Cardano (ADA)

Cardano (ADA) is a blockchain platform built on a proof-of-stake consensus protocol (called Ouroboros) that validates transactions without high energy costs. Development on Cardano uses the Haskell programming language, which is described as enabling Cardano "to pursue evidence-based development for unparalleled security and stability." The blockchain's native token, ADA, is named after the 19th century mathematician, Ada Lovelace.

Which products support Cardano (ADA)? 

What regions support Cardano (ADA)? 

Which regions support converting Cardano (ADA) to fiat currencies?

Availability of Crypto to Crypto Trading by region

See the full list of countries that Coinbase supports for crypto-to-crypto trading.

How many confirmations are needed for Cardano (ADA)?

Cardano (ADA)? requires 10 network confirmations. Learn about transaction confirmations.

Which blockchain network hosts Cardano (ADA)?

Cardano (ADA) is hosted on Cardano.

What are the minimum and maximum withdrawal amounts?

Coinbase has implemented safeguards to ensure a healthy and efficient network both on-chain and through our platform.  

These safeguards include both minimum and maximum amounts for each cryptocurrency we allow customers to send through the blockchain.

There is a withdrawal minimum of 1 Cardano (ADA) and maximum of 1,000,000 to send from Coinbase to an external address.

Am I required to use a new ADA address when sending?

The Cardano network was upgraded in 2020, resulting in two address formats: Byron (legacy) addresses and Shelley (new) addresses. Coinbase supports sending funds to most legacy Byron addresses and all new Shelley addresesses at this time. We will add support for all ADA addresses at a later date.

What happens if I send ADA to an unsupported legacy address through my Coinbase account? 

If you attempt to send ADA to a legacy (Byron) currently not supported, or invalid address, our system will prevent the send and you will receive an error message. If you ‘re sending to a new (Shelley) wallet address or a supported legacy (Byron) wallet address,  the tokens will be sent as normal.

Note: There is no impact to receiving ADA into your Coinbase account. 

How do I know if I'm sending ADA to a supported (Shelley) address?

Our system is designed to prevent sends of ADA off-platform to unsupported or invalid addresses. 

The legacy (Byron) wallet address starts with this format:

Icarus-style: Starting with Ae2

Daedalus-style: Starting with DdzFF

The supported new (Shelley) addresses start with this format: addr1

What is the timeline for full functionality?

Coinbase plans to enable both address formats soon. You can follow our Twitter feed for the latest updates. 

I was able to send ADA to Coinbase, but I received an error when attempting to send back? 

We are able to support all receives for ADA, however, we currently do not support sending off Coinbase to some legacy (Byron) addresses. 

I want to send funds to an exchange that only supports legacy (Byron) Cardano addresses. How do I do that?

Coinbase is now accepting most Byron addresses. If you see that the address you are attempting to send to is blocked, you may want to check that the address is correct.

If the address is correct and still unsupported, you will first have to send ADA funds to a Cardano wallet that supports both address types (e.g. Daedalus, Yoroi) followed by another transaction to the legacy (Byron) address on an exchange. You can reference the section above for examples of both legacy and newer (Shelley) addresses.

As a reminder, Coinbase will add support for all ADA addresses at a later date.