Coinbase

Coinbase is a digital asset exchange company founded in June 2012 by Brian Armstrong (CEO) and Fred Ehrsam. It enrolled in the 2012 Summer Y Combinator startup incubator program. In October 2012, the company launched a marketplace to buy and sell Bitcoin through bank transfers. Coinbase allows Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin trading on its platform. As of 2020, the company has more than 1,000 employees and more than 35 million users.

The company's platform offers various products to those looking to trade cryptocurrencies for individuals and businesses.

Its main product is the Coinbase platform, where users can buy, sell, and use cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies trading on the Coinbase platform include those below:

The Coinbase wallet is used for storing cryptocurrencies and transfers of cryptocurrencies between users.

USD coin users can exchange United States dollars (USD) for a cryptocurrency with a stable price equal to that of a USD.

Earn gives users the opportunity to educate themselves about cryptocurrencies through videos and quizzes. Users can receive crypto in their Coinbase wallet upon completion of the company's quizzes.

For advanced traders, Coinbase offers a Pro account that includes an API, insurance protection, and fees that scale to transaction volume. Most Coinbase accounts can be upgraded to a Pro account; however, some activities are limited based on the geographic area a user resides in.

• Commerce—Coinbase offers a no-fee platform for businesses to accept cryptocurrencies as payments. It has integrations with popular e-commerce platforms Woocommerce and Shopify.
• Custody—Operating as a separate entity of Coinbase, the Custody service supports asset holding for institutional investors. It also integrates with Coinbase Pro. It is NYDFS-regulated.
• Ventures—Coinbase invests in startups and entrepreneurs, particularly those with a focus on stablecoin-based ideas for "the unbanked" as well as "wealth preservation, global payments, financial services for crypto companies, [and ]developer tools," among other areas of interest.

In June 2023, Coinbase was charged by United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on several counts, including operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The company was also charged for the unregistered offer and sale of securities with its staking-as-a-service program.

Coinbase then launched a campaign to petition for the SEC to establish clear rules on when cryptocurrencies would be classified as securities, thus making them required to follow established rules for all securities. The SEC denied the petition, citing the claim that the agency already has rules in place for cryptocurrency trading. Coinbase then petitioned the court to review the denial, and as of late 2023, the process is ongoing.