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Comment by Klathmon | Hacker News Reader

I'll second coinbase.

They are one of the few reputable companies in the space. They follow all the laws, have a great looking site, have an exchange called GDAX under the same system if you want to try trading at some point, and they are pretty secure. Not to mention that any USD in your account is FDIC insured, and any Bitcoin is insured privately in case of a breach of their systems.

You will need to provide your id and it may take a week or more to get verified, and the fees are higher than alternatives, but honestly it's not that big of a deal, and it just reaffirms that they are trying to build a sustainable business and aren't going to close up shop tomorrow.

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Just want to point out, the fees are significantly less if you use GDAX to purchase bitcoins. You can move bitcoins from gdax to coinbase wallet or to your own personal wallet.

In coinbase there is a flat fee, in GDAX you only pay fees if you put a bid in, and there is no existing sell order on the books that would fill you bid. The reverse is also in effect, if you put a sell order in, and no existing buy orders meet your order, there is no fee when the transaction takes place.

GDAX is an exchange. Make sure you are comfortable with using an exchange. I'd recommend you always use a limit order if you are just starting out.

Yes, but it is much more intimidating working in GDAX. Not to mention that you need to find your account with USD before you can buy anything.

In coinbase you can make a purchase instantly and lock in at a specific price that instant (even if the transfer takes a week to really go through).

In my one case, I bought some at $2700, it took a week to post and actually give me my Bitcoin, but I got it at $2700 even when the price was at $3000 by then (the gains far outweighing the fee of a few percent). But in GDAX I need to fund my USD account which took a week before I can buy.

Yes the fees are less, but if you are looking for simple, spending $5-10 in fees won't hurt for a much easier and more straightforward experience. But GDAX is also fantastic if you are comfortable with it.

> any Bitcoin is insured privately in case of a breach of their systems.

This isn't entirely true, most of their coin is stored cold and uninsured. They only have insurance on their hot coins. https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/166237...

(I don't intend this as a knock, I too recommend them.)

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