Coinbase now supports Pound Sterling deposits and withdrawals in the UK in a change that will ease the process of buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
Until now, UK customers have had to convert Euros to pounds incurring losses during the exchange and slowing down the rate of transactions. The situation is particularly inconveniencing for high frequency traders who sometimes have to wait days for the conversions to happen. Fees can be as high as €10 per transaction.
The functionality is not yet universally accessible across the UK but the exchange says it will be available in a few days. The feature will also be added in other countries in future.
“Until now, the process of converting bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum and litecoin into euros and then into pound sterling, via international bank transfer, took several days. Customers will now be able to transfer pound sterling and use it to directly buy and sell these cryptocurrencies,” Zeeshan Feroz who is the Coinbase UK CEO said in a statement.
Faster Payments
Faster Payments is powering the service meaning transfers up to as much as $250,000 are now possible. The system allows for faster and secure transfers. According to the company, most transfers happen almost instantly. Faster Payments will be convenient especially for institutional traders who need to easily get in and out of positions.
Coinbase, the leading cryptocurrency exchange in the US set base in the UK in March as part of its global expansion. It is set to add Ethereum Classic to its portfolio which only has Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ethereum.
Coinbase recently announced it was exploring additional cryptocurrencies including Cardano (ADA), zcash, Stellar Lumens, 0x (ZRX) and Basic Attention Token (BAT).
The firm has been in partnership with Barclays for deposits and withdrawals. It has been experiencing rapid growth in Europe and recently launched gift card programme in an attempt to entice customers who have since gone inactive.
Users often find it difficult to easily convert crypto to fiat with the process often being slow and tedious. It often requires identity verification, a process that is often not required when making deposits.