Which is the better crypto exchange? Voyager or Coinbase?

Note: either of those links above will give you (and me) a bonus if you sign up and buy $100 worth of crypto–$10 bonus for Coinbase and $25 bonus for Voyager.

We will take a quick dive into the history of both exchange platforms as well as how ‘safe’ it is to buy and hold cryptocurrencies on either of these US-based cryptocurrency exchanges. Let’s get started.

History of Voyager and Coinbase

Voyager is the new kid on the block, when it comes to crypto exchanges, having only really gained traction in the space as recently as 2017. They are based in Jersey City, NJ in the US and are a public company. Download the Voyager app and trade $100 to get $25 of free Bitcoin. Use code JOSWDN to claim your free BTC.

By comparison, Coinbase has been around since 2012, back when Bitcoin was the only cryptocurrency to really speak of. They are still working on becoming a public company at the time of writing this, and will likely trade on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol $CBSE. But, enough of the boring stuff. How do these crypto exchanges compare for us the folks wanting to just buy and hold a nice little portfolio of cryptocurrencies?

Which is Easiest to Use?

Voyager was designed for mobile-first. An easy comparison would be, this is basically the Robinhood of the crypto investment space. What Robinhood did for retail stock investing, Voyager is doing for crypto investing. Because of this, you can’t use this platform on a desktop PC (yet). They are working on getting a desktop platform going, but that may be awhile. Coinbase not only has easy access on desktop, but they also have a ‘Pro’ version of their service that allows professional traders to actively trade dozens of cryptocurrency pairs. In terms of ease-of-use, Voyager wins, though if you’re looking for more features, like active trading, Coinbase may be a better option for you.

Earning Interest on Your Crypto

This is a fairly new development in the cryptocurrency market. Companies like BlockFi and Voyager have started offering interest rates for holding various cryptocurrencies, including stable coins like $USDC, on their platforms. What are the risks? Well, for starters, none of these exchanges are FDIC insured like your local bank deposits would be. They occasionally experience downtime due to cyberattacks like the time in late December 2020 when Voyager went offline. But, neither exchange has lost any customer funds to-date, and the interest rates are tempting. For example, Voyager will pay you 9.5% APR on your $USDC holdings as long as you also also hold 10,000 tokens of their own cryptocurrency $VGX. It’s a way of ‘investing’ in the future of their company and their flavor of cryptocurrency. If you’re a Bitcoin HODLer, they will give you 6.5% APR paid out in $BTC on your holdings, which is more than you’ll make in cold storage, but also riskier. In total, there are over 20 cryptocurrencies that Voyager currently pays you interest on to hold on their exchange.

Which Exchange Has More Cryptocurrencies?

As with some of the other features and options, Voyager is slightly ahead here. They currently have over 50 cryptocurrencies available on their exchange platform and seem to be adding a new one every other day. The mobile interface has a great sorting feature and lets you rank all the cryptocurrencies by market cap, current price, percentage increase or decrease over the last hour, day, week, month, etc. I find it easier to quickly do basic analysis on some of these metrics right in the app instead of going to another website like CoinMarketCap.

Full disclosure: None of the above should be construed as investment advice. The author holds varying amounts of the cryptocurrencies mentioned. The affiliate links in the article will reward the author if you sign up for the services mentioned. Do your research, and enjoy the crypto journey.