![Uphold vs Coinbase: Best crypto exchange for beginners in [year]? 3](https://cryptowhat.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/coinbase-vs-uphold-1024x538.png)
Coinbase and Uphold are popular crypto exchanges that allow users in the United States to buy, sell, and trade a wide range of assets.
Coinbase has built out a variety of products to help speed up crypto adoption. Coinbase offers a state-of-the art crypto trading platform along with a crypto wallet and a host of other tools to help move and secure your assets securely.
Coinbase pro has also created Coinbase Pro which is perfect for intermediates to expert crypto investors.
Uphold offers a variety of services beyond cryptocurrency trading, including the purchase of precious metals as well as equity investment options.
While they both dabble in crypto, these companies are vastly different in a lot of ways.
We are going to dive into both these companies a little more below and share our opinion based on a number of factors.
We compared the two to see which offers the best features, pricing, supported assets, and other important characteristics in order to determine the winner for greatest cryptocurrency exchange.
If you are looking to trade crypto and not sure which exchange is best, you will get all your questions answered in our look at Uphold vs Coinbase.
Uphold quick overview
Uphold launched in the United States back in 2015. The platform functions more like a traditional e-currency wallet, such as PayPal, than a cryptocurrency exchange; however, it does offer the ability to buy and sell crypto in addition to fiat currencies and commodities such as silver and gold.
Any asset you can buy with a Uphold account may be traded for any other item they offer, regardless of category. Read more about our full Uphold review here.
Uphold Inc.’s CEO, JP Theriot, is a cryptocurrency entrepreneur and financial expert. He was previously the company’s Vice-Chairman for five years and Co-founder of the Universal Protocol Alliance, where he leads strategy and operations in order to help 100 million people get onto crypto currencies.
Since its inception, Uphold has facilitated more than $4 billion in transactions across 184 countries and 23 fiat currencies, 80+ cryptocurrencies and tokens, and 4 commodities. Notable partners include UTRUST, Ledger, Brave Software, BitGive, and at least 12 others. JNK Securities, Scytale, Bitnet were among the companies acquired.
Uphold offers all investors the exact same rates for trading, regardless of the size of their transactions. All members are able to buy and sell Bitcoins using bank transfer or via credit card at market rate + 1%. There are no deposit fees, but they do charge withdrawal fees for most currencies outside of USD. Create your Uphold account here.
Coinbase quick overview
Coinbase is a place to buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It is like an exchange. You can trade Bitcoin for dollars or other cryptocurrencies that exist. You can also buy cryptocurrency with fiat (USD, EUR, etc) on Coinbase with a credit card or bank account (ACH).
Coinbase has $20 billion in cryptocurrency under management, making it one of the most popular places to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
Brian Armstrong is the CEO of Coinbase Inc., and has served as President of the company since founding it in 2012. Armstrong was recently listed as one of Forbes’s “World’s 100 Most Powerful People.” and is on Forbe’s “Billionaires under 30.”
During his career, he also founded Y Combinator-backed startup called StumbleUpon, which experienced rapid growth, before being sold to eBay in 2015.
Since its inception in 2012, Coinbase has offered services to more than 11 million customers spread across 32 countries. The platform is available in more than 190 countries worldwide.
Coinbase has partnered with notable blockchain industry leaders like Civic, Ripple, and Bittrex to offer new features to their customers.
It offers mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, which allows users to trade cryptocurrencies on the go. Sign up for Coinbase here.
Features
Uphold and Coinbase are both popular platforms for buying crypto but Uphold is a more robust platform with a long list of other products and services. Uphold supports fiat currency, cryptocurrencies, precious metals, and even community currencies.
Uphold supports over 30 fiat currencies, cryptocurrencies and commodities such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and Ripple, plus silver and gold. Coinbase is strictly an exchange for crypto.
Uphold allows users to buy digital currency without fees while Coinbase charges a fee for credit card transactions. Both platforms accept ACH transfer from your bank account but Coinbase only allows you to buy Bitcoin with ACH, not other cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase, on the other hand, supports a larger number of countries across the world.
Uphold
- You may trade directly between any supported asset class, with no restrictions on certain currency pairs.
- You can send and receive money in any form, including cryptocurrencies.
- BRAVE browser integration allows you to receive your BAT token rewards directly to your Uphold account
- Uphold’s flexible structure means you can open accounts with no fees without having to trade between currencies.
- You can trade precious metals, foreign currencies, and even fractional shares of some equities.
- With Autopilot, you may set up recurring Bitcoin purchases for trades in cryptocurrencies, precious metals, equities, and other assets. One-time scheduled transactions are also available.
Coinbase
- You may buy bitcoin from your account balance or straight from a bank account, debit card, or PayPal.
- Coinbase Pro is a premium version of the popular bitcoin-focused cryptocurrency trading platform that charges a maximum 0.50 percent spread. You’ll be able to use more sophisticated trading tools if you sign up for Coinbase Pro.
- You may get free crypto. As a thank-you for watching short films about how they operate, you may receive free crypto tokens as a reward.
Coinbase vs Uphold comparison chart
User friendliness
Coinbase is the winner for ease of use. Coinbase is a popular option among cryptocurrency novices in the United States looking to buy, sell, or trade crypto. It makes joining up straightforward and provides a simple website and mobile app where you can quickly purchase crypto with a few clicks.
While there are more assets accessible than just cryptocurrencies, the accounts are simple enough for anyone with a basic knowledge of computers and cryptocurrency.
Both the Coinbase and Coinbase Pro trading charts have an easy-to-use mobile app so you can trade on the go. The apps seamlessly transfer your assets instantly and at no cost.
Once you have funds on your Coinbase account you can then use your Coinbase debit card to spend your USDC balance anywhere Visa is accepted.
Security
Coinbase has good security and supports two-factor authentication. It also requires ID verification before allowing users to trade cryptocurrency. Users are encouraged to write down their passwords instead of saving them in a browser or mobile app.
Uphold uses similar strong encryption to keep your connection secure. You can also activate two-factor authentication, a good idea for any financial account you have with this option.
Keeping your account information secure is critical when using any cryptocurrency platform. Anyone with access to the site may send your bitcoin to their digital wallet, and you have little hope of recouping your losses if this happens. To keep your funds as safe as possible, use a unique password on every website.
Uphold vs Coinbase Fees
There’s a catch to any investment, and it’s that fees are the enemy of every trader. Coinbase has simple fees, but Uphold is a little more complex.
At Coinbase, fees range from $0.99 to $2.99 depending on the trade size, plus a spread of about 0.50%. Uphold charges between 0.8% and 1.2% on BTC and ETH transactions and 1.8% on most other major cryptocurrencies, though spreads can be much higher in some cases.
Other spreads at Uphold include 3% for precious metals, 0.2% for major national currency pairs, and 1% for U.S. equities. But there are no added per-trade charges to worry about.
Here is the fees chart
Uphold
ACH Transfer: Free
Purchase – Bank Account: Free
Purchase – Debit Card: Free
Purchase – PayPal: N/A
Coinbase
ACH Transfer: Free
Purchase – Bank Account: 1.49%
Purchase – Debit Card: 3.99%
Purchase – PayPal: 3.99%
Mobile Trading
Coinbase and Uphold both provide mobile apps that give you almost all of the functionality available on a computer. Some users may prefer using the mobile app versions to the web.
Coinbase offers two separate trading platform apps, as well as specialized applications for Coinbase Wallet. There’s a single mobile app from Uphold that allows you to access your account from anywhere with an internet connection. Both are available for Android and iOS smartphones.
Availability
If you are interested in signing up with Coinbase or Uphold, there may be some geographical restrictions that will prevent you from doing so.
Coinbase is available in most countries around the world, with a few exceptions. Uphold has options for people all over the world, but not every country is supported.
So what is the best option?
Overall, Coinbase has been the better choice for most users in the United States but things are slowly changing. Uphold is catching up. They are adding more coins and they are diversified into offering more than just crypto.
While you might have lower spreads with Coinbase, you will have more assets to purchase with Uphold.
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