Topping up allows users to send or withdraw cryptocurrency from Coinbase even if they have an insufficient crypto balance.
How does it work?
You try to send cryptocurrency to a non-Coinbase account, but the amount you’re trying to send is greater than the amount you have in your crypto balance
You'll be asked if you'd like to "top up" the amount you're trying to send
You'll be prompted to choose a linked payment method and buy that amount (grayed out payment methods are not available)
After you top up, you can complete the send
What does "top up" mean?
Top up means you'll buy the remaining amount of crypto needed to complete your send.
What’s an example?
You split the dinner bill with a friend, but your friend picks up the check. You decide to pay your friend with crypto, but as you’re initiating a crypto send, you realize that you don’t have enough in your crypto balance to cover the amount you owe.
To pay your friend, you top up, which uses a linked payment method to buy the remaining crypto amount needed to pay your friend.