If you’re getting into the crypto market, maybe you’re doing so for investment purposes. You feel like the crypto you have will become more valuable, and you can cash in on that value later. You might also get into crypto because you feel like more places will accept it in the future, so you want to get in on that trend.
Either way, you should know about the best crypto exchange platforms, and Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are two of the more prominent ones. We’ll talk about how you can choose between them in the following article.
The Basics
You can choose between Coinbase and Coinbase Pro based on several different criteria. Let’s talk about each one so you know why you might want to sign up with them.
Coinbase is the biggest crypto exchange platform in the US if you want to talk about traded volume alone. All the employees do remote work because the company does not have a physical headquarters.
Coinbase is a place where you can transfer, buy, sell, and store crypto assets. The company wants to bring the world an open financial system where people convert digital currency out of and into their local currency.
As for Coinbase Pro, it’s a trading platform that lets crypto enthusiasts and traders buy, trade, or sell, but they do it instantly across “trading pairs.”
In other words, the difference between them is that Coinbase Pro is an exchange where people can sell and buy from each other. Coinbase is better for those who need a brokerage that also comes with a virtual wallet they can easily learn how to use.
What Do You Want to Do with Crypto?
If you’re trying to choose between Coinbase and Coinbase Pro, it’s essential to realize that they’re not the same thing, despite the name similarities. You might use one or the other depending on what you want to do with the crypto in your possession.
If you want to buy and sell rapidly, similar to trading stocks, Coinbase Pro is a good pathway to do that. The interface is intuitive, so you should have no problems learning how to use it.
With Coinbase, you might create an account and fund it if you want an online brokerage where you can store your crypto for a longer time with the purpose of its value appreciating. When you compare these two sites and concepts, it’s kind of like comparing a banking app with a stock trading app.
You Might Want to Use Both
Of course, nothing says that you can’t do both things with crypto. You might have some Bitcoin, for instance, and you’re sitting on it because you feel like its value will go up. You can do that with Coinbase.
You can pull that Bitcoin out whenever you need it or leave it in there and hope that the value continues rising, much like a stock. You can also stock up on other popular crypto options, like Ethereum.
At the same time, maybe you’re doing some day trading with more volatile crypto forms. You can open an account with Coinbase Pro and use it for that.
Since both apps, or websites, feature fairly intuitive interfaces, you should have no problem experimenting with them and learning to use the various features. Many individuals who want to get into the crypto market have accounts with both entities.
Other Considerations
You should also know that an entity like Coinbase wants to encourage you to hold onto that crypto and keep it in your wallet. That’s the same as a bank wanting to hold as much of your money as possible.
If you have your crypto with Coinbase, the app will give you a certain monthly or yearly interest rate the longer you keep it there. In that respect, the crypto’s volatility doesn’t matter. If you leave your crypto there, Coinbase guarantees you a particular interest rate, much like a bank would give you with a CD or a high-yield savings account.
If you have accounts with both entities, you might do someday trading with Coinbase Pro whenever you feel like it, and you can also make money through interest by keeping your other crypto with Coinbase.
You do not necessarily need to choose between them unless you only want to use and hold crypto in one of the two ways that we’ve described. You can get into the market in multiple ways with Coinbase and Coinbase Pro.