I have a few beginner questions regarding crypto trading

[6erth6rind6ain]

After falling down the rabbit hole of learning how to mine, and learning how to build a mining rig, learning how that stuff works, I learned what I needed to learn and decided that I cannot afford to start mining right now.

So as an attempt to better comprehend and explore the world of cryptocurrency(which I've only been aware of for a few years), I decided to invest in a few types of crypto.

I have just a few beginner questions regarding crypto trade:

1. I'm currently using coinbase as my main crypto exchange. But I keep hearing from a lot of people who have been trading/mining crypto for years say that they don't use coinbase anymore. Why is that? Also what exchange is the most popular to use right now? Is it still Coinbase?

2. Is it normal to make several purchases on coinbase (using your checking account) as in purchasing portions of several different types of crypto, for those transactions to be pending for a little while before your available balance reflects the amount that you actually purchased? How long does the pending phase usually take on coinbase, if your checking account is in the United States?

3. I've heard mentions in forums and youtube that people who trade prefer to store their crypto in wallets outside of an exchange for security reasons. If I'm understanding that right, that instead of storing their crypto in wallets that you can make on your coinbase account, they store it in a paper wallet or something. Am I understanding that right? And if so, what security risk am I taking by storying the crypto that I've invested in, in wallets that I created in my coinbase account?

[jackg]

I'd recommend using coinbase Pro (Pro.coinbase.com) as I'm pretty sure it's still got lower fees and allows you to set limit orders (orders where you can pick a price you want to buy at so you're not suffering slippage).

1. I stopped using coinbase because they were selling verification information, so...

3. If you store your funds on an exchange you're at risk to security methods you can't control. If you're good at security, I'd store them yourself. If you're bad at security (eg fell for a phishing scam, downloaded and ran an execution from a random source or are very easy to manipulate - at least over the past 6 years) I'd recommend storing it with an exchange like coinbase.

[Charles-Tim]

1. I'm currently using coinbase as my main crypto exchange. But I keep hearing from a lot of people who have been trading/mining crypto for years say that they don't use coinbase anymore. Why is that?

There is nothing bad to make use of coinbase, but it should only be for trading, while done with trading, you can move your coin to a noncustodial wallet, and preferably offline wallets. About mining, hardware wallet will be good for that also, exchanges are just for trading, while wallet to save. Remember you do not have the private key while using exchanges, you do not have full control while using an exchange account, the exchanges have the private key, and have the full control.

Also what exchange is the most popular to use right now? Is it still Coinbase?

In United States, Coinbase is the most popular crypto exchange  while in the world, Binance is the most popular exchange. 

3. I've heard mentions in forums and youtube that people who trade prefer to store their crypto in wallets outside of an exchange for security reasons. If I'm understanding that right, that instead of storing their crypto in wallets that you can make on your coinbase account, they store it in a paper wallet or something. Am I understanding that right? And if so, what security risk am I taking by storying the crypto that I've invested in, in wallets that I created in my coinbase account?

Exchanges have your information. Which can either be shared to the governments. Or be revealed to hackers during data breach. Also, anything that third party knows is not as secure as if only you know it.

Exchanges can be hacked, hackers are attracted my millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies managed by exchanges

You do not have the full control. Not you key, it is the exchange key.

Wallet will make you enjoy low fee for transactions

Inconveniences ranging from freezed or blocked accounts to exchange maintainance.

[semobo]

Why people are not recommending coinbase is due to their high fee structure and poor customer care support so if you are anywhere other than US you have lot of cheaper trading options so you can save fee which means more profits.

Exchanges can be hacked any time so even if you are holding your funds in coinbase account doesn't mean you actually holds the funds, coinbase does it for you so if you want to take control of your funds then it should be on non custodial wallet.

[Bitcoin_Arena]

1. I'm currently using coinbase as my main crypto exchange. But I keep hearing from a lot of people who have been trading/mining crypto for years say that they don't use coinbase anymore. Why is that? Also what exchange is the most popular to use right now? Is it still Coinbase?

Coinbase has 2 different exchange platforms

Coinbase - https://www.coinbase.com (A simplified platform for buying and selling your assets. But you will only be able to buy and sell at the market price and the fees are much higher)

Coinbase pro - https://pro.coinbase.com (A much more advance trading platforms where you have options such as order types and the prices you want to place bids or asks. The fee is also lower compared to coinbase). You are probably going to use coinbase pro if you are planning to trade frequently

Given that you are from the US, coinbase pro isn't a bad choice.
There are also alternatives such as Binance.us, Kraken.com, Gemini.com

2. Is it normal to make several purchases on coinbase (using your checking account) as in purchasing portions of several different types of crypto, for those transactions to be pending for a little while before your available balance reflects the amount that you actually purchased? How long does the pending phase usually take on coinbase, if your checking account is in the United States?

I think it's Ok so long as your account has enough funds. Read this article for more details

3. I've heard mentions in forums and youtube that people who trade prefer to store their crypto in wallets outside of an exchange for security reasons. If I'm understanding that right, that instead of storing their crypto in wallets that you can make on your coinbase account, they store it in a paper wallet or something. Am I understanding that right? And if so, what security risk am I taking by storying the crypto that I've invested in, in wallets that I created in my coinbase account?

The risk is that;
- If they ever get hacked, you could lose your money.
- If they decide to shut down their website, you will have no access to your money

If it's a great deal of money, is suggest you buy a hardware wallet like Ledger nano or Trezor to keep your funds offline. Most of them are in the range of $100 or less.

[6erth6rind6ain]

Ok, here are some more beginner questions:



1. on coinbase, if you go to settings and then click on crypto addresses, you'll see a list of addresses that you have on your coinbase account. I own small portions of six different types of crypto. I created a wallet for each type of crypto before purchasing a small amount of that crypto because I was under the impression that I need a wallet to put crypto in, in order to purchase crypto. As an experiment, I tested that train of thought by purchasing 1 whole ALGO for 1.41USD without making a wallet for that currency first. And I was able to purchase it anyway. ...and now I'm confused lol because if my six different forms of crypto that I own (including ALGO) are not being stored in the coinbase wallets I made for them, where are they being stored? What is it that I'm not understanding?

2. When it comes to those hardware wallets that are like 100 dollars USD, can they hold multiple types of currency, or would I have to purchase one hardware wallet per crypto? (Example, if I have some bitcoin, and some ethereum, can I store both on a hardware wallet, or do I need one hardware wallet for each of those two currencies?)

3. Thank you guys for answering my questions so far. I'm done trading, and purchasing the desired amounts of six different types of currencies that I wanted to invest in. I now know that since I have no intention of selling any of my currencies and I just want to sit on them, that I need to transfer all my crypto to either a set of paper wallets or a set of hardware wallets.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm under the impression that a "paper wallet" is is a wallet address that I create, write down that wallet address on a piece of paper, and then store in a physical safe in my house. And that cannot be hacked because it's paper. I'm under the impression that creating a paper wallet and using it in that manner (assuming that I'm comprehending what a paper wallet really is) that it'll serve the same purpose as a hardware wallet, except that it's FREE. If I'm right, why would I spend the money for a hardware wallet?

[Insanerman]

1. I'm currently using coinbase as my main crypto exchange. But I keep hearing from a lot of people who have been trading/mining crypto for years say that they don't use coinbase anymore. Why is that? Also what exchange is the most popular to use right now? Is it still Coinbase?

Coinbase already had a lot of issues and still having some from time to time, mainly with their transactions and system failures. Also, it is centralized, hence once the company behind Coinbase had been hacked or had an issue, all of your funds are prone to risks of losing. You can check popular exchanges in coinmarketcap and look for what UI/UX fits your trading preferences as most might suggest platforms that wouldn't suit your liking.

2. Is it normal to make several purchases on coinbase (using your checking account) as in purchasing portions of several different types of crypto, for those transactions to be pending for a little while before your available balance reflects the amount that you actually purchased? How long does the pending phase usually take on coinbase, if your checking account is in the United States?

No one really is fond now in using coinbase as there are many wallets and exchanges that are preferrable than it. If you would still push the use of it, you might encounter the same issue as the others had.

3. I've heard mentions in forums and youtube that people who trade prefer to store their crypto in wallets outside of an exchange for security reasons. If I'm understanding that right, that instead of storing their crypto in wallets that you can make on your coinbase account, they store it in a paper wallet or something. Am I understanding that right? And if so, what security risk am I taking by storying the crypto that I've invested in, in wallets that I created in my coinbase account? 

As mentioned above, Coinbase is centralized and prone to dozens of risks. Most users use Hardware wallets or decentralized wallets such as Trustwallet.

Please spend time studying wallets and its differences, before you go to exchanges and trading. Knowing less in just wallets alone can even add a risk of making you lose your funds as many wallets doesn't support other network systems.

[carlfebz2]

1. Coinbase.pro or Binance - that should be enough.

2. If you do live in US then most likely you would really be eyeing out on using Coinbase but if not then Binance all the way.

3. Never store you coins on an exchange, you wouldnt know on when they would get hacked. Third party wallets shouldnt really be considered
    when it comes to long term holds.

[SquallLeonhart]

Coinbase would be the most popular exchange for you and the right choice if you are living in USA and want to buy bitcoins. You could wire money to them and get your bitcoins and that's it, and vice versa when you want to sell your bitcoins and want money on your bank account, this is what they do and only thing they are good at and I have to say thats for only USA citizens as well. If you want regular trading go with Binance, they are huge and everyone uses them.

I have never used Coinbase because I am not american so I can't really respond to what that second question asks. Do not use coinbase in any way or shape for storing money, use hardware wallets, use few USB with your wallet and data in it, all of that would be fine, pick anything else than coinbase to store your money, in fact it's not about coinbase, do not use any exchange to store your money.

[6erth6rind6ain]

Ok, I was able to do enough research to figure out how to come up with a way to safely store my crypto, whether or not I want to use a paper wallet, or hardware wallet, etc., and I'm going to be getting a Cobo Vault Pro.

Now that I've learned that all my crypto is being stored in my coinbase account, and not the wallets that I have in my coinbase account, how does the process work when it comes to transferring my crypto to my new Cobo Vault Pro FROM my coinbase account, once I get that hardware wallet and set it up? I'm asking because I've done all my trading on coinbase and not my iphone. I'll eventually figure it out, but thought it would be a good idea to ask here, while waiting for my Cobo Vault Pro to show up in the mail.

[Upgrade00]

how does the process work when it comes to transferring my crypto to my new Cobo Vault Pro FROM my coinbase account, once I get that hardware wallet and set it up?

When you purchase and set up a hardware wallet, you'll get your address which is used to receive funds into the wallet, from your coinbase account you enter the option to send bitcoins and enter your new address as the destination. Exchanges would charge an extra fee besides the transaction fee, but after the process, you'll fully own your coins and can safely store them.

Remember to back up your seed phrase in a secure location.

[6erth6rind6ain]

how does the process work when it comes to transferring my crypto to my new Cobo Vault Pro FROM my coinbase account, once I get that hardware wallet and set it up?

When you purchase and set up a hardware wallet, you'll get your address which is used to receive funds into the wallet, from your coinbase account you enter the option to send bitcoins and enter your new address as the destination. Exchanges would charge an extra fee besides the transaction fee, but after the process, you'll fully own your coins and can safely store them.

Remember to back up your seed phrase in a secure location.

Wow that's a lot less complicated than I thought. Thanks!

[DoublerHunter]

Now that I've learned that all my crypto is being stored in my coinbase account, and not the wallets that I have in my coinbase account, how does the process work when it comes to transferring my crypto to my new Cobo Vault Pro FROM my coinbase account, once I get that hardware wallet and set it up? I'm asking because I've done all my trading on coinbase and not my iphone. I'll eventually figure it out, but thought it would be a good idea to ask here, while waiting for my Cobo Vault Pro to show up in the mail.

^ Just find the withdrawal option on Coinbase and transfer your BTC to your hardware wallet and find the receiving address of your hardware wallet.
If that is not a huge amount and you are not planning to store it for a long period of time, I suggest you use Electrum wallet because it is ready to use.
Nevertheless, you are right, never store BTC on exchange because that could be not yours, people here believed that not your keys, not your BTC, so storing in exchange for a long time will probably high risk that could will lost.

[chaser15]

As an experiment, I tested that train of thought by purchasing 1 whole ALGO for 1.41USD without making a wallet for that currency first. And I was able to purchase it anyway. ...and now I'm confused lol because if my six different forms of crypto that I own (including ALGO) are not being stored in the coinbase wallets I made for them, where are they being stored? What is it that I'm not understanding?

Once you purchased certain crypto that supported of course by Coinbase, there's really a wallet for it so no need to actually make it manually.

When it comes to those hardware wallets that are like 100 dollars USD, can they hold multiple types of currency, or would I have to purchase one hardware wallet per crypto? (Example, if I have some bitcoin, and some ethereum, can I store both on a hardware wallet, or do I need one hardware wallet for each of those two currencies?)

Yes, most hardware wallets stored multiple coins.

For supported coins, you can check their respective website.

If I'm right, why would I spend the money for a hardware wallet?

Considering of using a hardware wallet was for an advanced level of security.

It's still up to us how we would like to secure our funds either by any means. I don't own a hardware wallet but I have my own way of securing my funds.

[Upgrade00]

Wow that's a lot less complicated than I thought. Thanks!

It isn't overly complicated, but ensure you observe safety precautions as some users lose their funds due to carelessness;
• Check that the hardware wallet had not been set up prior to when you purchased it.
• Double check alphanumerics in addresses before clicking send as transactions are not reversible once confirmed.
• Store your hardware in a secure location and keep back ups.
• You could use a mixer or coinjoining services to improve your privacy (it would make it impossible to link your profile on coinbase to your new address).

[harizen]

If I'm right, why would I spend the money for a hardware wallet?

This thread might help you: (it will feed your mind)

[SECURITY | GUIDE] How to protect your wallets and private keys
Secure Element in Hardware Wallets

Since you already decided that you might hold your coins for now, it's a must to gather knowledge about wallet security.

[Stedsm]

1. I'm currently using coinbase as my main crypto exchange. But I keep hearing from a lot of people who have been trading/mining crypto for years say that they don't use coinbase anymore. Why is that? Also what exchange is the most popular to use right now? Is it still Coinbase?

There are various exchanges available and they wanted to know more about others but they couldn't due to the quarrel that went through between everyone.

2. Is it normal to make several purchases on coinbase (using your checking account) as in purchasing portions of several different types of crypto, for those transactions to be pending for a little while before your available balance reflects the amount that you actually purchased? How long does the pending phase usually take on coinbase, if your checking account is in the United States?

A pending balance usually doesn't take too much time as there are always matching orders available on your desired prices. There's no issue if you use a checking account in USA to buy crypto here.

3. I've heard mentions in forums and youtube that people who trade prefer to store their crypto in wallets outside of an exchange for security reasons. If I'm understanding that right, that instead of storing their crypto in wallets that you can make on your coinbase account, they store it in a paper wallet or something. Am I understanding that right? And if so, what security risk am I taking by storying the crypto that I've invested in, in wallets that I created in my coinbase account?

Your wallet should be held by you to say this that you are the governor of your own money, so that's an advantage here and having it outside an exchange makes you the king of your money.

[Bitcoin_Arena]

Ok, here are some more beginner questions:
1. on coinbase, if you go to settings and then click on crypto addresses, you'll see a list of addresses that you have on your coinbase account. I own small portions of six different types of crypto. I created a wallet for each type of crypto before purchasing a small amount of that crypto because I was under the impression that I need a wallet to put crypto in, in order to purchase crypto. As an experiment, I tested that train of thought by purchasing 1 whole ALGO for 1.41USD without making a wallet for that currency first. And I was able to purchase it anyway. ...and now I'm confused lol because if my six different forms of crypto that I own (including ALGO) are not being stored in the coinbase wallets I made for them, where are they being stored? What is it that I'm not understanding?

The addresses you create in your coinbase account are mostly for receiving crypto from any external source like another exchange, online casino or external wallet. It doesn't really matter if you create the addresses before purchasing or not.

You still have you ALGO assigned to your account. Once you try to withdraw, it will be sent to from your account via coinbase's hot wallet. So you have nothing to be worried about.

2. When it comes to those hardware wallets that are like 100 dollars USD, can they hold multiple types of currency, or would I have to purchase one hardware wallet per crypto? (Example, if I have some bitcoin, and some ethereum, can I store both on a hardware wallet, or do I need one hardware wallet for each of those two currencies?)

Most of the popular hardware wallets are multicurrency. So all you have to do is generate receiving addresses for each coin you want to sent to the hardware wallet.

[sheenshane]

1. I'm currently using coinbase as my main crypto exchange. But I keep hearing from a lot of people who have been trading/mining crypto for years say that they don't use coinbase anymore. Why is that? Also what exchange is the most popular to use right now? Is it still Coinbase?

Probably because Coinbase has higher fees compared to other exchange platforms.  They had charged about 0.5% for the crypto buy and sale on their site.
You might read this for the update of the Coinbase rate trade, https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/investing/brokers/coinbase.

2. Is it normal to make several purchases on coinbase (using your checking account) as in purchasing portions of several different types of crypto, for those transactions to be pending for a little while before your available balance reflects the amount that you actually purchased? How long does the pending phase usually take on coinbase, if your checking account is in the United States?

I heard there's no pending transaction upon purchase in Coinbase and they are also regulated by the US government.  As long as you pay a tax you're always fine.

3. I've heard mentions in forums and youtube that people who trade prefer to store their crypto in wallets outside of an exchange for security reasons. If I'm understanding that right, that instead of storing their crypto in wallets that you can make on your coinbase account, they store it in a paper wallet or something. Am I understanding that right? And if so, what security risk am I taking by storying the crypto that I've invested in, in wallets that I created in my coinbase account?

That's right, never leave your money on an exchange you don't have full control but as of now, Coinbase has a good reputation, but what if someday they will be scammed and probably will shut down.  That is very risky on our part, it's better to purchase a good hardware wallet for safe storage on our Bitcoin, and cold storage is the best and secure place.

[santiPOGI]

After falling down the rabbit hole of learning how to mine, and learning how to build a mining rig, learning how that stuff works, I learned what I needed to learn and decided that I cannot afford to start mining right now.

So as an attempt to better comprehend and explore the world of cryptocurrency(which I've only been aware of for a few years), I decided to invest in a few types of crypto.

I have just a few beginner questions regarding crypto trade:

1. I'm currently using coinbase as my main crypto exchange. But I keep hearing from a lot of people who have been trading/mining crypto for years say that they don't use coinbase anymore. Why is that? Also what exchange is the most popular to use right now? Is it still Coinbase?

2. Is it normal to make several purchases on coinbase (using your checking account) as in purchasing portions of several different types of crypto, for those transactions to be pending for a little while before your available balance reflects the amount that you actually purchased? How long does the pending phase usually take on coinbase, if your checking account is in the United States?

3. I've heard mentions in forums and youtube that people who trade prefer to store their crypto in wallets outside of an exchange for security reasons. If I'm understanding that right, that instead of storing their crypto in wallets that you can make on your coinbase account, they store it in a paper wallet or something. Am I understanding that right? And if so, what security risk am I taking by storying the crypto that I've invested in, in wallets that I created in my coinbase account?

Its been a years now that I've heard a negative feedback about coinbase, there are a lot of users of this platform
were in the end they regret, and some faced a lot of issue problems, just like example is that they all of a sudden freeze their account,
stealing their KYC something like, in which in the end the majority of them withdraw their asset in coinbase then transfer or store in a safest wallet. Therefore, your understanding was certainly right. Good day