Cryptocurrency Wallets – Coinbase vs Gemini vs Bitstamp

Hello, crypto community! It's my first post for the New Year, so Happy Crypto-2018, are you all excited for the new year ahead? I certainly am, I cannot wait to see where blockchain technology takes us this year; but more importantly, we have a lot of great content coming up in the next couple of months, that we can wait to share with you guys! We will be announcing more about that on twitter so follow us so you don't miss out.

In this week's post, we take a look at the different cryptocurrency wallets that allow you to purchase cryptocurrency using fiat currency (GBP, EUR, USD etc). We will be analysing and comparing 3 different wallets: Coinbase, Gemini and Bitstamp.

Coinbase

Coinbase is a wallet, that allows you to buy different Cryptocurrencies using fiat currency. Unlike Gemini, it is not an exchange and so does not allow you to trade with other users. If you use Coinbase then you must trade directly with them.

Security and Accounts offered: Rating:8

"98% of customer funds are stored offline. Offline storage provides an important security measure against theft or loss. We distribute Bitcoin geographically in safe deposit boxes and vaults around the world."- Coinbase

Key Features:

Offers two-factor authentication for increased security.
Wallets and private keys are stored using AES-256 encryption.
Coinbase is covered by insurance in case of theft and customers assets are protected.
Only offers a standard account with no annual fees
Trading Rating: 7

Key Features:

Offers to trade in BTC, ETH, LTC and most recently BCH (still in beta stage, not fully supported),
Supports GBP, EUR, USD as a method of payment but allows you to see the price of cryptocurrency in your preferred currency.
Only allows you to buy and sell to Coinbase itself, no peer to peer trading
Fees are 3.99% if done by debit card and 1.49% if done via bank transfer
Trading Graphs are offered but they are of poor quality
Created GDAX for those who want to trade on an exchange with no transfer fees between the accounts
It has been rated a 7/10 as it offers 4 different cryptocurrencies as well as debit card purchases from every one of the 32 countries it supports.

User Friendliness Rating:8

It is super user-friendly, takes no time to understand how it works, you can sign up, get verified and start trading in a matter of minutes. However, despite this, multiple friends of ours have suffered delays with their verification documents. In response to this, Coinbase released an announcement explaining that it is due to mass registration traffic with over 100,000 new users joining every day. It is ideal for a beginner trader trying to get into crypto trading for the first time. It is where both myself and Felix started from.

Overall Rating: 23

Link to sign up: https://www.coinbase.com/join/59dd1ea5d4a82e028f27d2ec

Gemini

"Gemini is a licensed digital asset exchange and custodian. Buy, sell, and store both Bitcoin and Ether in a regulated, secure, and compliant manner. We are a New York trust company regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS). Gemini is a fiduciary and subject to the capital reserve requirements, cyber-security requirements, and banking compliance standards set forth by the NYSDFS and the New York Banking Law.-(Gemini website) Gemini's moto or promise, as you like is: Security & Liquidity & Trust

Security and Accounts offered Rating:8

Gemini offers both individual accounts for everyday customers as well as accounts for large institutions and hedge funds. As such it offers 2 separate accounts, a Depository account for everyday customers and a Segregated Custody account for hedge funds and large institutions.

Depository Account

(Standard account)

Segregated Custody Account

(Corporate account for hedge funds and large institutions)

Minimum Balance: None Minimum Balance: None
Annual Fees: None Annual Fees: 0.946%
Min. Annual Fees: None Min. Annual Fees: $100,000 USD
Liquidity: Funds are always available for immediate trading Liquidity: 2 business days
Key features:

2 types of accounts: Depository and Segregated Custodian
Offers two-factor authentication for increased security.
Requires ID verification via passport
No annual fees for Depository account (standard account)
Supports only Bank transfers
Trading Rating: 6

Apart from allowing you to store cryptocurrency, Gemini offers active trading like other exchanges (see our article comparing Bittrex, Bitfinex and Binance). However, it only offers Trading, Deposits and Withdrawals on BTC, ETH and USD. As such, it is very limiting as it only supports one form of fiat currency and 2 different cryptocurrencies. However, it does offer many different types of orders and execution options to fit everyone's style of trading - for more details on this check out their webpage: https://gemini.com/marketplace/

It would normally receive a 5 but because of its wide variety of trading methods, I gave it a 6.

Key features:

Trading requires bank transfer
Offers BCH, ETH, USD
Offers many types of orders
Offers active trading like an exchange
Trading occurs with other users on the platform

User friendliness: Rating: 4

It's not hard to set up an account, I was able to do so in a matter of minutes and verification doesn't take too long either. However, the process of trading, depositing and withdrawing is complex. It takes time and is not suitable for beginner traders that are just starting to learn how to trade.

Overall Rating: 18

Link to Sign up: https://exchange.gemini.com/register

Bitstamp

Security and Accounts offered Rating: 7

Key Features:

98% of digital funds stored offline. Subject to a yearly audit.
Offers individual and Corporate Accounts
Verification process is complicated as it requires proof of address (Personally took me ages to complete as I had to get my bank to start sending me paper bank statements)
Offers 2-factor authentication but requires Google authenticator (Not simple to use!)
Trading Rating:8

Key Features:

It supports trading in BTC, BCH, XRP, ETH, LTC and EUR, USD
You are not buying directly from Bitstamp but from other users on the platform.
It offers trading between various combination BTC / USD, BTC / EUR, EUR / USD, XRP / USD, XRP / EUR, XRP / BTC, LTC / USD, LTC / EUR, LTC / BTC, ETH / USD, ETH / EUR, ETH / BTC, BCH / USD, BCH / EUR, BCH / BTC
Supports Bank transfers, all major Credit cards, Astro pay and cryptocurrency deposits
Offers Elaborate Graphs for the Experienced trader

User Friendliness Rating: 4

Key Features:

Graphs are difficult to understand
Website is difficult to navigate, not intuitive
Verification process is complex
Not for the Beginner

Overall rating: 19

Link to sign up: https://www.bitstamp.net/account/register/

Conclusion

All three platforms are similar, in that they allow you to purchase cryptocurrencies via fiat currency. Gemini and Bitstamp both double up as exchanges allowing you to make these purchases and trades with other users on the platform. Coinbase does not offer this service, you have to use their dedicated exchange GDAX to trade or transfer your cryptocurrency to another exchange (e.g. Binance-see our article comparing cryptocurrency exchanges for more) Overall, the 3 are good choices but Coinbase is the best one for beginners whilst the other two are more suited for the advanced trader. Coinbase is our favourite wallet but once again I want you guys to know that this is our personal preference and we are in no way affiliated with Coinbase. Despite this preference of ours, we still believe that fees on Coinbase are high and would not hesitate to move to another wallet if it offered a better experience.

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Cryptolad over and out!

Disclaimer: This article expresses our personal opinions, predictions, and market speculations based on the way we interpret the information we have available to us. It is by no means to be considered expert advice. We take no responsibility/ liability for any actions taken by you based on anything we have mentioned.

We are in no way affiliated with any companies, sites, crypto-currency exchanges and crypto-currencies that we mention in these articles, these are simply the ones we choose to use due to our personal preference.