Coinbase published a High-severity advisory for its developer kit, @coinbase/wallet-sdk (versions 4.0 to before 4.3.0), and told integrators to update to 4.3.0
February 8, 2025funds not affected- Outcome
- Patched. No loss reported
Coinbase Wallet (Base App)
Software wallet· founded 2017
Coinbase Wallet: What It Is, the Base App Rename, Fees and Self-Custody
Coinbase Wallet is a self-custody crypto wallet app made by Coinbase. You hold the keys, and Coinbase does not hold your coins 4. That makes it a different product from a Coinbase.com account, where the exchange keeps the assets for you. The app runs on iOS, Android, the web and as a Chrome or Brave extension 6. It lets you send, receive and swap tokens across a range of networks, and it also offers trading features such as perpetual futures through Hyperliquid 1. From July 2025 to September 2026 the same app was called Base App. Coinbase restored the old name on September 10, 2026 13.
At a glance
- Made by
- Coinbase (parent company Coinbase Global, Inc., Nasdaq: COIN). See the Coinbase exchange profile
- Product type
- Self-custody software wallet (hot wallet) with a dapp browser and in-app trading
- Platforms
- iOS, Android, web, Chrome/Brave extension 6
- Networks (Sept 2026)
- Base, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, BNB Chain, Optimism, Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, Monad, Robinhood Chain 1
- Coinbase account needed?
- No 4
- Swap fee
- Up to 1% Coinbase fee, plus any aggregator fee and network fees 5
- Facts checked
- October 23, 2026
Coinbase Wallet vs a Coinbase account
The difference is who holds the keys. On the Coinbase exchange, Coinbase holds your crypto. It records your balance, verifies your identity, and can reset your password. In Coinbase Wallet, the private keys are stored on your own device, and you don't need a Coinbase account to use the app 4.
| Coinbase.com account | Coinbase Wallet | |
|---|---|---|
| Custody | Coinbase holds the assets | You hold the keys 4 |
| Identity check (KYC) | Required | Not required to create a wallet. Some features are geo-restricted 1 |
| Lost access | Account recovery through Coinbase | Only through your own backup (phrase, cloud backup or recovery key) 6 |
| Where trades happen | Coinbase's order books | On-chain DEXs, aggregators and connected protocols 5 |
| Exchange-level protections | Apply to custodial balances | Do not apply |
Coinbase itself says the exchange is the simpler choice if you only want to buy, sell and hold 4. You can move funds between the two like you would with any wallet. Copy the receiving address from Coinbase Wallet, choose a matching network on Coinbase, and send.
From Coinbase Wallet to Base App and back
Coinbase renamed the wallet twice in 14 months. Here's what happened.
- July 16, 2025: Base App. At its "A New Day One" event, Coinbase relaunched the wallet as an "everything app." It added a social feed built on the Farcaster protocol, creator posts that could be tokenized through Zora, encrypted chat over XMTP, mini-apps and USDC payments. New users got a smart wallet called a Base Account 3. Some rewards were not offered in the EU or Canada 3.
- March 2026. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the social experiment "didn't quite work," and the app shifted toward trading 1.
- July 2026. Base creator Jesse Pollak handed product leadership to Jordan "Cobie" Fish 1.
- September 10, 2026: Coinbase Wallet again. Coinbase said the app had grown into a multichain trading platform, so the old name fit better. The social layer was de-emphasized 12. Coinbase says existing balances were unaffected. Users only need to update the mobile app 2.
Since the reversal, Base means only Coinbase's Ethereum layer-2 network and its builder ecosystem. Coinbase Wallet is the consumer app 2. Coinbase describes the wallet as a "test kitchen" for markets that may not be listed on its exchange. That includes long-tail tokens, prediction markets, tokenized stocks and perpetual futures run by Hyperliquid 1. New asset classes go through product and compliance review before launch 1.
Accounts, custody and recovery
The wallet type you pick decides which networks you get and how you recover the wallet. According to CryptoSlate's summary of Coinbase's help documents (updated October 2026), there are three types 6:
| Wallet type | Networks | How you recover it |
|---|---|---|
| Passkey smart wallet | EVM networks only (no Bitcoin or Solana) | A recovery key, which must be created while you still have the original passkey |
| Email / social-login wallet | EVM networks, Bitcoin, Solana | Through the email or social login |
| Recovery-phrase wallet | EVM networks, Bitcoin, Solana | The 12-word recovery phrase, or an encrypted backup you set up earlier in Google Drive or iCloud |
In every case, Coinbase can't restore a wallet when the backup is gone 46. Coinbase Wallet is a hot wallet: the keys sit on a phone or computer that's connected to the internet. To sign with keys held offline, you can connect a Ledger device to the browser extension and approve each transaction on the device 5. For the general trade-offs, see hot vs cold wallets and self-custody explained.
Network support has narrowed over time. Support for BCH, ETC, XLM and XRP ended in January 2023 4. CryptoSlate reports that Dogecoin, Litecoin and custom networks were also removed, and that the classic interface closed on August 15, 2026 6. If you hold one of these assets in an old wallet, you can import the recovery phrase into another wallet that supports that chain.
Fees
You don't pay to install the app or to hold crypto in it. Costs come up when you transact:
| Activity | What you pay |
|---|---|
| Send / receive | Network fee only |
| DEX swap | A Coinbase fee of up to 1%, plus a possible aggregator fee and the network fee. All of these reduce the amount you receive 5 |
| ETH staking | 15% commission on rewards (subject to change) 6 |
| Gas on Base | Some USDC transactions get gas sponsorship (up to $0.30 per transaction and $2 per user per month) 6 |
| Perps, prediction markets, tokenized stocks | Trading and product fees. Coinbase hasn't published the fee schedule 1 |
Illustrative example (assumption-based): a $500 swap charged the full 1% Coinbase fee costs $5. Any aggregator fee and gas come on top of that. The quote screen shows the final amount before you confirm.
Coinbase Wallet doesn't pay out to a bank. To cash out, you usually send the crypto to an exchange account, such as Coinbase.com, and sell it there.
Incident record
1 outcome unclear1 funds not affected
There's no central pool of wallet funds, so attacks usually go after the user. Phishing sites, fake "Coinbase Wallet support" agents and malicious token approvals are the usual routes. Coinbase says the wallet detects and hides scam or malicious tokens 1. Never type a recovery phrase into a website, and never share it with anyone claiming to be support. Phone numbers for "Coinbase Wallet support" found through search results are a common lure. More: crypto phishing. No breach of the wallet app that drained user funds was found in the sources reviewed.
A data incident involving bribed Coinbase support staff exposed customer information
May 2025outcome unclearIt hit the Coinbase exchange, not wallet keys. Coinbase said private keys and funds were not exposed 6
- Outcome
- Exchange-side matter. See the Coinbase exchange profile
Hacks in DefiLlama’s public database are also scored as the security record on the Coinbase Wallet (Base App) rating page.
Questions about Coinbase Wallet (Base App)
What happened to Coinbase Wallet?
Is Coinbase Wallet non-custodial?
Yes. Your keys stay on your device or in a backup you control, and Coinbase doesn't hold your assets 4. The trade-off: Coinbase can't recover a wallet if the backup is lost.
Is Coinbase Wallet a cold wallet?
How do I find my Coinbase Wallet address?
Each network has its own address. In the app, choose Receive (or the asset), select the network, and copy the address shown. Always match the network when sending from an exchange. An address on one chain can't receive coins sent on a chain the wallet doesn't support.
How is Coinbase Wallet different from MetaMask?
Both are self-custody wallets. Coinbase Wallet also covers Bitcoin and Solana in its phrase-based and social-login wallet types, and it has built-in trading products 16. MetaMask is made by Consensys.
For tax treatment of on-chain swaps, see how crypto taxes work. For CoinPulse's separate evaluation, see CoinPulse's Coinbase Wallet rating and evidence or the crypto wallet ratings.
Coinbase Wallet (Base App) elsewhere on CoinPulse
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- 1[The Block — Coinbase rebrands Base App back to Coinbase Wallet (Sep 10, 2026; updated Oct 19, 2026)]()theblock.co
- 2[Crowdfund Insider — Coinbase Wallet returns as Base App social experiment ends (Sep 11, 2026)]()crowdfundinsider.com
- 3[The Block — Coinbase unveils Base App (Jul 16, 2025)]()theblock.co
- 4[Coinbase Help — What is Coinbase Wallet]()help.coinbase.com
- 5[Coinbase Help — DEX swaps in Coinbase Wallet]()help.coinbase.com
- 6[CryptoSlate — Coinbase Wallet overview (updated Oct 4, 2026)]()cryptoslate.com
- 7[GitHub — Coinbase Wallet SDK advisory GHSA-8rgj-285w-qcq4 (Feb 8, 2025)]()github.com
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What changed on this page
- 2026-10-232026-10-23 — Profile created.