Delete Coinbase Account in Three Easy Steps

Why Are People Deleting Their Coinbase Accounts?

To under­stand why the #Delete­Coin­base movement has flour­ished and so many people want to delete Coinbase accounts in favor of better options for their Bitcoin purchases, let’s first estab­lish three key facts:

1. Bitcoin already has an insur­mount­able lead on all other cryptocur­ren­cies in terms of market cap, liquidity, brand recog­ni­tion, and total users. In the coming years and decades, Bitcoin will likely accrue 90 – 99% of all the future value in the space.
2. Coinbase does not want you to simply accumu­late and hold Bitcoin. Every aspect of Coinbase’s product and marketing is designed to encourage you to trade as many assets as possible, as often as possible. Coinbase makes money when you trade, like any other casino hoping to keep gamblers on the casino floor.
3. 96% of traders fail. Unless you’re a career profes­sional, the sophis­ti­cated algorithm-aided pros who dominate the space will eat your lunch. You wouldn’t sit down at a table with the best poker players in the world; trading is the same thing. You are best served by simply buying and holding Bitcoin.

Alternatives to Coinbase, How Can I Buy Bitcoin?

Lucky for you, over the past few years, several new businesses around the world have created better ways to buy Bitcoin. If you’re outside the United States, our article “Bitcoin Invest­ment Sites for 2020: Top 6 Trusted Sites” will get you started picking the option that’s right for you. If you’re in the US, SwanBitcoin.com is an increas­ingly popular choice, as it has low fees for automatic recur­ring purchases to self-custody (recom­mended, but optional), and a strong commit­ment to serving and educating customers about their Bitcoin.

How to get money out of Coinbase & Delete Coinbase Account in 3 Easy Steps

You may have wondered “How do I get my money out of Coinbase?”  Your instinct may be to convert your Bitcoin to dollars before withdrawing your money from Coinbase. But it’s worth consid­ering the reasons why Bitcoin is the best money in human history. You may not want to part with such a precious asset lightly. The following guide is focused on how to transfer Bitcoin from Coinbase, and then delete your Coinbase account for good.

Step 1: Sell your altcoins for Bitcoin

Before closing your account, convert all your altcoins into Bitcoin. This is a deep topic to explore, but suffice to say that you are better served by simply holding Bitcoin than gambling on any altcoin.   

To sell your altcoins for Bitcoin, click “Trade” at the top right of any Coinbase page.

Then select the “Convert” tab. For any curren­cies besides Bitcoin that have a non-zero balance, convert their full amount into Bitcoin.

Step 2: Set up a Bitcoin address of your own

In order to get your Bitcoin off Coinbase, you first need to have a Bitcoin address set up to receive those funds.  If you’re not familiar with what this means, don’t worry! All it means is that you’ll create your own unhack­able bank vault on the Bitcoin network with the click of a button — that’s really what a Bitcoin address is, a digital bank vault.  As with any bank vault, what’s impor­tant is securely storing the key that goes with it. 

That’s where you have a choice: do it yourself with self-custody and total control, or use an afford­able collab­o­ra­tive custody provider to help you set up and secure your Bitcoin address. Whichever direc­tion you choose, the number of fantastic compa­nies serving Bitcoiners has exploded in recent years, making it easier than ever to take the next step toward self-sover­eignty. To help you evaluate your options, we created this guide: Bitcoin Wallets: How, Why and When to Hold Your Own Private Keys

Once you have a Bitcoin address set up and have securely stored your private keys, you’re almost ready to withdraw your Bitcoin from Coinbase and send it to your new Bitcoin address. But not just yet!  

If you withdraw your Bitcoin by clicking “Send” on your Bitcoin balance page and entering in your new Bitcoin address, that withdrawal will leave a tiny amount of Bitcoin behind, what’s known as “dust”. When you then try to close your account, Coinbase won’t let you because you have a non-zero balance AND won’t let you withdraw the dust because it’s too small to send.

To avoid this frustrating situa­tion, you need to wait to do your Bitcoin withdrawal as part of the account closure process in Step 3.

Step 3: Withdraw from Coinbase and delete Coinbase account

It’s an easy process to cancel your Coinbase account and transfer your Bitcoin to your new Bitcoin address. Of course, Coinbase doesn’t readily tell you how to delete your Coinbase account. So here is the process laid out screen by screen.

1. Log into your Coinbase account on a desktop browser

2. Navigate to your user Settings, and into your Activity tab with three clicks

3. Scroll down to the bottom of the Activity tab, and click “Close Account”

4. Enter your account password in the pop-up box & click “Close Account”

5. You will be prompted to withdraw your Bitcoin balance from Coinbase as part of the account closure process (note: this is what we were waiting for when we held off from withdrawing Bitcoin earlier)

6. With every­thing zeroed out, click “Close Account”

Once you’ve closed your Coinbase account you’ll need a new service to help you accumu­late Bitcoin. If you’re in the US, SwanBitcoin.com is an increas­ingly popular choice, as it has low fees for automatic recur­ring purchases to self-custody (recom­mended, but optional), and a strong commit­ment to serving and educating customers about their Bitcoin.