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Coinbase wallet is a popular non-custodial crypto wallet designed for use across the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains. Because it is a non-custodial wallet — also known as a self-custody wallet — the user is in control of their private keys and funds.
What is Coinbase wallet?
Coinbase wallet is a non-custodial crypto wallet that supports multiple blockchains, like Ethereum and Polygon, as well as Ethereum-based L2 blockchains, like Optimism. The wallet facilitates the buying and selling of NFTs. Users can access Coinbase wallet through both desktop or mobile apps.
Coinbase wallet’s compatibility with the Ethereum blockchain gives users access to the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap and the blockchain with the largest volume of NFTs.
Custodial and non-custodial wallets
Coinbase’s stand-alone wallet is a non-custodial wallet. A custodial wallet is managed by a third party who ultimately controls it, including access if you lose your password/key, whereas non-custodial wallets are self-managed. Think of custodial wallets like keeping your valuables in a storage facility, and non-custodial wallets like keeping them in your safe at home. Custodial wallets, therefore, require less personal responsibility but are at the mercy of the third party, whereas non-custodial wallets give you full control but also mean you carry the full responsibility of keeping your items safe and retaining your password/key because there is generally no third-party with the master password/key.
What Is the difference between Coinbase wallet and Coinbase.com?
Coinbase.com is a centralized exchange that allows users to buy, sell, and manage cryptocurrency, while Coinbase wallet is a non-custodial wallet.
You do not need a Coinbase.com user account to download the Coinbase wallet browser extension or mobile app.
What are Coinbase wallet’s main features?
Secure
Coinbase wallet is a non-custodial wallet that is compatible with hardware wallets like Ledger, which allows for even more added protection. Non-custodial wallets (wallets not managed by a third party) is an umbrella term that encompasses both software and hardware wallets. A software wallet is a program that lives on your computer or on your internet browser. A hardware wallet is a physical device you plug into your computer. It creates a second layer of decentralized security because it’s not always connected to your computer or browser.
Accessible
Coinbase wallet is available as a mobile app on iOS and Android. It is also available on Chrome desktop browsers as a browser extension. The Chrome browser extension makes it more seamless to connect Coinbase wallet to OpenSea.
Once you decide on your platform of choice, you’ll follow the prompts to either download the app or the browser extension. Once you have the correct download, the user interface will prompt you to either create a new wallet or click "I already have a wallet" and enter your 12-word recovery phrase (also called a seed phrase).
Compatible with varied blockchains and coins
Coinbase wallet makes it possible to access, store, and purchase Ethereum-based NFTs and cryptocurrency. Coinbase wallet supports Ethereum, EVM-compatible networks, Bitcoin, Dogecoin, stablecoins, tokens supported on the Solana network, and thousands of other tokens.
What is Coinbase wallet most commonly used for?
Coinbase wallet allows users touse their wallets for multiple different purposes.
NFTs
Coinbase wallet allows users to store all NFTs from the Ethereum blockchain. As noted above, Ethereum is the blockchain with the largest volume of NFTs offering users a wide range of art, music, gaming, profile picture, and more categories of NFTs to choose from.
Transfering cryptocurrency
Coinbase wallet is your key for purchasing, selling, or storing cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, MATIC, and stablecoins, to name a few.
Native support for hardware wallets
Coinbase wallet supports Ledger, a hardware wallet. You can connect Coinbase to a hardware wallet for an extra layer of security and storage (similar to how a hard drive can store a backup of your important documents).
Seamless dApp searching
Coinbase wallet has a built-in feature that allows users to browse its library of dApps.
Using Coinbase wallet with OpenSea
Once you've installed your Coinbase wallet, you can either send ETH to your Coinbase wallet from another wallet or purchase ETH from Coinbase.com in order to fund it. You will then use Coinbase wallet’s dApp browser feature to search for “OpenSea,” where you’ll follow the dropdown menu prompts to connect your wallet and subsequently search NFT listings. Once you’ve purchased an NFT it will appear in your Coinbase wallet.
🧠 Q&A
Coinbase wallet makes it easy to stake coins by clicking its “Stake Coin” button. ETH is used on Coinbase wallet to stake.
Web3 technology is still new and constantly evolving, so while no single action guarantees protection, there are best practices that can help. The best rule of thumb is that if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Never share your wallet’s seed phrase, be careful when taking actions using your wallet, and make sure to thoroughly evaluate NFTs before buying.
OpenSea also has an icon visible via a blue checkmark badge on a collection or account. A blue checkmark badge on an account means that account has been verified. A blue checkmark badge on a collection means the collection belongs to a verified account and has significant interest or sales. (OpenSea does not endorse verified accounts or badged collections, and OpenSea makes no representations regarding the NFTs in a verified account or badged collection.)
OpenSea makes no representations or guarantees regarding the collections highlighted in this article. Users must do their own research and use their own judgment before buying any NFT, including those included in the collections highlighted in this article. The descriptions of the collections highlighted in this article were adapted from descriptions provided by the NFT creators, not OpenSea.
In web3, the term “gas fee” refers to the payment needed to execute transactions on the blockchain. Gas fees increase when more people use applications that run on top of a blockchain’s network, therefore competing for space within the block. Think of it like Uber’s surge pricing model that increases the cost of booking a ride during the busiest commuting times. OpenSea also doesn’t control gas fees, set gas fees, or receive any of the gas fees incurred by users on the platform. Instead, they all go to network validators or miners.
When you start the NFT purchase process using OpenSea, you’ll see the gas fee broken down by your wallet provider, so you can watch the fee refresh and complete the transaction when it’s low. Etherscan’s Gas Tracker is a dedicated page for tracking gas fee fluctuations.
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