How To Use Coinbase Securely

 Coinbase is a lifesaver for cryptocurrency miners. To explain what does cryptocurrency means, it is digital currency using encryption techniques and thereby regulating the generation of currency, verify the transfer of funds operating without any regulatory agency like the central bank. The process of creating units of the digital currency is known as mining.

Miners run computer programs verifying the data created in a complete transaction history of all bitcoin mined so far. Irreversible and traceable transactions making the process of verification possible through the technology of blockchain is what makes crypto mining possible. The verified data comes in blocks and is rewarded with an amount of digital currency as the same currency that verifies the transaction history.

The current trend is putting the bitcoin and cryptocurrencies under speculation due to the reasons mentioned below.

• As of 2017, there has been a steady rise for bitcoin price, and ether is all set to overtake it any day from now.
• The purpose exceeds just being a cryptocurrency and many claim it to be the backbone of the future in the financial system.
• They are considered as a form of investment much like that of gold. The value is being stabilized and buying bitcoin or ether proves to be a worthy venture.

The purpose of Coinbase

For those keen in the trading of digital currencies, there is a need for a platform and an intermediary to communicate with the network. This is where Coinbase finds its footing as a global digital asset exchange company, (GDAX). It comes with added features like a venue to buy and sell digital currencies as well as sending info about the transactions to the blockchain network helping it verify the transactions. It provides a haven to store the digital currency mined so far with the wallet it comes with. It is an active exchange for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin along with others and fiat currencies of 32 countries. Statistics point out that Coinbase has served 10 million customers exchanging around $50 billion worth digital currency. 

For the beginners, Coinbase allows foraying into the new form of currency speculation and investing if the technology behind it is pulling you down. There are certain loses in the advantages of trading crypto and the blockchain through Coinbase, such as you do not have pseudo-anonymity because your name is attached to your Coinbase account. This makes it easy to track down the transaction history. Without working on blockchain, the verification of transaction history can be done through Coinbase which is an intermediary to the verification process. 

Trading the cryptocurrency using Coinbase.

It is necessary to link your bank account, debit card or credit card to your Coinbase account making it possible to purchase cryptocurrency at Bitcoin price as well as other digital currency. There are some disadvantages of linking your bank account even though it allows higher limits such as longer verification time for transactions to reflect in your wallet mostly up to two or four days depending on the bank. When selling them at Bitcoin rate, using the credit card or debit card, they have lower rates, like that of $200//week and also they can be purchased by simply transferring funds from the bank account to the site. Along with other currencies, the Bitcoin shows up in your wallet instantaneously at Bitcoin rate with the freedom to use PayPal account to cash it out exchanging the Bitcoin for local currency. All these happen almost instantaneously helping you make the Bitcoin transaction easily. 

The technology behind Coinbase makes buying and selling cryptocurrency as easy as selling or buying stocks. Earlier, investing, speculating and possessing in the cryptocurrency was a complex process

Secure transactions and insurance.

  The Coinbase platform ensures the security of cryptocurrency assets purchased, as 98% of the funds are stored offline. The website assures that the sensitive data resides on the servers while remaining disconnected from the internet. This data is encrypted and transferred to USB drives, with paper backups, and safely distributed in deposit boxes vault all over the world. While on the other hand, the remaining 2% of the funds are held online, which is covered in case there is a breach of online storage.

 Coinbase necessarily holds the fiat currency in custodial banks on behalf of customers. It is covered by FDIC insurance up to $250,000 just like in a regular bank. This helps protect the customer assets if ever the Coinbase becomes insolvent. The money in your Bitcoin wallet would require a more safe space to store it. For this, Coinbase comes with a Coinbase vault, with time-delayed withdrawals, multiple approvers, and security ensuring the withdrawals are approved by multiple people. It offers a multisig vault that is more involved and secure requiring multiple keys to unlock.

 To be on the safe side

 The blockchain technology has a limitation of being labor-intensive for the transaction history verification process making it slow to complete it in a long span. In case you sell the Bitcoin, but the purchase isn’t confirmed by the blockchain network, and the Bitcoin price changes, the sale won’t be processed. This makes the Bitcoin miner sell at the new rate. The Coinbase payout system often tends to be unreliable, for reasons still unidentified. There have been cases of delayed Bitcoin payout and bugs that prevent the site from running efficiently posing a hurdle. This requires caution in the cryptocurrency trading wherever you are.