How to send and receive cryptocurrency

When sending or receiving cryptocurrency (crypto), be sure to select the correct network or your funds will be lost.

You can use your Coinbase account to send and receive supported cryptocurrencies. Sends and receives are available on both mobile and web. Note that Coinbase cannot be used to receive ETH or ETC mining rewards.

Send

There are two ways to send crypto on Coinbase: on-chain or off-chain. 

On-chain sends are used to send funds from the Coinbase platform to an external address on the blockchain. On-chain sends are irreversible; Coinbase can’t retrieve funds that were sent to the incorrect address or using the incorrect network. On-chain sends incur network fees and take time to process. 

Off-chain sends allow you to send funds to another Coinbase user using their phone number, email address, or username. Off-chain sends are instant and incur no transaction fees.

Web (Coinbase.com)

  1. From your Dashboard, select Pay from the left side of the screen. 

  2. On the Send tab, enter the amount of crypto you'd like to send. (You can toggle between the cash value or crypto amount.) 

  3. Select Pay with and choose the asset to use for the send.

  4. Enter the crypto address, phone number, or email address of the person you would like to send the crypto to.

  5. Leave a note (optional).

  6. Select Continue to review the details.

  7. Select the network that you’d like to send on, if applicable (always confirm that your recipient’s wallet supports this network; learn more about sending on other networks).

  8. Select Send now.

Coinbase mobile app

1. Tap Migrated from https://help.coinbase.com/content/dam/help/articles/consumer/icons/Send.png, updated at Mon Apr 11 2022 12:52:36 GMT-0700 (Pacific Daylight Time) Send on the Home or Pay tab.

2. Select the asset.

3. Select a contact or enter a recipient's email, phone number, crypto address, or ENS name. You can also get this info by scanning the recipient's QR code.

4. Enter the amount of crypto you'd like to send (you can toggle between the cash or crypto amounts).

5. Select the network that you’d like to send on, if applicable (only available for assets that are supported on multiple networks; always confirm that your recipient’s wallet supports this network. You don’t need to select a network if you’re sending to a user’s email or phone number).

6. Leave a note (optional), then select Preview.

7. Confirm the transaction details.

8. Select Send now.

If you're trying to send more crypto than you have in your crypto balance, you'll be prompted to top up when doing the send. 

Important: All sends to crypto addresses are irreversible. Coinbase cannot retrieve funds sent to the incorrect address or using the incorrect network.

If you’re experiencing issues sending crypto, try the following steps before contacting support. To see the status of a transaction, select the asset balance in your Coinbase account, which will display the transaction history, then select the individual transaction you want to view.

I sent crypto but the recipient claims they haven’t received the funds.

  • Confirm that the transaction has been fully completed and has met the minimum number of confirmations, which varies by asset (e.g., BTC requires 2 confirmations; ETH and all ERC20 assets on the Ethereum network require 14 confirmations).

  • Confirm that the address you sent the funds to is the correct address for the recipient (you can see which address was used by viewing the transaction’s detail page).

  • Confirm that the network the recipient expected to receive the funds on is the same network that you used to send the funds (you can see which network was used by viewing the transaction’s detail page). If the transaction was sent on the incorrect network, Coinbase will not be able to recover the funds. Learn more about sending on other networks.


I tried to send crypto, but my transaction is stuck in pending.

  • Wait at least 30 minutes. Blockchain transactions take time to complete. Most transactions will be completed within 30 minutes.

  • Check the number of confirmations. If the number of confirmations is stuck at 0 for an extended period of time, contact our support team.

Receive

You can share your unique cryptocurrency address to receive funds through your web browser or mobile device after signing in. By opting into Instant sends in your privacy settings, you can control whether you want your crypto address to be verifiable as a Coinbase user. If you opt in, then other users can send you money instantly and for free. If you opt out, then any sends to your crypto address will remain on-chain.

Many assets, like USDC, exist on multiple networks. When receiving crypto into your Coinbase account, confirm that the sender is sending the funds on a network that Coinbase supports. Funds sent from the incorrect network will not appear in your account and will be lost. Coinbase is unable to retrieve funds that are sent from an incorrect network.

Web (Coinbase.com)

  1. From the Dashboard, select Send/Receive at the top of the screen or Pay from the left side of the screen. 

  2. Select Receive.

  3. Select Asset and choose the asset you'd like to receive. 

  4. Select the network that you’d like to receive on, if applicable (learn more about receiving on other networks).

  5. Once the asset is selected, the QR code and address will populate.

Coinbase mobile app

  1. Tap Migrated from https://help.coinbase.com/content/dam/help/articles/consumer/icons/Receive.png, updated at Mon Apr 11 2022 12:52:36 GMT-0700 (Pacific Daylight Time) Receive on the Home or Pay tab.

  2. Select the asset you'd like to receive (if the screen defaults to a specific asset, tap on the asset name to be given the option to select a different asset). 

  3. Select the network that you’d like to receive on, if applicable (only available for assets that are supported on multiple networks).

  4. Once the asset is selected, the QR code and address will populate. 

Note: To receive cryptocurrency, you can share your address, select Copy Address, or allow the sender to scan your QR code.

If someone tried to send crypto to your address but it isn’t showing in your account, try the following steps. Note that in periods of high network congestion, it may take longer for a transaction to complete.

  • Close and re-open your app or browser. 

  • Make sure that your app is updated to the latest version.

  • Confirm that you provided the sender with the correct address on the correct network.

  • Confirm that the sender sent the funds via the correct network. 

  • Ask the sender to provide you with the block explorer link and confirm that the funds were sent to the correct address.

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