Compare the 3 Best Coinbase Alternatives (What You Need to Know in 2024)
The uncertainty surrounding compliance and regulatory problems for Coinbase is intensifying. Bitcoin-only Swan is one of the most popular Coinbase alternatives for buying Bitcoin in 2024. Learn why!
A very important reason to seek out an alternative to Coinbase is their support for so many cryptocurrencies. These tokens are, at best, complete gambles, or, at worst, outright scams. The future of these tokens is uncertain. Bitcoin is a well-established, widely accepted, digital asset in good standing with the U.S. government. We recommend using Bitcoin-only companies.
Coinbase’s high costs, frequent outages, and unstable trading behaviors. Luckily, there are numerous Coinbase alternatives to choose from.
1. Swan Bitcoin
Fees: 0.99%*
Custody Provider: BitGo Trust Company
Trustpilot Rating: 4.5/5 out of +1.01k reviews
Apple App Store: 4.8/5 out of 890 reviews
Google Play Store: 4.4/5 out of 372 reviews
Swan Bitcoin is a U.S.-based company founded in 2019 by Cory Klippsten, Yan Pritzker, and Brady Swenson. Swan has made it easy for anyone to invest in Bitcoin from the get-go. The user-friendly and intuitive platform simplifies investing in, storing, and learning about Bitcoin.
One of Swan’s key features that makes it the best Coinbase alternative is its ability to automate Bitcoin purchases at regular intervals, helping create a disciplined, low-time preference investment strategy to build wealth over time.
Swan offers investors free withdrawals into self-custody of purchased Bitcoin with a secure, non-custodial Bitcoin wallet. This gives investors complete control over their digital assets and an added layer of security.
Fees
Swan charges a 0.99% fee on all Bitcoin buys, that’s all. No deposit fees, no withdrawal fees, no hidden fees.
Key Features
Enhanced Knowledge Base
Swan’s knowledge base includes comprehensive educational resources, in-depth market analysis, and up-to-date information on Bitcoin and the greater industry.
Unparalleled Expertise in Bitcoin
Whether understanding technical aspects, market trends, or potential risks, Swan’s experts work round the clock to guide you every step of the way.
Advisor Services
Swan offers Swan Advisor Services to help financial advisors integrate Bitcoin into their clients' investment portfolios seamlessly.
Personalized Consultation
Investors get advice and strategic recommendations tailored to their financial goals and risk tolerance, ensuring Bitcoin becomes an accessible and beneficial asset.
Reliable Self-Custody Options
Swan’s Specter Labs offers a range of safe and easy-to-use self-custody options for Bitcoiners who prefer to be in direct control of their wealth.
Swan Support
Swan Support is the best in the industry for Bitcoin customer service.
Fees: 0.25% — 2.5%
Custody Provider: Uphold Vault
Trustpilot Rating: 3.3/5 out of +8.82k reviews
Apple App Store: 4.6/5 out of 44.5k reviews
Google Play Store: 4.3/5 out of 46.7k reviews
Uphold offers a seamless and user-friendly experience for accessing and transacting a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Ripple (XRP), among others.
It also supports traditional fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, Euro, and British pound, allowing users to convert between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies easily.
NOTE: Swan does not recommend investing in or holding any altcoins, only Bitcoin.
Fees
In the U.S., U.K. and most of Europe, fees are typically:
Stablecoins: 0.25%
Major Market FX: 0.25%
BTC, ETH: 1.4% — 1.6%
Altcoins: 1.9% — 2.5%
Precious Metals: 1.9% — 2.5%
The complete fee schedule is available on their website.
Key Features
Easy Conversion
Provides seamless conversions between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies for convenient and fast exchanges, allowing investors to manage their portfolios and benefit from price fluctuations.
Protected Digital Wallets
Investors can safely store their cryptocurrencies and digital assets in a digital wallet protected by multi-factor authentication and encryption.
Instant Transfers
Uphold members can easily send and receive cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies to and from other Uphold users worldwide without delays or transaction fees.
Fractional Ownership
Users can fractionally own cryptocurrencies, stocks, commodities, and real estate and diversify their investments through a single platform.
Prepaid Debit Cards
They also get prepaid debit cards to spend cryptocurrencies at any location that accepts regular debit or credit card purchases.
Fees: 1% — 1.5%
Custody Provider: BitGo
Trustpilot Rating: 2.1/5 out of 805 reviews
Apple Store App: 4.7/5 out of 134 reviews
Google Play Store: 4.3/5 out of 273 reviews
With high liquidity and competitive trading fees, Bitstamp offers various order types, including market, limit, and stop orders, giving users greater control over their trading strategies. Bitstamp’s user-friendly interface and commitment to transparency and reliability have earned it the trust of many traders worldwide.
Bitstamp uses a complex maker-taker fee model to determine trading fees. The fees are calculated based on your current pricing tier at the time of your order execution. Generally speaking, you are paying between 1% and 1.5% in trading fees.
Trust and Security
Bitstamp is one of the first cryptocurrency exchanges to receive a BitLicense, ensuring compliance with strict regulatory standards.
Liquidity and Competitive Fees
It helps seamlessly execute trades even during periods of high market volatility. Bitstamp’s trading fees decrease as trading volume increases, making it attractive for traders of all levels.
Global Accessibility
Bitstamp’s services are available to users worldwide for international cryptocurrency trading. It also offers multilingual customer support so users can get help in their preferred language.
Industry-leading Compliance
To ensure a secure trading environment, Bitstamp adheres to Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) procedures.
Although Coinbase is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges and has established itself as a reputable platform, many investors are asking if Coinbase is still safe to use anymore and are beginning to consider alternatives for several reasons.
Coinbase received a Wells Notice on April 27, 2023 indicating the SEC is investigating possible violations by and may take legal action against the company.
Coinbase charges some of the highest fees in the cryptocurrency industry, especially for smaller transactions and retail investors.
A variable fee is charged, ranging from 1% to 3.99%, depending on the size of the transaction and the payment method used.
“Coinbase generates most of its revenue through trading, listing, and custodial fees. Because of this, Coinbase is incentivized to list more cryptocurrencies, promote speculative trading, and discourage self-custody. To put this into perspective, in 2017 Coinbase only listed 4 coins: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ethereum. Today, Coinbase has over 160 cryptocurrencies available to trade in the U.S.”
— Sam Callahan, Swan Bitcoin
Coinbase has a notorious reputation for its poor customer service.
Many users have reported issues with frozen or suspended accounts without explanation and no ability to receive personalized responses.
Customers regularly complain about this on Twitter, Trustpilot, and forums like Reddit.
Offers no live chat feature other than a bot with limited capabilities.
Many users have to wait several days for answers, if they receive them at all.
Only a 1.5/5 stars from +9.35k reviews.
78% reviews received a 1-star rating.
85% of reviews resulted in a negative (1 or 2-star ratings).
Coinbase also has a near-worst possible score of 1.06 stars of 5-star rating with BBB.
Furthermore, the following ⚠️ CURRENT ALERTS FOR THIS BUSINESS message can be found on the company BBB page:
Coinbase is well-known for:
Server errors, especially during periods of high volatility, making taking advantage of market volatility a massive pain point for investors.
In 2021, hackers stole crypto assets and user information from at least 6,000 Coinbase customers.
In 2023, a former product manager at Coinbase was sentenced to a two-year prison sentence for engaging in insider trading.
Bitcoin, which had just spiked to its highest since November 2021, saw its price drop by about $2,800 in a matter of minutes as reports of an outage surfaced.
Bitcoin is the best-performing asset in the last 14 years. However, Coinbase still offers a vast range of cryptocurrencies for sale. The overwhelming majority of these listings underperform Bitcoin dramatically.
“Coinbase, for example, made an official recommendation of the following tokens to retail investors as ‘Top Picks, ’ each of which dramatically underperformed Bitcoin within weeks, with an average drawdown of -40.6%.”
— Sam Callahan, Swan Bitcoin
An announcement on October 17th revealed that Coinbase had halted trading for 80 pairs not denominated in USD for specific supported assets.
Coinbase has been known to freeze or limit user accounts without warning, often causing user frustration and loss of funds. Several, possibly thousands of Coinbase users have complained that their accounts were blocked due to 'Regulatory Compliance' — halting customer funds.
Multiple class action lawsuits have been filed against Coinbase Global Inc., the cryptocurrency exchange, and its subsidiary Coinbase Inc. Some have been dismissed, but not all. The lawsuits claim that Coinbase fails to maintain adequate security measures for its customers' accounts and conducts business operations without the necessary registration as a broker-dealer.
What makes Swan the best alternative to Coinbase?
No Regulatory Hassles
The SEC has publicly stated that Bitcoin isn’t a security and doesn’t fall under the SEC’s regulatory mandate.
By focusing on this single asset class, Swan offers its clients a secure and hassle-free solution for accumulating Bitcoin while avoiding the complexities and regulatory challenges associated with the broader range of cryptocurrencies, trading options, and crypto exchanges that the SEC classifies as illegal securities offerings.
** UPDATE: It was reported on July 31st that, ahead of initiating legal proceedings against the exchange, the U.S. SEC instructed Coinbase to halt trading in all cryptocurrencies except for Bitcoin. This move indicates the agency intends to exert regulatory jurisdiction over a broader market section.
Low and Transparent Fees
Swan’s exclusive focus on Bitcoin allows it to cut costs and pass on the savings in lower fees, making it a great Coinbase alternative for users who prioritize low fees and wish to focus on Bitcoin-only.
There are no inactivity fees, withdrawal fees, overdraft fees, **custody fees, or fiat withdrawal fees involved.
Unlike Coinbase, Swan also doesn’t charge a spread to its customers.
** There are no monthly fees for Swan entities or personal accounts. However, IRA accounts will incur a small monthly fee of $20 until your account reaches $100,000. If your account exceeds $100,000, an annual fee of 0.25% is deducted from your linked bank account.
Swan uses a chatbot feature and instantly connects users to a Swan representative. This functionality allows users to engage in real-time conversations, enabling swift access to Swan Support and assistance.
Better Asset Choices
Being a Bitcoin-only company, Swan avoids the risks of volatile cryptocurrencies. By focusing solely on Bitcoin, Swan mitigates the potential uncertainty and unpredictability of investing in other highly volatile and multiple digital assets.
Fewer Account Restrictions
Unlike Coinbase, Swan has a few account restrictions. It has a transparent framework openly available to the public.
Swan Bitcoin IRA
Swan recently launched a Bitcoin IRA product, offering its customer base a tax-deferred or tax-free solution.
Swan offers self-managed Traditional or Roth IRAs, with Bitcoin held in a legal, regulated trust account maintained by a qualified and authorized custodian.
Qualified custodians ensure:
Asset protection
Regulatory compliance
Fraud prevention
Independent oversight
Unauthorized use of funds
Other Primary Swan Services
If you’re a high net-worth individual, family office, or corporation looking to buy $100,000 or more worth of Bitcoin, you can sign up with Swan Private for customized services.
Best-in-class user experience for secure self-custody
Secure key backup to minimize the risk of loss
Concierge onboarding available
Inheritance planning for Swan Private clients
Built on Bitcoin Core and Specter, a fully open-source stack
Swan Vault
Swan Vault and custody solutions is your reliable partner for everything related to Bitcoin.
Get Priority Access
Swan Force is another Swan entity to earn Bitcoin by helping other users and businesses engage with the Bitcoin ecosystem. Swan has the best combination of fees and services and a sustainable business model with very low overhead costs and much lower regulatory risks.
Coinbase’s fundamental difference is that it offers access to more digital asset options. But, if you take a closer look, as we shared with you above—there is no strong case for buying these altcoins over Bitcoin.
If you care about customer service, education, and integrity and want a committed team of experts in your corner, available to help you whenever you need it, Swan Bitcoin is the best option to buy and hold Bitcoin.
Start securing your Bitcoin future with Swan today.
Sign up to start saving Bitcoin
Buy automatically every day, week, or month, starting with as little as $10.
More from Swan Signal Blog
Thoughts on Bitcoin from the Swan team and friends.
Best Bitcoin ETF Fees 2024: Compare Top Providers
By Matt Ruby
Spot Bitcoin ETFs are here! Learn all about their fees, why they matter, who has the lowest and how they’ll impact Bitcoin 2024 and the future.
What is Bitcoin Hashrate? How it Works & Why it Matters
By Mickey Koss
Bitcoin hashrate? Sounds confusing, but its not. Learn the role Bitcoin’s hashrate plays and why its important.
Is Coinbase in Trouble? 4 Reasons to Avoid Coinbase in 2024
By Matt Ruby
Coinbase is facing all kinds of problems. Is it time for customers to seek out an alternative in 2024? We think so. Let’s talk about the top 4 reasons to avoid Coinbase!