Today we will be comparing two very different but popular cryptocurrency exchanges: Coinbase and Bybit.
Compared to ByBit, Coinbase was founded early in 2012 by CEO Brian Armstrong, and in April 2021, its parent company Coinbase (COIN) went public on Nasdaq via a direct listing.
The US-based Coinbase, which is planning to launch its own NFT marketplace, is one of the largest and oldest surviving companies in the cryptocurrency industry, which boasts of over 73 million verified users.
Besides spot trading, Coinbase also offers a self-hosted Wallet, a prime brokerage, an Earn product where users can get free crypto, a Visa debit card, institutional-grade offline storage, Coinbase Cloud, a stablecoin (USDC).
Besides these, Coinbase also has a venture capital (VC) arm. On Coinbase, users can also borrow cash using Bitcoin as collateral.
Bybit is a relatively new exchange, only founded during the bear market of 2018. This Singapore-based derivatives trading platform has over 5 million registered users.
In 2021, the exchange launched Bybit NFT Marketplace, along with a DAO, which has $2.5 billion worth of assets under management.
Currently, 16,193 people own its governance token BIT, which is trading at $1.63, down 47.5% from its all-time high hit in early November 2021.
Much like Coinbase, Bybit hasn’t been hacked so far thanks to its decision to keep the majority of its user funds in a multi-sig cold wallet to minimize the chances of losing funds in a hack.
But while Coinbase caters to only spot buy and sell, Bybit allows its users to trade perpetual futures contracts at up to 100x leverage.
So, let’s take a look at what each exchange has to offer its users and how they stack against each other.
Bybit vs Coinbase: Trading Fees
Being a derivatives exchange, Bybit usually uses a maker rebate and taker fee model.
Under this model, market makers receive a 0.025% rebate which means a trader can receive this bonus by creating a new order when someone else takes it on either side of the trade. The taker fee meanwhile is 0.075%.
However, when you trade spot markets on Bybit, both maker and taker fee rate is 0.1% on all spot trading pairs. When it comes to peer-to-peer (P2P) trades, there are zero transaction fees for both the buyer and seller.
Although, users may have to shell out fees based on the payment method they choose. You can find more about Bybit’s fee structure here.
Coinbase is known for its very high fees in the crypto industry, as it very well could be the most expensive crypto trading platform. Its fee structure is tiered and is based upon total USD trading volume over the trailing 30-day period.
It starts with 0.5% fees for both maker and taker for a trade size of up to $10,000. The fee charged is inversely correlated with the amount of your trade, with the lowest taker fee of 0.04% applied only for trading size above $2 billion, while the maker fee for the same is zero.
Coinbase’s fee is certainly higher than that of Bybit. To get the same fee taker fees as Bybit, 0.075% on Coinbase, your trading volume should be in the range of $500 million-$750 million.
As for maker free, your trading volume should be between $100 million-$300 million. You can find more about Coinbase’s fee structure here.
Bybit vs Coinbase: Deposit and Withdrawal Fees
While signing up for an exchange account or holding your funds without any time limit doesn’t involve any fees, meaning it is free, depositing and withdrawing funds does cost you money.
On Coinbase, you can add cash or cash out for free using ACH, Automated Clearing House, or “direct payments,” which is a way to transfer money from one bank account to another without using cash, paper checks, credit card networks, or wire transfers.
Wiring USD into the exchange will cost you $10 while getting it out of the exchange via wire transfers will cost you $25. Using SEPA will cost €0.15 for both, depositing or withdrawing EUR on/from the platform. The SWIFT payment method will be free to add cash on Coinbase but will charge one GBP for cashing out.
When it comes to crypto deposits and withdrawals, Coinbase Pro charges a fee based on their estimate of the network transaction fees they anticipate paying for each transaction.
According to the exchange:
“In certain circumstances, the fee that Coinbase Pro pays may differ from that estimate. All fees we charge will be disclosed at the time of your transaction,”
Bybit meanwhile has a set fee that incurs for all crypto withdrawals from the platform. For instance, 0.0005 BTC, 0.005 ETH, and 5 DOGE are respective fees for withdrawing BTC, ETH, and DOGE from Bybit. While there is no minimum crypto deposit amount for any cryptocurrency except for Solana, which is 0.1 SOL, there are minimum withdrawal amounts that differ for each crypto that can be found here.
In late January, Bybit integrated with Ethereum layer-2 solution Arbitrum that offers cheaper gas fees, faster transaction speeds, and reduced latency, allowing users to deposit and withdraw ETH, USDT, and USDC on the network.
As for cash, Bybit doesn’t handle fiat deposits directly; it rather uses fiat gateways. Third-party payment providers it has partnered with include Paxful, Banxa, XanPool, MoonPay, Simplex, and Mercuryo.
Bybit vs Coinbase: Supported Cryptocurrencies
Bybit doesn’t support direct fiat deposits and withdrawals but through third-party providers. Most recently, Bybit partnered with digital assets institutions Cabital to provide its users’ euro (EUR) and British pound sterling (GBP) on-ramp.
As a derivative trading platform, Bybit offers three types of products: linear perpetual contracts, inverse perpetual contracts, and inverse futures contracts.
Previously, Bybit users were exempt from KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements, but since mid-July, the exchange has started verifying the customers’ accounts.
It means users need to submit a mandatory identity verification, including facial recognition, passport identification, and utility bill verification for a higher tier of BTC withdrawal, up to 100 BTC.
Coinbase Pro meanwhile supports fiat deposits and withdrawal and follows strict KYC requirements. The exchange used to offer a limited number of crypto for buying and selling but ever since last year, Coinbase has ramped up its efforts to list altcoins, including many obscure ones. You can find a full list of supported coins here.
Coinbase Vs Bybit In the News
When it comes to recent development, Bybit signed a record-breaking deal with Formula 1 team Oracle Red Bull Racing. This three-year sponsorship deal worth $150 million “represents the single largest per-annum cryptocurrency venture yet seen in international sport.”
Besides promoting “crypto-literacy,” the exchange will also be the racing team’s Fan Token Issuance Partner to support Red Bull Racing’s distribution of its “growing digital asset collections.”
Bybit has also pledged to plant and nurture 100,000 fruit trees across India through its partnership with One Tree Planted.
On the other hand, Coinbase joined 17 other virtual asset service providers (VASPs) like Fidelity, Robinhood, Gemini, and BlockFi to launch the Travel Rule Universal Solution Technology (TRUST).
This platform has been launched in response to AML (anti-money laundering) data-sharing requirements recommended by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Recently, Coinbase aired a commercial at the Super Bowl featuring a QR code that floated around the screen for 60 seconds, ending with a flash of a Coinbase URL.
The QR code led to its website offering $15 in free Bitcoin for new customers who sign up in the next two days.
The ad prompted a rush of downloads, sending Coinbase’s app from 186th place to 2nd on the App Store. A sudden increase in traffic to Coinbase’s website led to its website being unavailable for some time.
The largest exchange in the US is also ready to enter the $700 billion global remittance market by launching a pilot program to allow crypto recipients in Mexico to cash out their funds in pesos.
Conclusion
In the past 24 hours, Coinbase recorded just over $3 billion in trading volume, according to the data from CoinGecko. In comparison, Bybit managed $360 million in spot volume and $8.45 billion in futures volume. The exchange has over $3 billion in open interest (OI), which is the total number of outstanding derivative contracts.
This trading volume shows the liquidity of the exchanges, which is of utmost importance for those trading in big sizes.
Both the exchanges are highly user-friendly trading platforms. But while Coinbase, which has years of experience, is good for buying and selling crypto on the spot market, it charges hefty fees.
Bybit is a good place to trade derivatives, but it is widely known that high leverage trading has wiped out most of the average traders’ returns.
Bybit and Coinbase both have several security features to safeguard trader funds, so they are safe to start your crypto journey. Although it would be recommended that you use a hardware wallet for maximum protection, especially if a significant amount of funds are involved.
Now, for customer support, Coinbase is notorious for its lacking customer service, but it is planning to deliver 24/7 phone support and live messaging exchange. It has acquired AI-powered customer support platform Agara for the same.
Both Bybit and Coinbase are available for download on Android and iOS devices. To get started, create an account by filling in the required details and adding and verifying your email and phone number. Once you have verified your ID, set up a 2-step verification.
Now, fund your account and start buying, selling, or trading crypto.
So, now that you have all the information, you can choose the platform that suits your needs the best.
