I love Coinbase!

Cryptocurrency is a complicated concept. In fact, I did not understand all the crypto-related concepts in one-day or even one-week of reading. Therefore, I find Coinbase's mobile app amazing. It successfully caters to the experienced trader and, more impressingly, to those with little knowledge of how cryptocurrencies work.

Coinbase's mobile app, from now on Coinbase, offers a very intuitive UI. Honoring its purpose as a trading platform and capturing users' fascination with cryptocurrency's astronomical rise in value, Coinbase presents price charts as the opening view. A prominent display of price encourages newcomers to make a purchase or to follow the price by opening the app again and again. A tap on the price transitions to full price history and sell/buy options. Coinbase's placement of sell/buy option is nothing short of great intelligence. The two simple buttons shows up constantly throughout the app, easing the buying process and inticing more purchases. Coinbase makes navigating crytocurrency exchange simple.

However, Coinbase does not make tradeoffs between simplicity and functionality. In the app, experienced traders have the option to set price alerts. This feature is especially useful for daytraders or meme-makers. More importantly, Coinbase provides a few layers of security. Under Settings, a user can register government ID, phone number, and two-factor authentication. These items create a strong defense against cryptocurrency hackers (a lucrative profession I must admit). Despite its growth at breakneck speed and its top position in the AppStore, Coinbase keeps the identity verification process running surprisingly smoothly. That's not even all. Coinbase lets users move funds from the app to its professional trading platform at no cost. Coinbase the product champions both usability and professionalism.

The only modification I would make to the app is the addition of market news. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrenices often make headlines for their extreme volatility. A user needs a constant feed of information to make educated purchasing decision. Coinbase' competitors like Robinhood actively updates this feature. Coinbase is not a perfect product for this reason, but I have faith that the team behind it.

The Coinbase team did more than make an app; they realized the needs of their customers and build upon those needs. A product can only last so long but customer's jobs-to-be-done remain. That is why a newbie and an advanced trader can both enjoy Coinbase. I loved Coinbase as a beginner, and I love Coinbase now as an active participant of the cryptocurrency community.