Trading and Investing

Binance Vs. Coinbase: Which Is A Better Crypto Exchange?

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October 25, 2021
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    Whether you’re a crypto enthusiast or a full-time crypto trader, you must have heard about Binance and Coinbase. Both exchanges are packed with features and you can easily get overwhelmed as to which among Binance vs. Coinbase is a better exchange for you.

    We have debunked all the major features of Binance and Coinbase to help you make the right decision for your crypto needs. Read on to find out!

    Binance

    With the support of more than 500 cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, Binance Coin (BNB), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), and the likes, Binance has popularized itself to become one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges. The exchange launched in 2017 and is based out of Hong Kong. However, as a reaction to China's stringent rules on crypto exchange firms, it relocated its headquarters to Malta in 2018.

    Binance places a heavy emphasis on cryptocurrency trading and promises high levels of safety and security, as well as a multi-tier and multi-clustered design that allows for great processing throughput. Binance claims to be able to handle 1.4 million orders per second.

    Pros Of Binance

    • Over 500 cryptocurrencies supported (about 52 coins for U.S. residents)
    • Low fees
    • Enhanced security features
    • Many services available
    • No minimum deposit required

    Cons Of Binance

    • Unavailable in 7 U.S. states
    • Lesser crypto-to-crypto pairings are available compared to global scale

    Coinbase

    More than 50 million verified users and ranked among the top crypto exchanges in terms of liquidity, traffic, and trading volume— this is what makes Coinbase the most preferred crypto exchange among crypto investors and traders.

    Coinbase began its journey in 2012 as a cryptocurrency brokerage, but also started to diversify itself by providing custodial services for institutional cryptocurrency storage, and establishing a cryptocurrency payments network for businesses. It also launched its own cryptocurrency, USD Coin (USDC), which is a stable cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar.

    Pros Of Coinbase

    • Good selection of altcoins to choose from
    • Use friendly interface
    • Exceptionally high liquidity
    • More than 50 cryptocurrencies are available
    • Low minimum funding requirement
    • Covered by insurance

    Cons Of Coinbase

    • High fees compared to other exchanges
    • Some exchanges may not have as many altcoins as others.
    • Customer service could be better

    Binance Vs. Coinbase: A Comparison

    Both Binance and Coinbase are leading crypto exchanges, and they both have different business models. 

    Even though Binance has a difficult learning curve, it caters to expert customers and offers hundreds of currency trading alternatives to international traders. The major drawback is that it is not available in all US states, but it has low-cost transactions makes it unbeatable when compared to Coinbase. Coinbase has a user-friendly interface that is sleeker than Binance’s. 

    Here is a detailed comparison between Binance and Coinbase, categorized into various categories like supported coins, fees, security, and all the major features that you’d look for when choosing the best crypto exchange.

    Binance Vs. Coinbase: Specifications

    Binance is best suited for peer-to-peer trading and crypto-to-crypto trading, whereas Coinbase is ideally suited for traders who want to exchange one cryptocurrency for another. 

    Because the platforms are designed for different user bases, the feature sets are vastly diverse. Both however offer mobile applications with watch lists and live price tracking. The similarities, however, end there.

    Binance provides the following benefits:

    • Rewards center that provides challenges and giveaways as a method to earn cryptocurrency.
    • Hundreds of indicators and overlays are available for advanced charting
    • API keys made public for integrating other software tools
    • Binance offers over 13 different transaction methods.
    • The ability to use Trust Wallet, a third-party digital wallet.
    • Available in over 180 countries, Binance US is available in 43 states except for Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, Texas, Vermont, Idaho, and Louisiana.

    Coinbase, in comparison to Binance, provides more features for US citizens but fewer alternatives for overseas traders. Among the features are:

    • A safe, digital hot wallet that works with Coinbase and other exchanges
    • Ability to withdraw funds from your PayPal account
    • Available for use in over 100 countries and 49 states, with residents of Hawaii barred from trading
    • Newsfeed that displays the most recent crypto news
    • Limited charting options, including the ability to track exponential moving averages with Coinbase Pro
    • Earn cryptocurrency by watching videos

    In addition, Binance users in the United States are unable to pay by credit card or execute margin trades, whereas Coinbase accepts credit card payments and allows margin trading on Coinbase Pro.

    Binance Vs. Coinbase: Supported Coins

    Binance is best known for its extensive cryptocurrency list, which includes over 500 options for non-US customers. It supports popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and also supports lesser-known coins like Harmony (ONE), VeChain (VET), VeThor Token (VTHO), and the likes. The Binance.US exchange, on the other hand, only accepts 52 currencies.

    On its standard platform, Coinbase provides 51 trading currencies, while the Coinbase Pro exchange offers 57. Both Coinbase and Binance support the following cryptocurrencies:

    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Cardano (ADA)
    • Compound (COMP)
    • Cosmos (ATOM)
    • Dash (DASH)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Litecoin (LTC)
    • Storj (STORJ)

    Coinbase also accepts fiat currencies such as:

    • US dollar
    • British pound
    • Euro

    Binance accepts 19 fiat currencies including:

    • US dollar
    • Euro
    • Australian dollar
    • British pound
    • Hong Kong dollar
    • Indian rupee.

    Binance provides 50 to 591 cryptocurrency pairs depending on your region, whereas Coinbase only accepts 51 for US consumers.

    Binance Vs. Coinbase: Fees

    Binance's costs are among the lowest in the market, whereas Coinbase's are among the most expensive. Although customers in the United States will pay somewhat more on Binance.US, it is still far less expensive than Coinbase.

    Here’s a summarization of fees on Coinbase Vs Binance:

    Fees Coinbase Binance
    Purchases 0% to 0.50% 0.02% to 0.1%
    Trades 0.50% 0.02% to 0.1%
    Crypto conversions 0.50% to 2% -
    Bank account 1.49% Free outside of the U.S.
    Credit/debit card 3.99% 3% to 4.5%
    ACH Transfer Free Free
    Wire transfer $10 deposit, $25 withdrawal $15 for U.S. customers
    Wallet 1.49% -
    Other fees $0.99 to $2.99 based on the amount 0.50% instant buy and sell fee

    Binance Vs. Coinbase: Security

    Now coming to the most important aspect of a cryptocurrency exchange- security features. 

    Two-Factor Authentication

    Both Coinbase and Binance support two-factor authentication (2FA) using SMS or Google authenticator. 

    Identity Verification

    While Coinbase users must provide identity verification by a photo or government-issued ID from all customers, Binance only asks this of US-based users or those looking to invest and trade greater sums.

    Insurance

    Both Coinbase and Binance have all their USD holdings guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) up to $250,000 and stored in custodial bank accounts.

    Binance Security Features

    • Address whitelisting
    • Manage device
    • Ability to restrict device access

    Coinbase Security Features

    • Biometric access
    • 98% funds in air-gapped storage
    • 2% funds in hot storage

    Binance Vs. Coinbase: Transaction

    Binance provides five more forms of orders for crypto derivatives, especially futures contracts. Among these trading orders are:

    1. Limit order
    2. Market order
    3. Stop-limit order
    4. Trailing stop order
    5. Post only order
    6. Peer-to-peer trading
    7. One-cancels-the-other order, and more

    The types of transactions supported by Coinbase are:

    1. Buy
    2. Sell
    3. Send
    4. Receive
    5. Exchange

    Binance Vs. Coinbase: Summary

    Here’s our list of the most important features.

    Feature Binance Coinbase
    Best suited for
  1. Peer-to-peer trading
  2. Crypto-to-crypto trading
  3. Traders who want to exchange one cryptocurrency for another
    Features
  4. Rewards center
  5. Indicators and overlays for advanced charting
  6. API keys made public
  7. 13+ different transaction methods
  8. Trust Wallet support
  9. Available in 180+ countries
  10. Binance US is available in 43 states

  11. Hot wallet supporting Coinbase and other exchanges
  12. Withdraw funds from PayPal
  13. Available for use in over 100 countries and 49 states
  14. Crypto newsfeed
  15. Coins supported 50 to 591 cryptocurrency pairs depending on your region 51
    Fees
  16. Lowest in the market
  17. Slightly higher for US users
  18. High fees
    Security
  19. 2FA
  20. FDIC insurance
  21. Address whitelisting
  22. Manage device
  23. Ability to restrict device access
  24. 2FA
  25. FDIC insurance
  26. Biometric access
  27. 98% funds in air-gapped storage
  28. 2% funds in hot storage
  29. Final Verdict: Binance Vs. Coinbase 

    The choice of cryptocurrency exchange depends on various factors such as whether you focus on peer-to-peer trading or using an exchange for swapping one crypto to another, your location, the cryptocurrency you’re dealing with, and a lot more.

    This in-depth analysis on Binance vs Coinbase shines a light on the various differences and similarities between the two exchanges- be it security features, fees, or supported coins.

    If you’re looking for security, Coinbase would be the right choice for you. But if you’re looking for a wide range of supported coins at a lesser fee, Binance is a clear winner, unless you’re a US resident.

    Binance Vs. Coinbase FAQs

    1. What are the benefits of using Binance?

    Binance is best suited for peer-to-peer trading and crypto-to-crypto trading. Binance provides the following benefits:
  30. Rewards center that provides challenges and giveaways as a method to earn cryptocurrency.
  31. Hundreds of indicators and overlays are available for advanced charting
  32. API keys made public for integrating other software tools
  33. Binance offers over 13 different transaction methods.
  34. The ability to use Trust Wallet, a third-party digital wallet.
  35. Available in over 180 countries, Binance US is only available in 43 states except for Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, Texas, Vermont, Idaho, and Louisiana.
  36. 2. Will Binance send me Binance tax documents?

    Unlike certain other exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini that fill out IRS forms for you, Binance does not do much of the crypto legwork for you. In other words, no, Binance exchange does not send you any Binance tax reporting document.

    3. What is the wallet fee for Coinbase?

    Coinbase does not charge any fee for transactions between coinbase wallets, however, network fee applies on transactions involving other wallets. The inter-network transaction fee could either be a flat fee or may vary between 1.49% to 3.99%.

    4. How many coins does Binance support?

    Binance is known for its extensive cryptocurrency list, which includes over 500 options for non-US customers. It supports popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and also supports lesser-known coins like Harmony (ONE), VeChain (VET), VeThor Token (VTHO), and the likes. The Binance.US exchange, on the other hand, only accepts 52 currencies.

    5. Are the funds on Binance and Coinbase insured?

    Both Coinbase and Binance have all their USD holdings guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) up to $250,000 and stored in custodial bank accounts.


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