Here’s Why I’m Sticking with Coinbase

Coinbase has had a lot of problems. They’ve had even more bad press. Here’s why I’m not abandoning them.

Coinbase has experienced explosive growth. They’ve also experienced big problems with their service. I’ve experienced the problems on a small scale. Even so, I’m planning to stick with them for the long haul.

I opened a Coinbase account about a year ago. Even then, their ID verification was problematic. Their customer service, or lack of it, was too.

It still is. Coinbase’s CEO has promised to fix it.

Coinbase lost two of my transactions. One was a transfer from my 21.co account. The other was a donation from a reader of The Blockchain Consumer (this publication).

Coinbase hasn’t resolved either transaction yet. 21.co was kind enough to refund my lost transfer. That’s an example of fantastic customer service!:)

Coinbase teased me a few times. They’ve responded to some tweets. Unfortunately the follow through fell short. Fortunately, the transaction amounts were pretty small. That’s not fantastic customer service ;(

So Why am I Still Sticking with Coinbase?

Despite all this, I’m sticking with Coinbase for a couple reasons.

One is I don’t want to give my money to the Winkelvoss twins, meaning I’m trying not to join the Gemini exchange. Because I live in New York and we have the Bitlicense, my exchange options are pretty limited.

I heard Coinbase’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, speak at the Token Summit. Based on his Medium profile pic, I thought he was an uptight “suit” from Wall Street, trying to play blockchain start-up cofounder.

His interview convinced me otherwise. He seems to have a genuine interest in decentralizing financial power.

The all black minimal outfit probably helped too ;)

I also believe in Coinbase’s stated mission to “create an open financial system for the world.” I’m banking on the fact Brian does too.

Am I Naive?

These reasons may be naive on my part. Whether they are or not, these are the reasons why I’m sticking w/Coinbase, at least for now.

Am I naive or not? Do you plan to stick with Coinbase? Have you already ditched them? Let me know in the comments :)