# Coinbase 12 Hacker News commenters recommended Coinbase and 51 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months. **Verdict:** People recommend it for easy fiat on-ramps, free USD withdrawals, low-fee transfers abroad, and a record of never losing customer funds. The most common caveat is security breaches and data leaks. ## Why people recommend it - Never lost customer funds (2 comments): "Coinbase has never lost customer funds while operating in an environment with 0 safety nets" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45950978)) "they have never lost customer funds in their custody" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45951757)) - Easy on-ramp and USD withdrawal (3 comments): "Just send USDC to Coinbase and convert (sell) to USD for free and withdraw." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50303068)) "Coinbase is good for on-ramping, bad for storage." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45948569)) "CashApp and Coinbase interface with my actual bank accounts, on my end." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48643909)) - Trustworthy compared to other fintechs (2 comments): "one of the few fintech companies that hasn't fucked me over" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48029971)) "Coinbase has been far more reserved than Binance" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49702348)) ## What people warn about - Security breaches and data leaks (3 comments): "This leak over customer data suggests that they should treat that with as much obsession as they do with their private keys." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45954021)) "even their Discord channel's api keys were compromised and were finally reset around April or May" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45948693)) "It takes one massive breach and theft from the exchange as a result of this and they are cooked." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48021964)) - Requires linked external bank account (3 comments): "If Coinbase did not require an external bank account to create the coinbase account, by law, they cannot require one to close the account." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48021820)) "they only let you log in if you have an external bank account associated with your Coinbase account" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48021762)) "The worst part of using something like Coinbase is having to do yet another bank transfer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48028607)) - Layoffs and shrinking workforce (3 comments): "If the company is sitting so well, and is facing imminent growth, then they don't need to do layoffs, they want to." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48021613)) "Coinbase famously rescinded offers days before people joined when they did a previously huge layoff." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48028134)) "This is a dying company, and they physically will not have the capital to pay paychecks" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48030620)) - Regulatory fines and unregistered securities (2 comments): "Regulatory compliance as attempted by Coinbase does not pay, and of course they had many fines for non-compliance already." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49209547)) "Even a supposedly "legitimate" exchange like Coinbase is allowing unregistered securities to trade on its platform." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48643283)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [CZR Exchange](https://hackerapproved.com/p/czr-exchange.md): 22 recommend - [Binance](https://hackerapproved.com/p/binance.md): 10 recommend - [Kraken](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kraken.md): 7 recommend - [Hyperliquid](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hyperliquid.md): 6 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.coinbase.com/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Coinbase", https://hackerapproved.com/p/coinbase/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).