Coinbase review (2026)

Coinbase is the largest publicly listed crypto company in the world (NASDAQ: COIN), and in April 2026 it became the first crypto exchange granted a full Australian Financial Services Licence by ASIC — a milestone for the local industry and a genuine trust signal while most rivals operate under transitional arrangements.

The product is polished at both ends: a simple app for beginners and Advanced Trade (0.40%/0.60%, falling with volume) for actives. The AU catch has always been cost on the simple path — convenience buys carry a roughly 0.6% fee plus spread — and a coin list (260+) that is curated rather than exhaustive. You are paying, partly, for the compliance.

Use Advanced Trade, not the simple Buy button. The same order costs 0.40%/0.60% maker/taker through Advanced Trade versus roughly 0.6% plus spread through the app’s convenience flow. PayID deposits are free, AUD withdrawals are free, and there are no gotchas beyond that split.

For context, the AU instant-buy average across our 13 tracked platforms is 0.76%. Worked example excludes network fees for on-chain withdrawals; estimates come from our verified fee data. See the full fee comparison or model your own trade in the profit calculator.

Coinbase holds the first full AFSL granted to a crypto exchange in Australia, is AUSTRAC-registered, publishes audited financials as a US-listed company, and keeps the bulk of client assets in cold storage. No custody breach appears on our record. It remains a custodial, offshore-headquartered platform — the AFSL governs its Australian conduct, not the location of your coins.

Every incident and regulatory action we track for Coinbase, with primary sources — updated automatically from our fact database.