[gragas]

Honestly, I don't understand why everyone trashes Coinbase.

I work very closely with numerous crypto exchanges for a living (I write code which interfaces with them). Outside of work, I've personally chosen to open a Coinbase account and trade on GDAX.

Coinbase is, in my opinion, the most reputable exchange out there by far.

[rib3ye]

I generally agree here, but 1. their buy/sell ACH fees are insane, 2. They're always the first to go down in those high panic button situations that have been happening every other week since may. FWIW, Kraken may require a wire, but my money always gets in the exchange for $5, and site is more reliable... the fees are 80% cheaper.

[aianus]

> their buy/sell ACH fees are insane

It's a form of price discrimination. Only ignorant end-consumers pay the crazy broker fees. Anyone slightly sophisticated deposits USD via ACH (nearly free) and then transfers to GDAX and does their trading there (0-0.25%).

[discombobulate]

> and trade on GDAX.

So you don't trade on Coinbase yourself?

Edit: It's almost they have one exchange for ppl who know what they're doing, & one to fleece noobs (3.9% on BTC/USD. I think).

[elnygren]

Well, at least they have the best appearance.

As in, UX, UI, Docs, APIs, service design etc. are all top notch. Which would make it probable (but not certain) that the more technical parts are well engineered too.

Coinbase is doing perhaps something similar to what Stripe did for its field of business.

[devotedtoneu]

What about the crashes a little over a month ago? BTC and ETH crashed hard for a few weeks in a row and Coinbase was constantly down, stopping anyone from buying or selling.

It was a real problem.

[qhwudbebd]

People trash Coinbase because they deserve it: they are a disgrace. You can wait not for days, but for months without a response to support tickets. No company that is unable to communicate with its customers should be holding money on their behalf.

[zallarak]

What do you work on that does that? I'd love to learn more. zain at za1 dot co