FTX Vs Coinbase – Best New #1?

Cryptocurrency Exchanges: Coinbase Vs FTX

If you talk to many old-school Crypto investors today and ask them where they made their first ever-crypto trade, the majority will undoubtedly say Coinbase. The reason? Because this exchange has been operating since 2012, which is ancient in the Cryptocurrency world—and has a stellar reputation for being safe, regulated, and user-friendly. 

However, while Coinbase served as many individuals “entry point” into the cryptocurrency world, is the exchange’s successful track record enough for it to maintain its ranking, or does the up and coming “rising star” FTX have what it takes to “David and Goliath” the Crypto Titan and continue to take market share away? Confused? Don’t be. Below, we have a breakdown of the critical features and stats from Coinbase vs FTX to help you move along your Crypto Journey.

FTX Vs Coinbase – Background

FTX is a cryptocurrency exchange established by traders for traders. Given its volume, FTX enables individuals to trade in cutting-edge goods such as derivatives that are first in the industry, leveraged tokens, and volatility products. The exchange platform, which includes both the web and the mobile app, strives to be intuitive and powerful enough for beginners and experienced traders alike. 

If you are looking for information specifically on FTX, here is our specific FTX Review article.

On the other hand, Coinbase—established in 2012 to serve as a platform for sending and receiving Bitcoin—is a crypto exchange that allows users to purchase and sell digital currency while transferring and storing it online in a safe environment. However, if you wish to trade derivatives, non-financial instruments, or NFTs, Coinbase does not yet provide that option. 

Check our other Coinbase comparisons here: eToro, PayPal, Wazirx

Crypto Exchange Overview

• Headquarters: FTX (Nassau, Bahamas) Coinbase (N/A)
• Cryptocurrency Market: FTX (275+) Coinbase (140+)
• Native Token:  FTX (FTT) Coinbase (N/A)
• Maker/Taker Fees: FTX (0.00%) Coinbase (0.04%)
• Security: FTX (High) Coinbase (Medium)
• Marketplace: FTX (Cryptocurrency, Derivatives, Options, NFTs, Prediction Market, Earn, Leveraged Tokens) Coinbase (Cryptocurrency)
• Fiat Currency Support: (USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, HKD, SGD, TRY, ZAR, CAD, CHF, BRL) Coinbase (USD, GBP, EUR)

FTX Vs Coinbase – Products and Features

When it comes to the provided goods, we have to give a significant advantage to FTX since their product offering is significantly more extensive than that of Coinbase. Coinbase is essentially a cryptocurrency exchange with a few simple techniques for users to generate passive income via staking, lagging behind competitors like FTX in terms of earning tools. 

Aside from traditional cryptocurrency trading, FTX also provides derivatives and options trading and an NFT marketplace, which is a game-changer since many crypto traders are also NFT fanatics. 

Surprisingly, FTX has a more extensive selection of altcoins, making them a better choice for those looking for rare altcoin gems. On the other hand, it also has more markets for advanced traders, such as the Volatility and Prediction markets. Moreover, FTX has the advantage of day trading, but if you are looking for a genuinely accessible location to purchase and store Crypto, you can’t go wrong with Coinbase, which is both simple and easy to use.

FTX Vs Coinbase – Fee Structure

The most common complaint leveled against Coinbase is that it provides terrible customer service (more on that later) and charges excessive fees. Even after being objective, still, there’s no getting around the reality that Coinbase charges far more than the majority of its competitors in practically every category, from trading fees to deposits and withdrawals to customer service. 

Many users, however, believe that the fees are worth the chance to trade on such a respectable and professional cryptocurrency exchange that is completely regulated and compliance-friendly, so don’t be too hard on them on this one. However, if paying the most nominal fees is your primary aim, you will undoubtedly want to go with FTX as your broker.

Both FTX and Coinbase operate on a tiered pricing system depending on trading volume, so the more you trade, the more you save on your transaction fees. However, users of Coinbase do not begin to experience competitive trading costs until they have traded more than one million dollars in volume, and even then, the rates are still more than what the ordinary user would pay on FTX. 

On top of that, holders of FTX’s FTT token are also eligible for additional discounts; the more tokens you have, the greater the savings. Below is an overview of FTX’s trading fees and discounts:

In terms of deposit and withdrawal costs, FTX is the clear winner here. SEPA deposits and withdrawals are free on Coinbase; however, wire deposits and withdrawals are charged at $10 per deposit and $25 per transaction. Moreover, Coinbase also charges €0.15 for SEPA deposits and withdrawals and £1 for Swift withdrawals. 

For FTX, there are no deposit fees, and they only charge for withdrawals made in USD and BRL, which is excellent news for European and United Kingdom users. We would strongly advise US readers to use FTX.US; however, if you insist on using the international FTX, you should know that there is a $75 fee for any USD withdrawals under $10,000. In comparison, residents of Brazil who wish to withdraw BRL will be charged a 0.3 percent-plus R$10 withdrawal fee.

Click here to try out the FTX Exchange with the free account offer.

FTX Vs Coinbase – Security 

It is common to fall into the trap of the “it won’t happen to me” mentality regarding cryptocurrency exchanges. And this is the reason why Coinbase doesn’t have a proven track record of placing a high priority on security compared to FTX. It all started in May 2021 when Coinbase suffered a hack where over 6,000 Coinbase customer accounts were drained of $24,000 despite claiming to have two-factor authentication enabled, and the account was password-protected. 

However, Coinbase did reimburse the funds of the over 6,000 customers who were hacked after discovering that the fault was in the platform’s two-factor authentication (2FA) system. Up to this point, there have been no reported breaches on FTX, which is a promising indication.

For starters, FTX takes security very seriously. There is, of course, the industry-standard 2FA option for logins, account updates, and withdrawals (which should always be enabled) and a need for a minimum password difficulty. On the other hand, FTX provides additional security barriers to prevent hackers from draining an account, which ensures that even if hackers gain access to your account, they will require the secondary 2FA and password before doing any severe damage.

Aside from the hacks, Coinbase is also a strong performer in terms of security. The company has more than ten years of experience in refining its security systems. They even provide custodial solutions. Institutions trust Coinbase with hundreds of millions in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which Coinbase then holds in cold storage on their behalf.

Crypto Exchanges Overview

FTX

• Withdrawal Lock 
• Email Notifications 
• Sub-account Functions
• Two-Factor Authentication 
• Whitelisting IP and Wallet Addresses

Coinbase

• Multi-Email 
• Address Whitelisting 
• Two-Factor Authentication 
• Crypto Storage Vault Feature
• Minimum Password Complexity 

FTX Vs Coinbase – Customer Service

Customer service is another aspect of the exchange that consumers often disregard until a crisis occurs, and it should not be overlooked at all. If you have a significant problem, the time spent on customer assistance might differ between saving money and losing money. 

We’ve previously spoken about the hacking attacks that have given Coinbase’s reputation a relatively prominent black eye. However, what made matters worse was that their customer care ultimately failed to deliver following the event, resulting in these consumers losing their funds and being unable to contact customer support for days, or even weeks in some instances to a backlog. 

Here’s some advice: when contacting customer service through social media sites, use extreme caution since there are hundreds of reports of customers being misled by users on social media posing as representatives from customer service. Suppose you are ever asked for personal information, such as anything other than your username and email address. In that case, you are probably speaking with someone attempting to access your account.

And The Crypto Exchange Winner Is…

Coinbase vs FTX review shows there are excellent alternatives for the ordinary cryptocurrency user. Yet, we would choose FTX for any professional crypto traders because they provide substantially more markets and trading possibilities. Also crucial is that fees are pretty expensive and may quickly deplete your moonbeams; therefore, FTX completely outperforms Coinbase in this area. 

Considering that many early crypto users start with Coinbase, which is like riding a bicycle with training wheels but eventually go on to more affordable and comprehensive crypto trading platforms with more features. However, due to its cheap trading fees, particularly for high-volume traders, FTX is the best option for those who wish to keep trading costs as low as possible. 

It provides some of the most competitive rates available. Although it is not as user-friendly as Coinbase’s leading platform, it does provide a good range of sophisticated capabilities. This is an excellent option for fee-conscious investors who don’t mind a learning curve.

Like what you hear? Give FTX Exchange a try. Open your free FTX account today.