You might have heard a lot about cryptocurrency now. It is all the rage in the financial world. A digital type of currency that you buy exchange for goods and services, cryptocurrency is quite handy. The most popular one out there is Bitcoin (mostly because it is one of the first to come into the market). Other cryptocurrencies include Dentacoin and Litecoin, to name a few. To facilitate that comes two highly popular platforms Coinbase and Binance. Please allow us to explain further.

Investing In Cryptocurrency

Investing in cryptocurrency is a good business move these days. You can opt for your salary to be paid in cryptocurrency. You can purchase a car with cryptocurrency. And when times are particularly hard, you can exchange it for fiat currency. Fiat currency refers to the cash that you know: dollars, euros, and so on. But how do you exchange cryptocurrency? You might want to get Litecoins with your Bitcoins or get fiat currency. How do you do that safely?

In comes digital currency (or cryptocurrency) exchange. There are platforms that allow you to exchange your currencies. Cryptocurrency to altcoins, or cryptocurrency to fiat, these exchange platforms can facilitate that. Most require you to register, and they all have fees they charge. These fees are charged based on certain factors. These factors are, among others, what type of card you are using, or if you are using a bank account. Two of the most popular exchange platforms are Coinbase and Binance.

This article will provide you with a comparison of the two cryptocurrency exchanges. This will give you all the information you need, and help you take the decision that is best for you.

 

Coinbase

Coinbase is a digital currency exchange that is based in the United States if America. It has several branches in other parts of the world. Despite the controversy behind it, Coinbase has been given the New York BitLicense, with which it operates.

Coinbase is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges. It is as commonly known as Bitcoin is. Coinbase also has a number of backers who are heavyweights in the fiat currency field. Those who like the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency do not like this.

Coinbase is basically an exchange for beginners in the cryptocurrency world.

Binance

Operating out of China, Binance is an exchange that is fairly new in the cryptocurrency market. There is a possibility that they may move operations out of China. In the meantime, anyone from any part of the world can exchange with them.

Binance creates awareness of its new products by doing promotions. When they are introducing a coin to their exchange, they reward a few asset holders with those coins. This might not increase Binance’s inflow of cryptocurrency, but it generates interest in what they are trading.

Coinbase and Binance: A Comparison

Accounts

Coinbase -The type of account that Coinbase uses is a Standard account. There is no leverage, and the initial weekly limit is at 350 euros. Coinbase exchanges fiat currencies for Bitcoin, among others, and charges fee up to 4%.

Binance – While it also operates a standard account, Binance does not disclose its minimum deposit amount. Leverage is also unavailable, and fees are set at 0.10%.
Cryptocurrencies

Coinbase’s trading instruments are cryptocurrencies, and they are not many. Coinbase trades only three digital currencies, and these are Litecoin, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. These also happen to be the three major cryptocurrencies available.
Binance trades a host of coins, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. Binance trades Bitcoin and Ethereum using the US Dollar Tether (USDT). This maintains a price ratio of 1:1. Binance does not accept transfers in fiat currency.

Limits

To exchange with Coinbase, you need to register and verify your identity. This verification process involves your ID, credit card, phone number and email address. Once you do that, you can exchange your currency. The initial weekly limit is 325 euros. This, however, differs based on location and if you use your credit card. The weekly limit may increase once you reach the maximum limit. This is purely for security reasons.

For Binance, the minimum initial deposit is not disclosed. This is quite odd, but not unusual. There are many companies that do not disclose their initial minimum limit.

Margin Trading

There is no leverage on Coinbase, i.e. no margin trading. Margin trading is a process where you can trade with more than the fiscal; amount of money in your bank account. Since the trade is in cryptocurrencies, zero margin trading is accepted. The cryptocurrency economy is highly unstable, so margin trading is rarely available.

Binance does not offer margin trading.

Fees

On Coinbase, depositing with your credit card attracts a fee of 4%. While it would be more convenient for you to buy coins this way, the fee may be steep for you. On the other hand, you can put fiat currency in your account. Then you can use them to get coins. This will attract a fee of 1.5%. If you are transferring cryptocurrency to another exchange, there is no fee.

Binance charges a flat rate fee of 0.10%. While this is very low and convenient, it makes trading highly competitive.

Payment

Coinbase accepts payment methods such as credit card, debit card, or bank transfer. You can pay with PayPal in the United States.

Payment is done strictly in coins. No fiat currency is allowed. You can withdraw or deposit those coins that Binance trades in, and that’s it.

Security

Coinbase is quite secure, although there have been reports of hacking.

Binance is quite new, so no reports of hacking (or attempted hacking) have surfaced.

Coinbase and Binance are two options for you to trade in cryptocurrency. While Coinbase has high fees, it does trade in fiat currency. Binance deals only with coins but has a larger selection of coins that it trades in. What’s more, assets are added on a regular basis. The choice between the two depends solely on you and the factors surrounding you. Location, the digital currency you have available, and what currencies you need.