How To Delete Your Coinbase Account in 3 Safe and Easy Steps

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.

4. On June 6th, 2023, Coinbase simultaneously received a 'Show Case Order' from eleven U.S. states: AL, CA, IL, KY, MD, VT, NJ, SC, WA, and WI. The Order grants the company 28 days to present arguments as to why they should not be instructed to cease selling cryptocurrencies in the mentioned states. 

5. Additionally, Coinbase was issued a Wells’ Notice by the U.S. SEC in late May of 2023.

If Coinbase is unable to demonstrate it is not engaged in selling unregistered securities, the consequences can include a cease and desist order, financial penalties, legal proceedings, and additional operational restrictions imposed by regulatory authorities.

This regulatory uncertainty surrounding Coinbase raises concerns leading to a loss of customer trust and confidence in the platform. Customers concerned about the safety and stability of their assets on the exchange are beginning to seek Coinbase alternatives.

Lucky for you, several new businesses worldwide have created better ways to buy Bitcoin over the past few years. 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. You can also invest through your retirement account with a Bitcoin IRA. Swan has some of the lowest fees for automatic recur­ring purchases to self-custody (recom­mended, but optional) and a strong commit­ment to serving and educating customers about their Bitcoin.

You may have wondered, “How do I get my money from my Coinbase account?” 

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 don’t 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.

Before closing your account, convert all your altcoins into Bitcoin. This is a deep topic to explore, but suffice it 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 with a non-zero balance, convert their full amount into Bitcoin.

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 your new Bitcoin address, that withdrawal will leave a tiny amount of Bitcoin behind, known as “dust.” When you try to close your account, Coinbase won’t let you if you have a non-zero balance AND won’t allow you to withdraw the dust because it’s too small to send.

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

It’s easy 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. First, click your profile circle in the upper right-hand corner.

3. Next, select 'Settings' from the drop down box window.

4. Find the Activity tab.

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

4. Enter your account password in the pop-up box, and 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. You will be presented with a page that shows every possible digit asset on Coinbase. With every­thing zeroed out, scroll to the bottom and click “Close Account” in the bottom right-hand corner.

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. 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.