Many cryptocurrency exchanges or other platforms limit their users to only one account per person.
It carries multiple benefits for the company, especially it helps prevent fraud and ensures that users are who they say they are.
Additionally, as crypto became very popular in recent years, so did cryptocurrency exchanges. You can now choose between dozens, maybe even hundreds, of different trading platforms. With that high competition, exchanges try to provide their users with benefits or sign-up bonuses that they can’t get elsewhere.
And it would wasteful to provide these bonuses to a person that already uses the platform. So limiting users to one account can also help platforms ensure that their resources are used efficiently.
But what is Coinbase’s opinion on multiple accounts? Let’s find out!
Can you have Multiple Coinbase Accounts?
When you were searching for an answer to this question, you certainly did come across a lot of conflicting answers.
We did too. Some web pages say that you can have multiple Coibase accounts, while others that you don’t. And yet the answer is so simple, and you can find it in the first section of the Coinbase TOS (or User Agreement in this case) called Account Setup.
Each customer may register only one Coinbase account.
Quoted from Coinbase TOS
So, unfortunately, you can’t have multiple Coinbase accounts. But with that cleared out of the way, there are a few ways to get around this rule.
How to be able to Use Multiple Accounts
We discovered two ways in which you can technically use another account without violating any Coinbase’s policies.
However, after confirming with the Coinbase support team, only one of those is currently working.
The one that is no longer working is described in this support post and is about adding additional account holders.
It also became strictly prohibited in the TOS for anyone else but you to use your Coinbase account.
By registering or using a Coinbase Account you agree and represent that… you will use your Coinbase Account only for yourself…
Quoted from Coinbase TOS
But you can create a sub-account.
In the past, sub-accounts were only available in Coinbase Pro, but in June 2022, Coinbase announced that it would be shutting Pro down and merging both versions to Coinbase Advanced Trade.
They started the migration at the end of 2022, so chances are, you already have access to all the advanced features that pro offered, including the sub-account feature.
This feature is called Coinbase Portfolios, so you are not creating an entirely new account but another portfolio that you can fund independently on your main account.
All your portfolios have separate balances and even API keys. And that’s the closest you can get to having multiple Coinbase accounts.
Conclusion
If you were thinking about having multiple Coinbase accounts, you should forget that idea right away.
Each customer can have only one Coinbase account, you might get through the registration just fine, but the once you submit the same personal details, both your accounts will likely get banned for failing to comply with the rules.
However, if you wanted to create more Coinbase accounts simply to separate your trading strategies, creating a sub-account or portfolio, as it’s called on Coinbase, might work for you just fine.