How to Trade Cryptocurrency on Coinbase

If you are interested in trading with cryptocurrency there are several steps that you must take.

The first one involves selecting an exchange on which you will do the trading, and a wallet or wallets
which support the cryptos you are interested in storing later on.

How Start Trading Cryptocurrency on Coinbase

Step 1. Sign up for an account on Coinbase.com, enter a username, password and valid email
address.

A digital currency wallet will be generated for you where you will be able to store your
cryptocurrencies.

Step 2. Next you have to verify your email address. Open your inbox, and check if you have received
a verification email from Coinbase. Click the link and follow the instructions.

Step 3. You will then be required to submit either a scanned copy of an ID document or you can film
yourself while you hold it up in front of your Laptop camera. Coinbase accepts the following
document for this procedure: passport, driving license or any other government approved ID. The
document will be automatically verified online through its Netverify implementation provided by
Jumio.

Step 4. Enable the 2 step authentication feature for your account to increase its security when you
access it.

Step 5. You have to add a payment method so that you can convert digital currency into and out of
your local currency.

Coinbase features different funding options for your account: a debit card, bank transfer, or wire
transfer.

Each of the options features its advantages and disadvantages, as their fees and confirmation times all vary.

• Purchasing with a debit card is the fastest option. As soon as you have made the payment, the
  crypto you have purchased will appear in your account. On the downside, this payment
  method incurs the highest fees.

• Bank transfers feature lower fees, but you will have to wait for 3 to five days before the
  Bitcoins are into your wallet. This might not affect you if you are just interested into
  purchasing the coin for long term holding. But if you want to trade and profit from price
  fluctuations which happen very quickly, you might end up missing out on a lot.

• Wire transfers are also a supported option, but most customers will probably not be too
  interested in using it. This is because this process involves additional verifications, and you
  can’t buy Bitcoin via wire transfers, but you can deposit USD into your Coinbase account, and
  then use it as a payment method.

Coinbase also accepts other payment options which are not based in the US, but the selection is
rather limited. Consult the Payment Methods section on the Coinbase website for additional
information.

Step 6. After you have selected your payment method, put in the amount of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash,
Ethereum, or Litecoin, you want to purchase with US dollars. Wait for a few minutes for the
transaction to be confirmed.

Step 7. Sell the cryptocurrency of your choice for fiat currency.

Some thing to remember before trading with Coinbase:

• You can also use USDC (a stable coin) instead of USD on Coinbase in certain cases. Trading cryptocurrency
  against USDC is available only for some cryptos. Try buying USDC with your bank account and
  then swapping between USDC and USD. By purchasing USDC and USD on Coinbase no fees
  are incurred (when you buy cryptos directly on Coinbase leads to extra fees and premiums).
• Coinbase enforces limits on the amount you can buy/sell in a week. These limits can be
  increased by adding a photo ID and other payment methods. Or they can increase over time
  as you keep trading cryptocurrency.
• In order to be able to trade you have to enter your account’s settings and set up the wallets
  of your respective coins. BTC, LTC, ETH, and USD wallets are placed under “accounts.”
• Having a USD wallet on Coinbase enables you to deposit funds in it and then purchase the
  crypto in an instant from the wallet. Buying directly with your bank account means long
  transaction times of almost a week. Credit cards do not have this issue, but the limits here
  are lower.
• You don’t have to buy an entire coin. You can purchase only fractions of it. An entire Bitcoin
  is pretty expensive, but you can buy satoshis if you do not have the capital. It’s a mistake to
  buy only ETH and LTC just because they cost less.
• All crypto transactions are final.
• If you download the phone app you will be able to trade on the go. Seeing as the market is
  incredibly volatile and how slow are transactions at times, it’s an advantage to buy or sell as
  fast as you can.
• Setting alerts can let you know when is the best time to buy or sell.
• Coinbase offers a feature that enables you to buy incrementally over time.
  Summary

Cryptocurrency is an asset which is prone to volatility, and there is always the risk that the market
will crash, or that the exchange or wallet you use will get hacked. There are always issues which
might occur even on trustworthy exchanges such as Coinbase.

Featured image: Blokt

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