, in vaults around the world. The service also stores all sensitive data over their servers which aren’t achievable through the internet. It is to ensure measures against theft

However, as reported by ABC Action News investigator Adam Walser, there have been many instances where cyber-criminals have now developed new and successful ways of draining user cryptocurrency accounts almost instantly. He also mentioned that these funds aren’t recoverable. One of the named victims was couple Tanja and Jared Vidovic who lost 3 years worth of cryptocurrency investments, a total of $170,000.

Other incidents have occurred back in 2017, where both victims Adam Dachis and Cody Brown resorted to Coinbase “security measures” of Two Factor Authentication and Authy. However, all results of security precautions were in vain as their accounts were still hacked, robbed, and still no signs of being refunded.

There really is no real solution to stopping the overall hackings from happening on Coinbase, but that does not mean users should sit by and do nothing about it. There are still ways for you to secure your crypto wallet and slow down the overall theft rate.

How to secure your Coinbase account

As mentioned above, Coinbase might not be the safest option, as its overall security measures aren’t quite enough. However, there are still measures or precautions that users can look into to help lower the risks:

  • If you create an account for Coinbase, make sure you sign up using a separate and unique or unidentifiable email address. Never use the same email ID as other media accounts.
  • Longer or complex passwords are the right direction to go in, and just in case you’re not sure about how to create them, maybe the best password manager could help.
  • It is necessary to set up two-factor authentication and a Coinbase vault for offsites.
  • Make sure you don’t discuss anything about cryptocurrency online and the possibilities of you creating your account.
  • Using a “do not port” SIM card.
  • Turn off the SMS 2FA just in case it leads to an attack and compromises your email.
  •  To avoid your Coinbase account from getting hacked through your computer, it might be wise not to keep all your cryptocurrency investments in one place.
  • Store all bitcoins offline through something called “Cold wallet.”

Coinbase is most certainly not 100% secure, as no software or app is. It’s why we recommend taking active precautions in any way you can.

FAQs

Is Coinbase safe?

Coinbase is one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges today, but it doesn’t come without risks. The company might maintain security measures and insurance policies to protect users against any loss or theft, but that hasn’t seen the light of day with the many hacking instances in the past couple of years.

Is Coinbase available worldwide?

No, Coinbase is only available to users in regions within the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Europe.

Does Coinbase offer security measures like multi-factor authentication?

Yes, it does offer 2FA, Authy, one-time passwords, and other measures.

Can you use a VPN for Coinbase?

Regardless of what cryptocurrency exchange you’re using, a Virtual Private Network could help lower the overall risks. Firstly, you will be able to sign in to your Coinbase account using a US server if you ever find yourself traveling abroad or out of the permissible region. Secondly, a VPN offers double the encryption, online privacy, and protection against phishing or malware attacks. It might not solve the overall safety of using Coinbase, but it does help to a degree. We recommend using a reliable and affordable provider such as FastestVPN since it offers top-grade security features.


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