This tutorial will show you how to send cryptocurrency from Coinbase to a cryptocurrency exchange. I will also compare the speed and fees of sending BTC, ETH, LTC and BCH from Coinbase to a crypto wallet.

I sent $100 through each of the major currencies available on Coinbase: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash. I sent them all to Exmo, a major cryptocurrency exchange, and I measured the time it took to send each one, and how much it cost.

Spoiler alert: Bitcoin was the most expensive, but to my surprise, it was not the slowest.

Related Reading: Buying your First Bitcoin, Step By Step

By using this link, at no cost to you, Coinbase will send us both a fraction of a Bitcoin for using this affiliate link.

How to transfer Bitcoins from Coinbase

Watch my video tutorial below, to see me send all 4 currencies from Coinbase to Exmo. Scroll down to see the step-by-step.

Step 1: Trade your coins.

If you want to send BTC to an exchange, and eat the network fees, go ahead and do that. But I recommend that you sell your BTC and buy LTC, and send the LTC. The 4% fee for selling BTC, and the other 4% for buying LTC, will often be less than the BTC transfer fee, which can be as high as 30%.

Step 2: Set up your cryptocurrency exchange account.

What is the best Bitcoin exchange?

I’m working on a post comparing all the different exchanges I’ve been using, but until that’s done, I recommend you use Exmo.

By using this link, at no cost to you, Exmo will provide me with a commission for telling you about them. Please support my tutorial by using my affiliate link.

Issues setting up your accounts? Try getting a VPN

If you are out of the United States, it can be very useful to mask your IP address and make it seem like you are in a different country. A VPN (Virtual Prviate Network) makes websites think you are in different countries.

If you are having problem setting up accounts, a VPN may be the right answer for you. I have used Strong VPN (affiliate link) for many years, in many countries, and I like it a lot.

Bitcoin exchange fast verification — good luck

Many cryptocurrency exchanges are having problems getting their ID verifications processed, which can hold up all your crypto trading plans. Get your documents in order early. You will need:

JPG files of the front and back of your ID
JPG photo of a bank statement or other address verification
A phone number that can receive text verification codes
An email address
A webcam for taking selfies (seriously)

This part of the process may take a couple of days. Prepare to wait. Even if you’re kicking yourself for not getting in yesterday, getting in two days from now is better than next week. Start now, and wait if you need to.

Step 3: Create Bitcoin address at cryptocurrency exchange

In the video tutorial above, I demonstrate how to go to the ‘Deposit’ section of my BTC wallet, LTC wallet, ETH wallet and BCH wallet. There, I create a BTC address, LTC address, ETH address, and BCH address, which I can take back to Coinbase to make the actual transfer.

Step 4: Transfer Bitcoins from Coinbase to exchange wallet

Once you’ve done it a few times, it’s pretty easy. But I highly recommend you try some other currency besides BTC.

Why did I test this with different currencies?

Coinbase Bitcoin transfer fees are very high.

The network fee, which is paid to ‘bitcoin miners,’ the other computers on the blockchain that verify the transaction, can be as much as 30% of the amount you send. If you send a small amount, the fee can be higher than the amount sent!

Bitcoin came first, and now, other cryptocurrencies have developed faster and cheaper methods of securely making transfers on a blockchain.

By selling my BTC on Coinbase and transferring the funds into LTC, BCH, and ETH, I was able to make faster transfers, and when the coins arrived in my exchange account, due to a rising market, the exchange fees I was charged at Coinbase were negated.

When I have transferred Bitcoin to other exchanges in the past, it would take up to 18 hours. What I like about Exmo, as an exchange, is it releases the funds to you after only 1 network confirmation.

To my surprise, sending BTC to an exchange was fastest with Exmo. It was not the least expensive, but it was the fastest — although, it would not have been so fast on other exchanges.

Conclusion: The best coin to transfer funds is LTC.

And that’s only because Coinbase doesn’t support XRP (Ripple) yet.

Once Coinbase lists XRP, which it is expected to do sometime in 2018, then Ripple will become the default cryptocurrency for transfer all over the world.

That’s why I recommend getting into Ripple now. Once it is listed on Coinbase, it’s price will skyrocket beyond the $1.30 it is trading at today.

How To Send Bitcoins to an Exchange