Coinbase Legitimacy/Alternate ways of earning crypto

[mikehersh2]

Although I've been out of the loop recently... I've been in this space for some time.
With that being said, I was looking to get back into trading/investing/earning some crypto in my spare time.

I recently made a Coinbase account to do some trading and to use their services that they provide to new users to earn some small amounts of crypto.

However, in order to "verify" my account, I have to give information such a photograph of my state ID and credit card info. 
I'm not one to willingly give away such personal information... is this something I should feel comfortable doing?
I'm aware of the fact that coinbase is pretty much synonymous with crypto-trading, I just need to hear it from the forum first as to why it's a safe move.

Furthermore, if anyone has any other suggestions, tips, or new methods for earning some crypto... I could use some ideas. I'll continue to search around the forum in the meantime. Thanks

[1715302438]

1715302438

[1715302438]

1715302438

[Saint-loup]

You should read the post from 1miau about that, you will find some answers to your questions : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5221497.0

If you are already using an exchange where you can buy cryptos with your fiat it's better to stick with it. I don't know what's your budger for cryptos but you should only do those bounties with KYC if you really need money.

[squatter]

I recently made a Coinbase account to do some trading and to use their services that they provide to new users to earn some small amounts of crypto.

However, in order to "verify" my account, I have to give information such a photograph of my state ID and credit card info. 
I'm not one to willingly give away such personal information... is this something I should feel comfortable doing?

No. Read this thread: Why KYC is extremely dangerous – and useless

Coinbase was also exposed for selling user data to third parties in a scandal last year.

Unfortunately, regulators have been cracking down on exchanges, and most of them are now requiring KYC. If you want to avail yourself of centralized exchanges -- particularly reputable, fiat onramps -- it's hard to avoid. The decision to verify shouldn't be taken lightly, though, and I would minimize the number of exchanges you do so with.

[mk4]

However, in order to "verify" my account, I have to give information such a photograph of my state ID and credit card info.  
I'm not one to willingly give away such personal information... is this something I should feel comfortable doing?

I'm personally really not comfortable on giving out KYC information unnecessarily, but it's pretty much required if you want to use the reputable(but highly regulated) exchanges. To be honest I'd be more skeptical if a certain exchange allows trading but doesn't require KYC/AML. I personally only give out KYC/AML information only when really necessary(and with these services heavily researched), and I personally think this is one of those cases that I think it's somewhat necessary especially if you want to be a trader(Coinbase Pro).

In the end, it's completely up to you. If you want zero KYC/AML, try services like Bisq; though non-custodial exchanges like Bisq aren't really the best platforms for active trading due to the bad spreads and liquidity.

[libert19]

.. you should only do those bounties with KYC if you really need money.

Wait what? I did some bounties where projects required kyc, I still have their shit tokens meanwhile those who rewarded me well didn't require any kyc (the one I'm doing currently doesn't require any kyc and is paying well).

[mk4]

Wait what? I did some bounties where projects required kyc, I still have their shit tokens meanwhile those who rewarded me well didn't require any kyc (the one I'm doing currently doesn't require any kyc and is paying well).

Bounties are pretty much hit or miss. Though definitely not every single one as there are definitely legitimate companies and projects out there(though just a very small minority), I mostly see bounties with KYC/AML requirements as just pretty much data collecting schemes.

[joniboini]

Don't sell your identity for some cheap tokens. Instead of doing that, save some money and use it for trading on non-KYC places like Binance (I bet you don't need more than 2 BTC each day anyway).

By submitting the KYC you're giving your important details which might worth millions of dollars when they 'trade' it on the market. On the other hand, you only get $50 or so.

[hugeblack]

It is up to you, if the disclosure of your identity does not affect you or you want to trade in thousands of cryptos, then you must choose a reliable platform to trade and therefore you are obliged to send the personal data to Coinbase (Best option) "despite all the risks that this matter may cause."

If you want to verify your account for XX bounds, your documents are worth more than $ 50.

[LeGaulois]

Long ago the IRS requested to Coinbase to send available information about US citizens, for tax purposes and other stuff. Coinbase was able to refuse but seeing how big it becomes with the time passing, perhaps in the near future, it won't be able to refuse and will have to obey.

You have to think about it, if a country is able to do this, other countries will be able to do the same. And if you're not reporting you gains/losses to your taxes department, you know maybe in the future you can be in trouble.

It's like if, during a tax audit, they ask you to give them the receipt for your purchases. What will you give? A screenshot of an account in which you used bogus name?

[squatter]

Long ago the IRS requested to Coinbase to send available information about US citizens, for tax purposes and other stuff. Coinbase was able to refuse but seeing how big it becomes with the time passing, perhaps in the near future, it won't be able to refuse and will have to obey.

They weren't able to refuse completely. They fought the IRS in a year long court battle. In the end, they handed the IRS data on over 14,000 traders:

A California federal court has ordered Coinbase to turn over identifying records for all users who have bought, sold, sent, or received more than $20,000 through their accounts in a single year between 2013 and 2015. Coinbase estimates that 14,355 users meet the government’s requirements. The full order is embedded below.

Now, if you surpass $20,000 and 200 transactions in annual volume, they send the IRS a 1099-K about you. Kraken and Gemini do the same, and others will likely follow. I interpret this almost as a direct response to the Coinbase case.

[o_e_l_e_o]

They weren't able to refuse completely. They fought the IRS in a year long court battle. In the end, they handed the IRS data on over 14,000 traders

There is zero chance that the IRS will stop there. Especially as bitcoin becomes more widespread, Coinbase becomes even larger, and the price continues to increase, the IRS are going to keep knocking at Coinbase's door (and that of other exchanges), and keep pushing harder and harder for the details of more and more customers. As more governments continue to pass more laws and regulations regarding bitcoin, trading, taxation, and so forth, it is only a matter of time before Coinbase (and all centralized exchanges) hand over the details of all their customers to the relevant governments, or are forced to shutdown. And as we've seen time and time again, exchanges are all too happy to sell out their customers if it protects their profits.

I'm not one to willingly give away such personal information... is this something I should feel comfortable doing?

Absolutely not. You should never feel comfortable giving out your KYC documents. The risk is enormous, and the benefit, in this case, is merely convenience. Everything you can buy on Coinbase you can buy on a peer to peer exchange such as BISQ or localcryptos. It might take a bit longer and it might be a bit more work to set up the trade, but that is a very small price to pay for the benefit of not having to trust an unknown number of third parties with your details, and not having to trust an unknown number of third parties with control of your coins.

[LbtalkL]

Coinbase is existing now for a long time, they are a decent both wallet and exchange. The one you are talking you can earn about small amount of crypto is called airdrop it is like a quiz from new projects that are listed om their wallet. But doing a KYC in their platform is really worth it? I guess not for few bucks in exchange with your data but if you trust them I guess its just fine but there is always a risk. If your purpose is just to trade better go on binance where KYC is not required.

[TheAndy500]

Although I've been out of the loop recently... I've been in this space for some time.
With that being said, I was looking to get back into trading/investing/earning some crypto in my spare time.

I recently made a Coinbase account to do some trading and to use their services that they provide to new users to earn some small amounts of crypto.

However, in order to "verify" my account, I have to give information such a photograph of my state ID and credit card info. 
I'm not one to willingly give away such personal information... is this something I should feel comfortable doing?
I'm aware of the fact that coinbase is pretty much synonymous with crypto-trading, I just need to hear it from the forum first as to why it's a safe move.

Furthermore, if anyone has any other suggestions, tips, or new methods for earning some crypto... I could use some ideas. I'll continue to search around the forum in the meantime. Thanks

At the moment, most centralized exchanges require KYC verification. As far as I know, slowly all exchanges will have to make such adjustments. If you don't want to give your documents, you can still use decentralized exchanges such as IDEX or bisq.network.
I have been using Coinbase for several years and have never had any problems. Also, I didn't hear anyone having problems with them. In my opinion, this is the best secured exchange on the cryptocurrency market, but of course we will never have a full guarantee. Anyway I feel quite comfortable with them.

[hd49728]

Recent days, I read on another topic, one user said when he does KYC, he writes down his name, date (most of KYC requires those details, nothing new) and name of exchange he does KYC for. After write down all details, he take a photo and scan it, then write on the scanned file while he does that KYC, just shortly.

This KYC-verification method help to secure documents better because if your data lost by hacked, hackers will spend their priorities on easy compromised documents, that are surely not yours.

If I find that topic, I will add it here later. Yeah, I found it, there.

[o_e_l_e_o]

-snip-

It is entirely possible to open a credit card or take out a loan without actually having to show copies of documents. There are plenty of providers who let you apply online, and if you can provide all the relevant details, they will cross check them and if everything checks out, give you a loan or credit card without actually seeing a document. Therefore writing an exchange's name across your KYC doesnt protect you. It might mean an attacker couldn't use your documents for something like medical insurance fraud, but they can certainly still rack up thousands of dollars of debt in your name.

The only safe KYC is no KYC.

[Lucius]

Furthermore, if anyone has any other suggestions, tips, or new methods for earning some crypto... I could use some ideas. I'll continue to search around the forum in the meantime. Thanks

I'm just going to say that if you want to be a Coinbase player, you have to play by their rules, and there's not much else to say. If you don't like their rules, you just have to look elsewhere and Binance is the only one of the big ones that doesn't require KYC up to a certain amount.

As for other ways to make money in the crypto world, you have a few choices :

- try to get involved in some signatures campaign that pays for BTC, which of course requires you to be active in the forum and to try to be useful to the community in some way.

- if you have some skills (programming, graphic design, marketing ...) you can offer them to forum members.

- do you have anything you can sell for BTC and what would be interesting to members of the forum?

- maybe you can start a website, advertise some popular services/products through your referral/affiliate links?

[hd49728]

Therefore writing an exchange's name across your KYC doesnt protect you. It might mean an attacker couldn't use your documents for something like medical insurance fraud, but they can certainly still rack up thousands of dollars of debt in your name.

The only safe KYC is no KYC.

I agree and my little explanation is those steps (advised by KarkMakr) only help people have a little bit more safety with KYCs but it does not protect them entirely. They are only safe when hackers are busy with clean documents but when they finish with clean documents, they will move forwards with unclean documents. It is not too hard for them to crack those unclean documents.

[Saint-loup]

.. you should only do those bounties with KYC if you really need money.

Wait what? I did some bounties where projects required kyc, I still have their shit tokens meanwhile those who rewarded me well didn't require any kyc (the one I'm doing currently doesn't require any kyc and is paying well).

It's not very safe because your KYC can now be sold on the darknet by some malicious employees or by the staff itself.
If someone impersonates your identity then, he can buy goods or services in your name, sim hijack your phone number or steal your funds on exchanges by social engineering.  
You can read more about that in this topic from 1miau https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5221497.0

[2020VISION]

Although I've been out of the loop recently... I've been in this space for some time.
With that being said, I was looking to get back into trading/investing/earning some crypto in my spare time.

I recently made a Coinbase account to do some trading and to use their services that they provide to new users to earn some small amounts of crypto.

However, in order to "verify" my account, I have to give information such a photograph of my state ID and credit card info.  
I'm not one to willingly give away such personal information... is this something I should feel comfortable doing?
I'm aware of the fact that coinbase is pretty much synonymous with crypto-trading, I just need to hear it from the forum first as to why it's a safe move.

Furthermore, if anyone has any other suggestions, tips, or new methods for earning some crypto... I could use some ideas. I'll continue to search around the forum in the meantime. Thanks

coinbase is not legit anymore for numerous reasons...
***here are a couple "verified" non-kyc exchanges ===>

https://freiexchange.com/

https://yobit.net/

 

cheers!

[2020VISION]

If you absolutely don't want to perform any KYC verification, using DEX such as https://bisq.network/ is the only choice.
It's choice that very few would choose due to low trading volume, big limitation for fiat/cryptocurrency pairing and less user friendly.

Otherwise, you should look for other reputable exchange which is less strict than Coinbase such as Binance (usually) or one of your reputable local exchange.

coinbase is not legit anymore for numerous reasons...
***here are a couple "verified" non-kyc exchanges ===>

https://freiexchange.com/

https://yobit.net/

 

cheers!

I don't know about freiexchange, but i'm sure many users would choose CoinBase over those exchange when they're dealing with big amount of money.

i'm a coinbase BETA TESTER ..they have a long track record of screwing their customers and adding shitcoins like bcash lmfaoooo!!!

MONEY? LOL YOUR MONEY IS NO GOOD HERE!!! HAA