For $30 a month, blockchain technical analyst Matthew Hyland was reportedly promised unlimited free trading on Coinbase. He claims that the exchange secretly introduced a trading limit of $10,000. He discovered this when he re-registered for Coinbase One to change his payment method. Before that, Hyland claimed he could make unlimited trades for $30 a month. He also had access to $1 million in account protection and 24/7 support.
Hyland calls Coinbase a liar for claiming through a support agent that the $10,000 cap had always existed on its Coinbase One product.
Further confirmation @Coinbase lied
— Matthew Hyland (@MatthewHyland_) September 14, 2022
On the phone they claimed there was always a $10,000 limit
Not true
Anyone new to the service has the limit now apparently
Kinda crappy because I had this but had to cancel and sign back up to change the payment method pic.twitter.com/edwsVMWJ70
On its website, the exchange confirms a trading limit in the terms and conditions of its Coinbase One beta subscription. “There’s a fee-free trading volume limit. When you trade over this limit, you’re responsible for paying regular trading fees. The limit can be found in your account settings,” the product’s help page advises.
Coinbase has had a history of questionable levels of customer service. In Aug. 2021, CNBC reported that it had interviewed thousands of customers who had had bad experiences. This was mostly in the form of account takeovers that failed to elicit a speedy response from Coinbase support. At the time, users filed over 11,000 complaints about the exchange with various consumer protection bodies in the U.S.
Subsequently, the company said it would introduce telephone support and live chat assistance to reduce the time customers had to wait for a resolution.
Fast-forward to Oct. 2021, many customers were still unhappy. Hackers were draining their accounts, and telephone support could not solve their problems. One couple that lost a large sum called the helpline, only for the agent to tell them they could not access the case file. The husband called the service “a joke.”
Be[In]Crypto reached out to Coinbase support for a response to Hyland’s allegations. At press time, the company has not responded to inquiries.
In an interview with CNBC on Aug. 24, 2022, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said that the company was looking to strengthen its balance sheet by offering subscription services. Coinbase is also reducing marketing costs and recently slashed staff by 18%.
Armstrong said that the company meets regularly with regulators as it seeks to become the most trusted exchange based on its compliance record.
