Is Coinbase regulated in the United States?

Coinbase serves all 50 states, including New York under a BitLicense held since 2017. Coinbase, Inc. is registered with FinCEN as a money services business and holds state money transmitter licenses. Anytime Capital is a FinCEN-registered U.S. money services business with a branch in Atlanta.

Does Coinbase hold my crypto?

Yes, until you withdraw it to your own wallet. Anytime Capital delivers to a wallet you control or to its free non-custodial wallet.

Can I switch from Coinbase to Anytime Capital without moving my crypto?

Yes. Withdraw from Coinbase to a wallet you control (or leave it there), create an Anytime Capital account, verify once, and paste any wallet address at checkout. Nothing you already hold needs to move.

Is Anytime Capital regulated?

Anytime Capital is a U.S.-based money services business registered with FinCEN, serving customers worldwide, with a physical branch in Atlanta and an office in Miami. Identity verification is required before you can transact, the same as at every compliant platform.

Trust & safety

Coinbase

Our pick

Is Coinbase legit? What that does and does not mean

Q: Is Coinbase a scam?

No. Coinbase is a legitimate exchange operating since 2012. Registered with FinCEN as a money services business, licensed as a money transmitter across the states, holds a New York BitLicense, and reports to the SEC as a public company.

Q: How does Anytime Capital pricing compare with Coinbase?

Anytime Capital quotes one all-in number: card, Apple Pay and Google Pay orders start from 4% with the spread included, and the amount you pay and the crypto you receive are both on screen before you confirm. Coinbase prices a 3.99% fee on debit card purchases in the simple app, plus a spread of roughly 0.5% built into the quoted price, roughly 3.99% on the headline, with network fee on crypto withdrawals; free ACH cash-out, $25 wire cash-out. Blockchain network fees apply at both. Compare the crypto that lands on the same order size rather than the headline rate.

Coinbase is a real exchange that has operated since 2012. The useful question is not whether it is a scam but what happens on the day something goes wrong, and that is where an online-only platform and a U.S. company with a front door part ways.

Registered with FinCEN as a money services business, licensed as a money transmitter across the states, holds a New York BitLicense, and reports to the SEC as a public company.
Holds your coins until you withdraw
Anytime Capital: a U.S. company you can call or visit

Buy Bitcoin from 4%Call (470) 748-2530 Get an OTC quote

Updated September 2026. Coinbase figures from its published pricing, terms and independent reviews.

FinCEN-registered U.S. money services business
Atlanta branch · Miami office
8,000+ completed trades
FDIC-insured cash account

Quick answer

Is Coinbase legit and safe to use?

Yes. Coinbase is a legitimate exchange founded in 2012, based in Remote-first; incorporated in Delaware. Registered with FinCEN as a money services business, licensed as a money transmitter across the states, holds a New York BitLicense, and reports to the SEC as a public company. Coinbase serves U.S. customers. Because it holds customer funds, the risk to weigh is a frozen account or a platform-level event, not an outright scam. What it does not offer is a phone number or a place to walk into, which is why many customers prefer Anytime Capital when something needs a human.

Buy Bitcoin from 4%Call (470) 748-2530 Get an OTC quote

2012
the year Coinbase was founded
Compared platform
4.0 / 5
Coinbase Trustpilot average
Compared platform
2
Anytime Capital walk-in offices
Anytime Capital
8,000+
completed Anytime Capital trades
Anytime Capital

Ways to pay: Coinbase vs Anytime Capital

Payment methods live for a customer today

Anytime Capital
Coinbase

Anytime Capital: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Debit card, Credit card, ACH bank transfer, Wire transfer, Cash App, Cash in branch, Cash by mail, each priced as one all-in number from 4% on card orders with the spread included. Coinbase: 5 of those rails, priced a 3.99% fee on debit card purchases in the simple app, plus a spread of roughly 0.5% built into the quoted price, with network fee on crypto withdrawals; free ACH cash-out, $25 wire cash-out. Both exclude blockchain network fees. As of September 2026.

The checklist: does Coinbase pass?

Coinbase is as legitimate as a crypto company gets in the United States. It has operated since 2012, listed on Nasdaq under COIN in 2021, files audited financials with the SEC, holds a New York BitLicense and money transmitter licenses across the states, and is registered with FinCEN. Customer cash is held at partner banks and customer crypto is segregated from Coinbase's own assets. Its Trustpilot score, around 4.0 out of 5 across more than 23,000 reviews, is among the best of any large exchange.

Legitimate does not mean frictionless. Coinbase has had a customer-data incident, in May 2025, when overseas support contractors were bribed to leak account records that were then used in social-engineering scams. It has had multi-hour outages, most recently on May 7, 2026, when an AWS data-center failure took trading offline for roughly eight hours. And its one-star reviews are dominated by restricted accounts and withdrawal holds. None of that is fraud. All of it is the texture of a custodial exchange at enormous scale, and it is exactly the situation where a smaller company with a front door and a non-custodial model is simpler to deal with.

Registered with FinCEN as a money services business, licensed as a money transmitter across the states, holds a New York BitLicense, and reports to the SEC as a public company.
Operating since 2012, headquartered in Remote-first; incorporated in Delaware
Identity verification required
Holds customer funds; withdraw to your own wallet

What "safe" looks like when a trade goes sideways

Read the one-star reviews of Coinbase and a pattern appears: accounts restricted or frozen with only an automated review to wait on, the spread on top of the fee, which many users only notice after the fact, outages during the exact moments people want to trade, support that cannot override a compliance hold, even on the phone. These are compliance and process events, not theft, and every regulated platform has them. The difference is what you can do about it. On Coinbase you can reach phone support for some issues, but most problems go through tickets. At Anytime Capital you call (470) 748-2530 and speak to someone who can see the order, or walk into the Atlanta branch at 2549 Piedmont Road NE, Suite 110, Atlanta, GA 30324 and resolve it across a desk.

A front door, not a chat window

Coinbase is built to be used through a screen. We are built to be visited. Bring cash, bring questions, or bring a problem another platform could not solve.

Atlanta branch: 2549 Piedmont Road NE, Suite 110, Atlanta, GA 30324
Hours: Mon–Fri 10am–5pm · Sat 10am–2pm
Phone: (470) 748-2530

Anytime Capital branch storefront on Piedmont Road in Atlanta — Atlanta branch, Piedmont Road NE

One Biscayne Tower in Miami, home of the Anytime Capital Miami office — Miami office, One Biscayne Tower

How to protect yourself on any platform

Use the real website address and never a link from a message. Turn on two-factor authentication. Send your first purchase to a wallet you already control and confirm it arrives before buying more. Keep a screenshot of the confirmation screen with the fees. And if anyone contacts you claiming to be from any exchange and asks you to move money, hang up and call the number on the company's own site.

Leaving Coinbase? Your wallet address works here too.

Verify once with your ID and a selfie, pick a coin, choose any of nine ways to pay, and paste any wallet address you control. Card and Apple Pay orders confirm in minutes; wires settle the same business day.

Buy Bitcoin from 4%Open a free account

Non-custodial wallet, or your own address
FDIC-insured cash account with a free debit card
(470) 748-2530 during business hours
Walk-in branch in Atlanta, office in Miami

Side by side

Coinbase vs Anytime Capital, row by row

A green check marks the platform with the edge on that row. Anytime Capital leads on 8 of 14.

Category	Coinbase	Our pick
Card purchase fee	A 3.99% fee on debit card purchases in the simple app, plus a spread of roughly 0.5% built into the quoted price	From 4% with the spread included, quoted in full before you confirm
Trading fees	Advanced Trade starts at 0.60% taker / 0.40% maker; simple trades add a spread of about 0.5% plus a flat fee from $0.99 or a percentage on larger orders	One all-in price per order with the spread included, plus an OTC desk for size
Pay with cash	Not offered	Cash at the Atlanta branch, or cash by mail from anywhere in the U.S.
Domestic wire	Domestic wire deposits accepted, $10 in and $25 out	Same-day domestic wire for larger orders through the OTC desk
Apple Pay & Google Pay	Yes	Yes
Talk to a human	24/7 phone line, live chat and email, plus a help center	Phone (470) 748-2530, email, and two walk-in offices
Physical locations	None for customers	Atlanta branch and Miami office
Where it serves	Coinbase serves all 50 states, including New York under a BitLicense held since 2017. Coinbase, Inc. is registered with FinCEN as a money services business and holds state money transmitter licenses.	Serves customers worldwide, with U.S. offices in Atlanta and Miami; eligibility confirmed during verification
Identity verification	Government ID, selfie and Social Security number on every U.S. account; source-of-funds questions on larger activity.	Government ID and selfie online, or in person at the Atlanta branch
Bank account & debit card	No FDIC-insured cash account	FDIC-insured cash account with a free virtual debit card
Large orders	Coinbase Prime and an institutional OTC desk exist, but retail customers are routed to Advanced Trade rather than a named trader	Dedicated OTC desk with a named contact
Custody of your coins	Held in your account until you withdraw	Your own wallet address, or the free non-custodial Anytime Capital wallet
Regulation	Registered with FinCEN as a money services business, licensed as a money transmitter across the states, holds a New York BitLicense, and reports to the SEC as a public company.	U.S.-based, FinCEN-registered money services business
Way to escalate a problem	Coinbase does have a phone number, which is rare among exchanges, but reviewers say the line and chat mostly route to scripted answers and that restricted accounts still wait on an internal review nobody can speed up.	Phone, email, or in person at the Atlanta branch

Card purchase fee
Coinbase
A 3.99% fee on debit card purchases in the simple app, plus a spread of roughly 0.5% built into the quoted price
Anytime
From 4% with the spread included, quoted in full before you confirm
Trading fees
Coinbase
Advanced Trade starts at 0.60% taker / 0.40% maker; simple trades add a spread of about 0.5% plus a flat fee from $0.99 or a percentage on larger orders
Anytime
One all-in price per order with the spread included, plus an OTC desk for size
Pay with cash
Coinbase
Not offered
Anytime
Cash at the Atlanta branch, or cash by mail from anywhere in the U.S.
Domestic wire
Coinbase
Domestic wire deposits accepted, $10 in and $25 out
Anytime
Same-day domestic wire for larger orders through the OTC desk
Apple Pay & Google Pay
Coinbase
Yes
Anytime
Yes
Talk to a human
Coinbase
24/7 phone line, live chat and email, plus a help center
Anytime
Phone (470) 748-2530, email, and two walk-in offices
Physical locations
Coinbase
None for customers
Anytime
Atlanta branch and Miami office
Where it serves
Coinbase
Coinbase serves all 50 states, including New York under a BitLicense held since 2017. Coinbase, Inc. is registered with FinCEN as a money services business and holds state money transmitter licenses.
Anytime
Serves customers worldwide, with U.S. offices in Atlanta and Miami; eligibility confirmed during verification
Identity verification
Coinbase
Government ID, selfie and Social Security number on every U.S. account; source-of-funds questions on larger activity.
Anytime
Government ID and selfie online, or in person at the Atlanta branch
Bank account & debit card
Coinbase
No FDIC-insured cash account
Anytime
FDIC-insured cash account with a free virtual debit card
Large orders
Coinbase
Coinbase Prime and an institutional OTC desk exist, but retail customers are routed to Advanced Trade rather than a named trader
Anytime
Dedicated OTC desk with a named contact
Custody of your coins
Coinbase
Held in your account until you withdraw
Anytime
Your own wallet address, or the free non-custodial Anytime Capital wallet
Regulation
Coinbase
Registered with FinCEN as a money services business, licensed as a money transmitter across the states, holds a New York BitLicense, and reports to the SEC as a public company.
Anytime
U.S.-based, FinCEN-registered money services business
Way to escalate a problem
Coinbase
Coinbase does have a phone number, which is rare among exchanges, but reviewers say the line and chat mostly route to scripted answers and that restricted accounts still wait on an internal review nobody can speed up.
Anytime
Phone, email, or in person at the Atlanta branch

Ways to pay

9 ways to pay here. 5 at Coinbase.

The rails Coinbase has, it runs well. The ones it does not have are the ones a customer reaches for when a card is declined, an amount is large, or the money is in cash.

MethodCoinbaseAnytime Capital

Apple PayInstant, from your phoneYesYes
Google PayInstant, Android and webYesYes
Debit cardVisa and MastercardYesYes
Credit cardAmex and Discover accepted hereNoYes
ACH bank transferLower cost, settles in business daysYesYes
Domestic wireSame-day for larger ordersYesYes
Cash AppPay from your Cash App balanceNoYes
Cash in personAtlanta branch, counted at the counterNoYes
Cash by mailFrom anywhere in the U.S.NoYes

Coins

Every major coin, one checkout

Most of the volume on any platform is in the same few dozen coins. Every one below has its own buy page here, with Apple Pay, card, ACH, wire and cash at checkout.

How it works

Three steps from Coinbase to here

1
Verify once
Government ID and a selfie, online in minutes. Stuck? Call the branch or come in and finish it in person.
2
Pay your way
Apple Pay, Google Pay, card, ACH, wire, Cash App, cash in branch or cash by mail. The full price is on screen before you confirm.
3
Receive and keep going
Coins land in your own wallet or the free Anytime Capital wallet. Sell back to an FDIC-insured cash account and spend with the debit card.

Buy Bitcoin from 4%Call (470) 748-2530 Get an OTC quote

Ready to leave Coinbase behind?

Anytime Capital is a U.S. money services business serving customers worldwide, with a branch in Atlanta, an office in Miami, and card pricing from 4% with the spread included. Verification takes minutes, nine payment methods are live, and (470) 748-2530 reaches a person during business hours.

Wire transfer
Cash in person

Buy Bitcoin from 4%See fees & limits

Digital assets are not FDIC-insured, are not bank deposits, and may lose value. Availability and limits subject to identity verification and compliance review.

Questions