Available balance FAQ

What is an available balance?

Your available balance is how much you can cash out or transfer immediately out of your Coinbase account after purchasing crypto or adding cash in local currency using a linked bank account.

Prior to confirming an add cash or purchase, Coinbase will always advise when the funds will be available to: 

  • cash out to your bank

  • send crypto off of Coinbase 

For security reasons, you won't be able to immediately cash out your local currency using a linked bank account or send crypto purchased with such funds off of Coinbase (we call this “cashout availability”). Wire transfers and debit card purchases do not affect your availability to cash out but are subject to any existing holds on your Coinbase account.

What does “funds on hold” mean?

Funds on hold is the local currency value of any recently added cash and any crypto purchased with that cash, that is held for a specific amount of time. This hold period is calculated based on many factors such as account history, payment activity, and transaction history.

  • Funds on hold will always be represented in local currency, regardless of whether you added cash or purchased crypto.

Note: Coinbase Support cannot reduce the time period for "funds on hold."

How is my available balance calculated?

Your available balance is calculated by subtracting the funds on hold from your total account value.

Are crypto value increases affected by the holding period?

No. Any increase in the value of cryptocurrency does not affect your cashout availability.

Are wire transfers or debit card purchases subject to availability of my cashout?

Yes. If there are any restrictions on your account, such as holds or limitations, those restrictions will still apply regardless of the payment method you use.

In general, if there are no existing restrictions on your account, debit card purchases of crypto and wired funds from your bank to your Coinbase US dollar balance can be used to purchase crypto to send off of Coinbase immediately. 

My cash out availability time frame hasn’t expired and I want my funds immediately, what do I do?

You can still buy, sell, and trade within Coinbase. However, if there are existing Coinbase holds on your funds, or restrictions, you'll need to wait until they expire before you can cash out to your bank account. 

Withdrawal-based limit holds typically expire at 4 pm PST on the date listed.

What does “collateral” mean?

Coinbase uses the term "collateral" to refer to a borrower’s BTC funds, equal to the US dollar value of the loan at the time of loan origination, that Coinbase "locks up" in order to secure the loan. If a monthly payment is missed, Coinbase will sell off just enough of this BTC collateral to repay the missed payment.  

Learn about borrowing from Coinbase

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