What Coinbase Pro Does Well

Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are both experts in onboarding those new to crypto and bringing them into the space. They are very beginner-friendly; simplicity and ease of use are built into everything they develop. Users can also sleep sound at night knowing their funds are held at one of the most reputable and regulated exchanges in the world, no need to worry about Uncle Sam coming door-kicking for trading crypto there.

What can be Improved

In case it wasn’t already obvious, Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are not my favourite platforms. In fact, most veteran crypto users I speak to tell a similar story of how Coinbase was like their exchange with training wheels before they graduated onto more robust, feature-filled (and cheaper) platforms.

I was a user of Binance and KuCoin long before opening a Coinbase account to see what the attraction was. I felt like I was missing something as Coinbase offers far less, but charges far more. After trying them out and exploring the platform, I closed my account and never regretted it.

Here is what I mean, when we look at Binance compared to Coinbase, Binance offers way more in terms of products and features (rectangles in red), and they have substantially lower fees on average.

Coinbase needs to up their game on features and should consider lowering their fees if they want to remain competitive. Lack of features and product offerings is something they are aware of and are working on. The Coinbase Pro exchange is also not suitable for serious traders as it lacks the features of a fully functional trading platform. They should look to create a more robust trading interface or add a TradingView integration to match the utility of other exchanges.

 

If we again compare Binance to Coinbase Pro, you will see what I mean. Features are highlighted in yellow:

In Coinbase’s defence, they are making good progress on this front. They have built out new platforms and features for the main platform and have really beefed up their Web 3 and Dapp support for the Coinbase wallet. With the acquisition of FairX, hopefully, they will be able to offer more trading products to make their Pro exchange as good as other exchanges.

Coinbase is dedicated to advancing not just themselves, but the crypto industry as a whole and I applaud them for that. Even though I am not a fan of the platform, we all owe the Coinbase team and CEO Brian Armstrong a debt of gratitude for all the good they are doing in the crypto space, tirelessly meeting with regulators to help guide crypto regulation, and for their work with the Crypto Council for Innovation.

Coinbase Pro Review Conclusion

Coinbase was one of the first and remains one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world for good reason. There is no safer nor more reputable and well-respected exchange in the industry. No other major exchange comes close to being as specialized in beginner-friendliness and simplicity.

Though resting on these laurels will only get them so far and the platform has a lot of work to do if they are going to remain competitive and stop its dwindling user base and trading volume. Offering fewer products, features, markets, assets, functionality, and usability while charging more in fees is never a sustainable recipe for long-term success.

If we were to compare crypto exchanges to the fabled race between the tortoise and the hare, exchanges like OKX, Binance, and KuCoin may be akin to the hare, while Coinbase remains the tortoise. Seriously, check out what OKX is doing with MetaX, GameFi, and NFTs, pretty cool stuff!

But, just because Coinbase may lack many of the features and functions of their competitors now, they are aggressively developing and innovating and I would not be surprised if a decade from now, slow and steady wins the race.

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