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Topic: A User's Experience: Coinbase vs. Gemini (Read 126 times)

legendary
Activity: 3122
Merit: 1102
Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform
January 31, 2022, 01:40:55 PM
#6
I used Gemini in the past and I never had any issues ever. They are very tight on security and we’re one of the early exchanges to offer address whitelisting. They also didn’t let you open an account until you added 2fa.

Keep in mind it’s a KYC only exchange. You need to KYC. Using a VPN is not a good idea, most likely will lead you to being blocked if you sign in from a different location than you opened your account in.

They also have free withdraws. Even during those periods of high fees the withdraws were free.

i can attest about the free withdraws in gemini exchange. and yes, you need to submit kyc requirements to use this exchange. i created on this one to get my BAT earnings instead of uphold. if for example, you want to transfer your BAT to binance exchange, they won't charge you any fee (remember, BAT is under ERC20 network in this exchange).  uphold is known to charge good amount of fees as i've read from its users.
but not a coinbase user here so can't give a comprehensive feedback.
@OP, as suggested, contact the gemini's support. i believe they will help you with your prob. am currently using the sms auth on this exchange.
legendary
Activity: 3808
Merit: 1723
January 30, 2022, 11:11:35 PM
#5
I used Gemini in the past and I never had any issues ever. They are very tight on security and we’re one of the early exchanges to offer address whitelisting. They also didn’t let you open an account until you added 2fa.

Keep in mind it’s a KYC only exchange. You need to KYC. Using a VPN is not a good idea, most likely will lead you to being blocked if you sign in from a different location than you opened your account in.

They also have free withdraws. Even during those periods of high fees the withdraws were free.
jr. member
Activity: 57
Merit: 62
January 30, 2022, 09:49:53 AM
#4
  About adding the 2FA, you can contact the support team of Gemini and get it sorted but 2FA is not going to save your funds from exchange's hacks.

Good point. That's like seeing the trees and not the forest. An exchange is like a hot potato: Get that coin off ASAP. Of course, in doing so, you might make a mistake but you will have ownership. As I proceed through Bitcoin 101 (my metaphor), I will experiment moving coin in very small amounts until I'm confident.
hero member
Activity: 2366
Merit: 793
Bitcoin = Financial freedom
January 30, 2022, 06:30:28 AM
#3
Still coinbase remains one of the exchange with more trading volume anyway Gemini is also reputed and same as coinbase. I aborted coinbase completely because they closed my account but luckily let me to withdraw any balance left there. You also can try coinbase pro if you want which has cheaper fee than coinbase so its kore preferably by traders who trades more often.

About adding the 2FA, you can contact the support team of Gemini and get it sorted but 2FA is not going to save your funds from exchange's hacks.
copper member
Activity: 2856
Merit: 3071
https://bit.ly/387FXHi lightning theory
January 29, 2022, 08:37:21 PM
#2
I remember coinbase not recognising my visa card from the UK too (but that was fine because they charge fees on that and don't on bank transfers).

I've had no experience with gemini but it's possible if you've already set up one mode of authentication that you'd have to disable that before enabling a different type (but that's just my guess).
jr. member
Activity: 57
Merit: 62
January 29, 2022, 07:03:11 PM
#1
             

I am writing this post hoping it will be helpful for relative noobs (like me) who are either vetting currency exchanges based in the U.S. or are using Coinbase or Gemini and are experiencing issues.

I give you a bona fide: I am running a Full Node (BTC) to support the blockchain.

After reading several books from Amazon on cryptocurrency in general and Bitcoin in particular, it appeared that three currency exchanges were deemed trustworthy: Coinbase, Gemini, and Kraken. That is with the caveat that all exchanges are subject to hacking (versus the blockchain) and that it behooves a user to offload coin and private key ASAP.

I first registered with Coinbase. I was impressed by the layout and UI. However, when it came time to link my financial source, I found a page that was crude: no more than fields for mandatory card data. My CapitalOne debit card failed either with a generic “card not accepted” message or “JWT token fail.”
I then tried a bunch of permutations to try preventing the error messages from triggering:

a. VPN vs. no VPN = fail
b. CapitalOne vs. Wells Fargo = fail
c. Both banks confirmed that there were no security issues on their end.
d. Linux OS, Ubuntu LTS, vs. Windows 11 = fail
e. Chrome browser vs. Microsoft Edge = fail

Strong suggestion here that the problem was with Coinbase. I emailed tech support and still haven’t received an answer after two weeks.

I then aborted Coinbase and registered at Gemini. FYI, Gemini required uploading a photo I.D. (passport for me), which Coinbase did not. When I was ready to link my funding source within Gemini, I found a much more sophisticated layout than in Coinbase. There was a dropdown menu of many financial institutions, with their logos, and these items were actually links to the websites of those institutions. CapitalOne was on the list, I navigated to the site, provided identification information and other (my memory fails me) and I was linked. I made the required wired deposit, then another amount for coin. Through the entire process there were no issues, smooth as glass.

In addition, Gemini has a Cryptopedia section in which you can access articles on BTC, its history and structure, without logging in.
I found these articles to hit the sweetspot between not too simple and not too complicated. Coinbase also has tutorials.

Meanwhile, as I continue to bullet proof my Gemini account, I ran into a problem for which I cannot find a resolution. In the Security section of Settings I have the option to change 2FA from SMS (my default) to the Authy app. However, this has failed and I see no solution. The Gemini page instructs to “select” your option. However, there is means of selection. I have looked everywhere on the page, hovered my cursor. There is nothing clickable except a “learn more” link which is irrelevant to making your selection. So I’m unable to select my choice.

Then, when I go to the Authy app, I’m asked to add an account and input the QR code from that account or manually enter a code but I can find none of those items in the Gemini security setting. It seems that it is a critical error to offer “select” and then to have no means of executing that selection. Here, too, I tried different browsers to no avail. Any ideas?

I hope that my user’s experience, good and bad, may be useful to others.
                     
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