How is my cryptocurrency insured?

Coinbase carries crime insurance that protects a portion of digital assets held across our storage systems against losses from theft, including cybersecurity breaches. However, our policy does not cover any losses resulting from unauthorized access to your personal Coinbase or Coinbase Pro account(s) due to a breach or loss of your credentials. It is your responsibility to use a strong password and maintain control of all login credentials you use to access Coinbase and Coinbase Pro. 

Cryptocurrency is not legal tender and is not backed by the government. Cryptocurrency, (including but not limited to tokens such as bitcoin, litecoin and ethereum, and stablecoins such as USDC), is not subject to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or Securities Investor Protection Corporation protections.

In case of a covered security event, we will endeavor to make you whole. However, total losses may exceed insurance recoveries so your funds may still be lost. 

How is my cash insured?

Fiat balances, such as U.S. dollars, British pounds, or euros, are held in your Coinbase e-money wallets as a balance in your Coinbase or Coinbase Pro account(s). For U.S. customers, Coinbase combines your balance with the balances of other customers and holds those funds in either:

  • custodial accounts at U.S. banks and/or

  • invests those funds in liquid U.S. Treasuries, or 

  • USD denominated money market funds in accordance with state money transmitter laws. 

Funds could be held in any one of these three manners so customers should not assume that funds are being held in one manner over the other. For non-U.S. customers, funds are held as cash in dedicated custodial accounts. All custodial pooled amounts are held separate from Coinbase funds, and Coinbase will neither use these funds for its operating expenses or any other corporate purposes.

To the extent U.S. customer funds are held as cash, they are maintained in pooled custodial accounts at one or more banks insured by the FDIC. Our custodial accounts have been established in a manner to make available pass-through FDIC insurance up to the per-depositor coverage limit then in place (currently $250,000 per individual). FDIC pass-through insurance protects funds held on behalf of a Coinbase customer against the risk of loss should any FDIC-insured bank(s) where we maintain custodial accounts fail. FDIC insurance coverage is contingent upon Coinbase maintaining accurate records and on determinations of the FDIC as receiver at the time of a receivership of a bank holding a custodial account.