Coinbase vs Coinbase Pro Question

[jerry0]

I have an old coinbase account that got verified a while back.  I am able to log into my coinbase account.  Now coinbase pro is the same thing but the fees are less right?  If so, why does anyone use coinbase then as oppose to coinbase pro?


When i went to coinbase pro website, it didn't let me go straight to the exchange, it seem to ask me few questions for verification like what is your occupation and few other questions.  So you need to answer those questions in order to use coinbase pro right?


Thing is i see those few questions blocking access to coinbase pro... but once you answer it... you can use it?

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[Evilish]

The difference between the two is Coinbase is geared more towards non-advanced traders and Coinbase Pro towards advanced traders.

Regular Coinbase makes it easier to do trades and makes it less intimidating for someone who is new to the market. It also allows you to make recurring purchases, but all this comes with additional fees.

If you're an advanced user you would use Coinbase Pro because it allows you to decide how you wanna buy or sell, whether you wanna buy/sell at market price or place a limit order and so on. It also comes with less fee.

Once you answer the questions Coinbase Pro is prompting for, you should be good to go.

[logfiles]

I have an old coinbase account that got verified a while back.  I am able to log into my coinbase account.  Now coinbase pro is the same thing but the fees are less right?  If so, why does anyone use coinbase then as oppose to coinbase pro?

Coinbase.com is a service where one can quickly swap (buy or sell)cryptos using/for fiat. So it's a much easier option to use for someone who is less technical but the price to pay is the fee.

Also, one has not control on what price they want to sell and buy an asset while for the case of coinbase pro, you can place your orders at a specific price.

Thing is i see those few questions blocking access to coinbase pro... but once you answer it... you can use it?

You should be able to use it once you answer them since your account is already verified. Happy trading.

[sheenshane]

It's totally different from the fees and the purchasing of Bitcoin.  Coinbase.com is a wallet that you can also buy Bitcoin directly to the Coinbase company or even selling to them, that is why the fee is quite high.  While Coinbase Pro is an exchange, where you have transactions with other traders or users which is a buying or selling point at the same platform.

Theoretically explanation IMO, Coinbase is making a lot of money from new investors with a huge fee knowing the fact that you can able to use your debit card when you're funding your account while the Coinbase Pro isn't.  That's why when you've bought Bitcoin on Coinbase, it's faster and quite high fees.

Anyway, good thing that you've to open your Coinbase Pro and now you may start trading there.

[condoras]

Coinbase.com is a wallet that you can also buy Bitcoin directly to the Coinbase company or even selling to them, that is why the fee is quite high.  While Coinbase Pro is an exchange, where you have transactions with other traders or users which is a buying or selling point at the same platform.

Wallet? From when? You don't own the keys so is just a deposit address, not a wallet.
As for the fees, it's true that are higher among other exchanges with similar fast buying/ selling option but for sending to others, is far less from all the exchanges.

Theoretically explanation IMO, Coinbase is making a lot of money from new investors with a huge fee knowing the fact that you can able to use your debit card when you're funding your account while the Coinbase Pro isn't.  That's why when you've bought Bitcoin on Coinbase, it's faster and quite high fees.

The difference is the debit/ credit card buying option. You can fund your Coinabe Pro account as well with fiat but only with bank transfer (1-3 days) or from moving funds from your linked Coinbase account. If you want to buy fast BTC, maybe to see other exchange options. From personal experience, Coinbase is the most expensive if you use a debit/ credit card.

[jerry0]

So to confirm, just answer that question of your occupation and the other question and then you could use coinbase pro right?  I thought it was strange you needed to answer that... but to use just coinbase, it doesn't.


So coinbase, you buy/sell from coinbase themselves?  But with coinbase pro... you buy/sell from other users right?

[o_e_l_e_o]

So coinbase, you buy/sell from coinbase themselves?  But with coinbase pro... you buy/sell from other users right?

Not quite. It's not like you are directly trading with other users like you would in a decentralized or a peer-to-peer exchange. Yes, other users are placing buy and sell orders on the market, which you can see in real time and which will affect the price you pay for your market order or whether your limit order is filled, but you are still buying and selling to Coinbase rather than picking an individual user to trade with.

Think of Coinbase like a pawn shop. You go in, there is a product you want (bitcoin), you pay the price on the price tag, and the merchant (Coinbase) takes your money, some of which will be fees/profit. Or you may want to sell some bitcoin to them, and they will tell you the price they will give you for the bitcoin.

Think of Coinbase Pro like a stock exchange. There is a product you want (bitcoin), but the price is constantly moving up and down because thousands of other people are buying and selling it at the same time. Money is moving in and out. You can still just say "Here, take my money and give me some at whatever the current price is" (a market order), but you can also say, "I would like to buy/sell but only when the price falls/rises to X dollars" (a limit order). Even though there are thousands of people buying and selling constantly, all the trades still go through the stock exchange - you don't walk up to another random person on the exchange floor and hand them cash.

Coinbase is simpler but comes with higher fees. Coinbase Pro is more complicated, but if you know what you are doing you will save money by using it.

[jerry0]

So coinbase, you buy/sell from coinbase themselves?  But with coinbase pro... you buy/sell from other users right?

Not quite. It's not like you are directly trading with other users like you would in a decentralized or a peer-to-peer exchange. Yes, other users are placing buy and sell orders on the market, which you can see in real time and which will affect the price you pay for your market order or whether your limit order is filled, but you are still buying and selling to Coinbase rather than picking an individual user to trade with.

Think of Coinbase like a pawn shop. You go in, there is a product you want (bitcoin), you pay the price on the price tag, and the merchant (Coinbase) takes your money, some of which will be fees/profit. Or you may want to sell some bitcoin to them, and they will tell you the price they will give you for the bitcoin.

Think of Coinbase Pro like a stock exchange. There is a product you want (bitcoin), but the price is constantly moving up and down because thousands of other people are buying and selling it at the same time. Money is moving in and out. You can still just say "Here, take my money and give me some at whatever the current price is" (a market order), but you can also say, "I would like to buy/sell but only when the price falls/rises to X dollars" (a limit order). Even though there are thousands of people buying and selling constantly, all the trades still go through the stock exchange - you don't walk up to another random person on the exchange floor and hand them cash.

Coinbase is simpler but comes with higher fees. Coinbase Pro is more complicated, but if you know what you are doing you will save money by using it.

Thanks.  But if you just want to buy/sell btc at the moment and not do any of those limit orders and other things like that, using coinbase pro would still be easy for that right?  Thus imagine whatever btc price is right now... you go and sell or buy it etc on coinbase pro.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Thanks.  But if you just want to buy/sell btc at the moment and not do any of those limit orders and other things like that, using coinbase pro would still be easy for that right?  Thus imagine whatever btc price is right now... you go and sell or buy it etc on coinbase pro.

You can still do that on Coinbase Pro without having to pay attention to all the different types of orders, yes. Once you have your fiat or bitcoin in your Coinbase Pro account, then it should be as simple as visiting the correct market page for the currency pair you want to trade, hitting "Buy" or "Sell" over on the left, and placing a market order (which is the kind of order which will execute at the current price). Note that depending on how much you are buying or selling and the current volume on the market at the current price, your entire order may not execute at the exact price currently displayed, and may partially fill at several different prices within a small spread.

[jerry0]

You all still recommend coinbase pro vs coinbase right?  Can't imagine why you use one if you pay much less fees on the other...


Also anyone here got that employment question message when logging into the coinbase pro site?  Why does it ask you that when you already confirmed with coinbase and verified there?

[logfiles]

You all still recommend coinbase pro vs coinbase right?  Can't imagine why you use one if you pay much less fees on the other...

If you would like to carry out much more advanced trading at lesser fees, then coinbase pro is the option.

Also anyone here got that employment question message when logging into the coinbase pro site?  Why does it ask you that when you already confirmed with coinbase and verified there?

It's seems to be their policy. I have seen a couple of users talk about the extra questions when they attempt to use coinbase pro despite having an already verified coinbase account.

[jerry0]

Okay so i just answered those questions such as what i will be using it for and occupation etc.  They seem to offer options like investing or trading and many options... doesn't matter if if you choose say investments but you later trade right?


Now... what im confused is when i log into coinbase pro site... how come it shows my balance as 0?  It doesn't seem to show any btc i have?


I have a very tiny amount of btc, bch and btg when i check my coinbase account... my usd balance is 0 of course.  But how come i don't see any btc, bch or btg balance on coinbase pro?  Shouldn't they be linked?  Or i need to send the btc/bch/btg from coinbase to coinbase pro? 

[jerry0]

Also notice the fees on coinbase pro... it shows whether you are the taker or maker... assuming you are doing a trade of l0k usd and under... the fee is 0.5% regardless.  But if its higher amount... then the fees are much lower if you are the maker.


If that is the case, wouldn't it make sense if someone wants to trade 50k or l00k worth of btc or more... to always be the maker?  I mean...i know if you are the taker... you can just accept the offer just like that.  But how much longer are you really waiting for you are the maker?  Can't be that long right?


Example imagine you see someone selling btc for 59800 as the lowest price seller... i mean... you type in 59798... and say you have 0.0l btc to sell... wouldn't it get sold pretty quick anyways assuming the price of btc is going higher? 


Also when using coinbase pro, you are doing trades with other users.  With coinbase, you are buying/selling directly from coinbase right?


And by doing that.. you are paying l.5% compared to 0.5% on coinbase pro?  So you are paying l percent more to make it easier on you?  But buying/selling on coinbase pro is still very simple right?  I mean like buying or selling immediately... not like you put an order to buy or sell x amount of btc when it hit certain price...

[PrimeNumber7]

Now... what im confused is when i log into coinbase pro site... how come it shows my balance as 0?  It doesn't seem to show any btc i have?


I have a very tiny amount of btc, bch and btg when i check my coinbase account... my usd balance is 0 of course.  But how come i don't see any btc, bch or btg balance on coinbase pro?  Shouldn't they be linked?  Or i need to send the btc/bch/btg from coinbase to coinbase pro? 

You have to transfer any USD or coin you have in your coinbase account to your coinbase pro account. Also note that you will have withdrawal limits as to how much you are able to withdraw from your coinbase pro account per day, and if you have coin valued above these limits, you will have to process withdrawals over multiple days.

If that is the case, wouldn't it make sense if someone wants to trade 50k or l00k worth of btc or more... to always be the maker?  I mean...i know if you are the taker... you can just accept the offer just like that.  But how much longer are you really waiting for you are the maker?  Can't be that long right?

If you are in the process of buying coin, if you try to be the maker, you may have to continuously revise your price upwards until someone sells into your order, possibly by an amount that is greater than the fee savings verses if you had placed a taker order. There is no guarantee the price will ever be a better price in your favor than what it is at the time you place your oder.

Also when using coinbase pro, you are doing trades with other users.  With coinbase, you are buying/selling directly from coinbase right?

My understanding is that when you buy on coinbase, they will send your order to coinbase pro as a market order. Some of their fee is exchange rate risk because they may quote a price at x time, and the price goes against them by the time you press the button to have the order execute on coinbase.

[logfiles]

If that is the case, wouldn't it make sense if someone wants to trade 50k or l00k worth of btc or more... to always be the maker?  I mean...i know if you are the taker... you can just accept the offer just like that.  But how much longer are you really waiting for you are the maker?  Can't be that long right?


Example imagine you see someone selling btc for 59800 as the lowest price seller... i mean... you type in 59798... and say you have 0.0l btc to sell... wouldn't it get sold pretty quick anyways assuming the price of btc is going higher? 

If you are a maker, you have to be willing to be patient at times in case the Bitcoin price goes in the opposite direction, or you could make adjustments in your order price to put it closer to the market price.

It isn't as easy as you may think because you are not the only person looking to have the lowest selling order. At times, you will notice that as soon as you place a lower selling order, other traders will also place much lower selling orders than yours.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Shouldn't they be linked?

No.

Or i need to send the btc/bch/btg from coinbase to coinbase pro? 

Yes.

Also notice the fees on coinbase pro... it shows whether you are the taker or maker... assuming you are doing a trade of l0k usd and under... the fee is 0.5% regardless.  But if its higher amount... then the fees are much lower if you are the maker.

The fees only diverge above $50k, and even then it is by 0.1% at most. Source: https://help.coinbase.com/en/pro/trading-and-funding/trading-rules-and-fees/fees

If that is the case, wouldn't it make sense if someone wants to trade 50k or l00k worth of btc or more... to always be the maker?

Sure, if the price is moving in the direction you need it to. If the current price $60,000, you put in a maker buy order at $59,950 and the price only goes up, then your order never fills.

[jerry0]

Thanks for that info.  I see you can transfer your btc or any coins from coinbase to coinbase pro.


Now since most ppl are going to deal with under 50k usd amounts... doesn't it make no sense to sell btc on coinbase vs coinbase pro?  Example you sell l,000 usd of btc for fiat on coinbase... you pay l.5 percent fee right?  But if you do it on coinbase pro... you pay 0.5 percent fee?  So you are saving l% selling on coinbase pro... compared to coinbase?

[jerry0]

Also is it possible to make a mistake when offering or buying btc at certain price?


Imagine price is 56000 at the moment.  The spread on coinbase pro is like very close to that amount.  Let say you want to sell some btc... and you see someone selling it for 55998 for example.  Now let say you want to offer it for 55997... then someone will most likely buy some off you right?  Now what happen if you make a mistake and accidentally put you want to sell btc immediately at say 50000 usd for example.  Would that mean another trader or bot could see your mistake and immediately buy some of your btc at that price since well its your fault for putting a very low price?  Now how close are the prices when people offer them?  Should be a dollar or so off between one seller and another one?


Then again, if you are doing trade for 50k or less... you might as well just by the buyer and not maker right since you dont save anything from that?

[o_e_l_e_o]

Now since most ppl are going to deal with under 50k usd amounts... doesn't it make no sense to sell btc on coinbase vs coinbase pro?  Example you sell l,000 usd of btc for fiat on coinbase... you pay l.5 percent fee right?  But if you do it on coinbase pro... you pay 0.5 percent fee?  So you are saving l% selling on coinbase pro... compared to coinbase?

Correct. Coinbase is a quicker and simpler interface, and so many people will continue to use it despite the fact it charges higher fees. All these people could save money on fees if they took a bit of time to learn how to use Coinbase Pro. However, many won't bother, and Coinbase know that, so they will continue to profit from these users' laziness.

Also is it possible to make a mistake when offering or buying btc at certain price?

Absolutely. People do it all the time. Fat finger errors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat-finger_error) are probably what you are referring to here.

Imagine price is 56000 at the moment.  The spread on coinbase pro is like very close to that amount.  Let say you want to sell some btc... and you see someone selling it for 55998 for example.  Now let say you want to offer it for 55997... then someone will most likely buy some off you right?

If there are current buy orders at $56,000, and you place a sell order at $55,997, then your order will be filled immediately provided there is enough liquidity.

Now what happen if you make a mistake and accidentally put you want to sell btc immediately at say 50000 usd for example.

Again, if there are current buy orders at $56,000, and you place a sell order at $50,000, then your order will be filled immediately. However, your order will be filled by the highest buy orders on the market. You are essentially saying "I will sell at any price down to $50,000". If there are buy orders at $55,999, then they will be matched against your sell order first. If after they have all been matched you still have more to sell, then you will be matched against the sell orders at $55,998. And so on, until you have either sold everything you were trying to sell or you match against every buy order down to $50,000.

[jerry0]

But are you saying if you put the amount to sell as 50k... when the current price to sell is around 55k... it would be bought off immediately?  So basically your mistake... someone else's gain?  Again im not talking about i want the btc to sell once it is a certain amount... but like i want to sell right now etc.


I mean... so if someone accidentally puts down they want to sell 5 btc right now on coinbase pro and accidentally put the sell price at 500 dollars... what would happen?  Someone or the bots would immediately see this error and buy it immediately and profit?  But if its an obvious error, there is no protection for someone who makes a mistake with this?