Coinbase Verification (KYC) Guide: How To Verify Your Coinbase Account in 2023

Coinbase needs us to verify our I.D.s to prevent the possibility of fraudulent activities. Moreover, the platform will also issue a verification process for any changes made to your Coinbase account. To be honest, I.D. verification is a general requirement for trading platforms like Coinbase. The buying and selling of assets on a large scale cannot occur without proper I.D. verification. 

What’s more, most companies and financial institutions worldwide have adopted the KYC requirement. This is done to confirm and verify the user’s identity, hence the full form, Know Your Customer. This has become a mandatory regulation today and cannot be avoided in any circumstance. 

So, although it is a slight annoyance, we have to admit that verifying our I.D. does keep us safer. After all, online transactions are filled with the possibility of hackers committing fraudulent activities. Keeping our I.D.s verified helps Coinbase to prevent such activities from taking place, which in the end benefits all users of the platform.

Is it safe to verify my I.D. with Coinbase?

I.D. verifications often make users go through the uncomfortable experience of sharing their personal information. This is generally frowned upon and should not be done under normal circumstances. The internet is a vast and endless world filled with an infinite number of entities hovering around its space. This makes sharing our information a risky ordeal. 

However, Coinbase is a trusted platform with over 80 million active users worldwide. The platform cares about our privacy rights and protects all our data from possible threats. Therefore, we can confidently say that sharing our information on Coinbase is completely safe and secure. 

How to verify my Coinbase account?

Coinbase asks every new user to go through their required Identity verification process. This is normally asked of you right after you have just been creating a new account with Coinbase. Account verification might sound like a complicated task; however, you can complete the whole process in just a few steps. 

In order to complete the process, you will have to upload a valid form of identification. This is done to confirm that you are indeed who you claim to be and not an imposter or impersonator. As you can understand, this is done for the security of your account. 

Customers who are citizens of the United States can either submit their driver’s license or a state-issued ID card. Meanwhile, international customers can choose from a list of three valid ID cards.

1. Passport
2. National identity card
3. A government-issued photo I.D.

Once you have selected the type of I.D. you want to provide, you can move on to the next step. Now what you have to do, is select a method to upload your I.D. card. 

The first option is to upload a picture of your I.D. card using a webcam from your computer or laptop. This option is convenient; however, it might be problematic if you have an old or low-quality webcam. As it is, webcams can’t click crystal clear images. This may result in hazy or unclear images of your I.D. card, causing problems in the verification process. 

If you select this option, we advise holding your I.D. card as steady as you can while clicking the picture. Note that the website might not accept the picture if it is not clear enough. 

The second option you can choose for uploading your I.D. card is via your mobile phone. If you select this option, Coinbase will send you a text message containing a secure link on your mobile phone. Clicking on this link will take you straight into a Coinbase interface page, where you can select two options. You can tap the first option for the front of the I.D., and the second option for the back. Simply click the front and back photos and upload them onto the platform’s server. 

After completing this process, Coinbase will send you a verification mail on your email address. Open the mail to confirm that the account has been verified, completing the process. 

The third option is a direct file upload of your I.D. card. If you select this option, you will have to scan your I.D. and create an image file on your computer. Once this is done, simply upload the image file onto the Coinbase Server. We personally think this is the most efficient way of completing the verification process. 

Make a note always to check whether or not the email you received is legitimate. There’s always the rare chance of you stumbling upon a phishing email designed to extract your information.

How to verify my Coinbase account using the mobile app?

Verifying your Coinbase account using the Coinbase mobile application is a simple and easy process. The steps are quick, and the process is the same in the case of both android and iOS-based phones. 

The first thing you want to do is open the Coinbase app on your mobile phone. Once you’re at the homepage, simply head over to your profile and settings. In the profile and settings page, tap on ‘Enable send and receive‘, located at the top of the page. Next, choose the kind of document you want to upload for your verification proof. Finally, upload your document by either using the camera or uploading a scanned copy of the same. 

You will also need to verify your phone number in order to complete the authentication process. To do this:

1. Tap the profile and settings options on the Coinbase app homepage.
2. Find the phone numbers option under the Accounts section and tap on it.
3. Select the option to verify a new phone number and enter your phone number. 

Coinbase will then send a verification code to the phone number you have provided. Now all you have to do is enter the verification code that was just sent to your phone. Once you do this, you will have completed the verification process for your phone number. 

How to bypass Coinbase ID verification?

If you find yourself asking this question, we recommend you stop looking for the answer. Firstly, let us tell you directly that no user can bypass the Coinbase verification method. Secondly, even if you could bypass the process, it would be extremely foolish. 

I.D. verification is done for a specific reason and comes as a necessity while using any online trading platform. Simply put, without verifying your I.D., you cannot make trades on any crypto platform. No website or platform allows users to buy or sell assets without proper verification. 

Just think about it; there is a bill generated when you purchase anything from a store. It doesn’t matter if you bought it in an online store or physically went to a store and made the purchase. Either way, there will be a bill generated for the transaction. 

When you swipe your card to buy something, the card machine reads all the data stored on your card. This way, the system knows that it is indeed you who is making the purchase by spending your own money. Doing this without proof of your identity would be an impossible feat. 

Coinbase does let you create an account without making you go through the I.D. verification. So technically, you can browse the platform and all its contents without having to undergo any verification. However, you will only be able to use the website in an extremely limited capacity. This means that apart from browsing the website, there won’t be anything else you can do. 

Coinbase will not allow you to make any purchases or even add funds to your account without a verified account. So, if you want to enjoy all the features of this amazing trading platform, we recommend you verify your I.D. immediately. 

Coinbase Verification FAQs