{"id":27258,"date":"2015-05-28T22:58:34","date_gmt":"2015-05-28T22:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ci027cfe79b00626c3"},"modified":"2025-01-28T20:30:33","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T20:30:33","slug":"coinbase-launches-instant-exchange-help-users-avoid-bitcoin-volatility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/markets\/coinbase-launches-instant-exchange-help-users-avoid-bitcoin-volatility","title":{"rendered":"Coinbase Launches Instant Exchange to Help Users Avoid Bitcoin Volatility"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Coinbase users can now send bitcoin payments without being exposed to the digital currency\u2019s volatility.<\/p>\n

Users with a fiat wallet (must be verified in order to get it) allows use of Bitcoin\u2019s global payment network without being exposed to the price of the digital currency. Coinbase\u2019s Instant Exchange deducts an equal amount to the bitcoin the user wants to send, effectively exchanging the two. The service is similar to one offered by Coinbase<\/a> to bitcoin-accepting merchants.<\/p>\n

As of today, Instant Exchange is available for users with a USD, EUR, or GBP wallet. After typing the bitcoin address and chosing a fiat wallet, users can hit the \u201cInstant Exchange\u201d button, and then send. A bitcoin amount equal to the fiat selected will be sent instantly, without exposing the user to bitcoin\u2019s notorious volatility. The startup\u2019s standard conversion fee of 15 cents will be deducted from each conversion, but sending payments to other Coinbase users is free.<\/p>\n

The bitcoin is deducted from the user\u2019s fiat wallet and not his or her digital currency wallet, meaning it can also serve as a way for users to instantly sell their bitcoin.<\/p>\n

A different model<\/h3>\n

Volatility is a problem all too well-known in Bitcoin and is a chief complaint among people interested in using the technology\u2019s payment network. Many services have looked to solve this problem by offering the ability to \u201clock\u201d bitcoin to the price of the American dollar, British pound, and various other fiat currencies. Users can then unlock their bitcoin when they want to send them or be exposed to the digital currency\u2019s price.<\/p>\n

Latin American bitcoin startup Coinapult was first to launch such a service, but now many bitcoin businesses offer it, including Bitreserve, which designed its whole service around the concept.<\/p>\n

One issue with these services is that though it makes storing the currency safer, it does not solve the problem when sending the digital currency. Also, if bitcoin\u2019s price goes down, these businesses offering the ability to peg bitcoin will lose money. And though the price has been more stable in recent months, bitcoin\u2019s price has declined dramatically over the last year, meaning that many \u201clock\u201d services could be feeling some pain.<\/p>\n

Coinbase\u2019s model avoids the potential risk of being on the strong side of a price swing by exchanging bitcoin for dollars instantly, and not operating a one-to-one reserve (peg).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coinbase users can now send bitcoin payments without being exposed to the digital currency\u2019s volatility. Users with a fiat wallet (must be verified in order to get it) allows use of Bitcoin\u2019s global payment network without being exposed to the price of the digital currency. Coinbase\u2019s Instant Exchange deducts an equal amount to the bitcoin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2520,"featured_media":25968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[190,1679],"class_list":{"0":"post-27258","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-markets","8":"tag-coinbase","9":"tag-volatility"},"author_data":{"id":2520,"name":"Bitcoin Magazine","nicename":"bitcoin-magazine","avatar_url":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/bitcoin-magazine-logo.jpeg"},"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/bitcoin-magazine-congratulates-coinbase-on-a-series-a-round-of-funding.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2520"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}