Coinbase Review

Plans & pricing

Prices last verified Nov 11, 2026

Free plan limits

Opening an account, holding assets and tracking prices are free; buying and selling incur a trading fee and a spread.

Free trial

No free trial

Coinbase alternatives

7.2/10

OKX

A large crypto exchange with a Web3 wallet, but a US legal-compliance record to weigh

Free

7.2/10

Binance

Large crypto exchange with a 0.1% base spot fee, under legal and security scrutiny

Free

Controversies & incidents

Issues documented by the press, regulators, courts or the vendor itself. Every item is sourced; unproven claims are labelled as allegations. Last researched: Nov 11, 2026

• Low impactResolvedRegulator · Oct 22, 2026

  Irish €3.25 million fine over customer-fund safeguarding

  Coinbase Ireland agreed to pay a €3.25 million fine to the Central Bank of Ireland over past safeguarding practices. Coinbase says no customer lost money.

  Read the full account

  Per Coinbase's announcement (Oct 22, 2026), the investigation covered how Coinbase Ireland calculated and held safeguarded funds: European customer money was mixed with that of other Coinbase entities during the 2023 US banking crisis and after Brexit, some withdrawals by non-Irish customers were paid from the safeguarding account, and coding errors left the account underfunded by about 0.54% on average in 2023 and H1 2024. Coinbase says it self-reported many of the issues in January 2024 and has fixed them.

  Vendor response

  Coinbase says no customer suffered a loss or lost access to funds, and that it has added technical controls.

  Sources:Coinbase blog: Settlement with the Central Bank of Ireland

• High impactConfirmedSecurity · May 1, 2025

  Data breach via bribed support agents

  Coinbase confirmed that overseas support agents were bribed to hand over data on 69,461 people, including ID images and bank account numbers. It refused a $20 million ransom demand.

  Read the full account

  According to The Record (May 21, 2025), the incident began in December 2024 and a third party demanded $20 million on May 11, 2025. Exposed data included passport and ID images, names, dates of birth, last four SSN digits, bank account numbers, balances and transaction history; Coinbase said passwords and login credentials were not exposed. It fired those involved, offered a $20 million reward for information on the perpetrators, pledged to reimburse customers tricked into sending funds and estimated $180–400 million in costs. The Record cited Bloomberg as reporting a US Justice Department investigation. Per The Block (May 26, 2025), a shareholder filed a class action in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleging Coinbase was slow to disclose the breach; the sources read do not report a ruling.

  Vendor response

  Coinbase refused to pay, offered a $20 million reward, pledged to reimburse scammed customers and said it had tightened security.

  Sources:The Record: nearly 70,000 impacted in Coinbase breachThe Block: Coinbase sued in class action over data breach disclosure

• Low impactResolvedRegulator · Jul 25, 2024

  UK FCA fines UK subsidiary £3.5 million

  The UK Financial Conduct Authority fined CB Payments £3.5 million for onboarding high-risk customers despite agreeing not to.

  Read the full account

  According to Reuters (via The Star, July 25, 2024), CB Payments onboarded or served 13,416 high-risk customers in breach of a voluntary requirement agreed with the FCA in October 2020. Nearly a third of them deposited a combined $24.9 million, used for about $226 million of crypto transactions through other Coinbase entities. A fine of about £5 million was cut by 30% for early settlement, per Reuters and law firm Mishcon de Reya.

  Vendor response

  Coinbase said it welcomes regulation and works closely with regulators, including the FCA.

  Sources:Reuters via The Star: UK watchdog fines Coinbase's CB PaymentsMishcon de Reya: FCA levies fine for repeated VREQ breaches