How to Create a Cryptocurrency App like Coinbase?

Updated on Dec 18th, 2023

In recent years, every sector is experiencing a digital transformation. Whether it is the automobile sector, healthcare sector, or financial sector, everything is being digitalized. However, various benefits come along with this rapid digitalization, such as security, automation, and much more. The financial sector has experienced a significant change when it comes to digitalization. Cryptocurrencies came in to picture in the year 2009 when Pseudonym launched their first cryptocurrency.  

Bitcoin was launched at the end of the year 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto, and since then, it has experienced an enormous rise in demand. Cryptocurrency, in simple terms, is known as a digital asset that can be traded with the help of Cryptocurrency exchange apps on the web that allows the users to buy, sell or transfer them. Since Bitcoin, several other digital currencies have been developed, such as Ethereum, Dogecoin, etc. These digital currencies can be traded for various other conventional currencies such as dollars, euros, etc. 

Cryptocurrencies works on a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Such currencies are getting more secure and reliable as these can be created electronically and monitored. These currencies are not centralized and are not controlled by the government of any country. The exchange rates of these currencies depend upon a group of people that are responsible for its administration. 

Since there are no central servers that can keep records of the transactions, all the transactions and balances are broadcasted to the entire network of peers exchanging cryptocurrency. Later, Miners approve those transactions. In simple terms, Miners are the individuals responsible for approval of transactions, legitimation, etc. These currencies can be traded through any Cryptocurrency app. In the past decade, Cryptocurrency exchange app development has been in demand. One such app is Coinbase. It offers various prominent features such as account transfer, instant trading, deals in several cryptocurrencies, support of various payment methods, etc. Let’s understand Coinbase and the process of developing an app like Coinbase. 

What is Coinbase and How it Works?  

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When it comes to dealing with cryptocurrencies, Coinbase is the first choice of the majority of digital cash traders. It is a secure online platform that avails services like buying, selling, transferring, and holding digital currencies. Coinbase was launched in the year 2012 by Brian Armstrong & Fred Ehrsam. The company initiated the trading of Bitcoin via bank transfers making it easy for the folks. Various app development companies use their APIs to develop such an app. 

Since the rapid increase in the demand for Bitcoins in the last few years, cryptocurrency exchange app, Coinbase provides a safer trading option to the users. Coinbase creates an open financial system for traders all over the world to assist users in converting the digital currency into and out of their respective local currencies. 

Talking about the benefits, Coinbase has got them all in respect to digital cash trading. Several crypto wallets and applications charge you a percentage of the transaction or levy a fee on any transaction being carried out within their platforms. Still, on Coinbase, transactions of digital currencies between two wallets, family and friends, and merchants are almost free of cost. The process is straightforward; anybody who doesn’t know anything about digital currency trading can easily understand the process within few minutes. An app like Coinbase offers top-notch security and backups, making it the most reliable. Apart from security, Coinbase offers an exchange, a wallet, and merchant tools all in one app.

Working of Coinbase

When you start working on Coinbase, you have to fill up the registration that requires some basic details such as legal name, date of birth, address, last four digits of your Social Security number, and your intent to use Coinbase. These pieces of information are required to comply with federal regulations. 

Now that you are done with the registration, you have to link your bank account. There is a list of banks in the app you can choose from. The next step will take you to the dashboard, where you can start trading. The buying process is as simple as buying a product on Amazon. You just have to click ‘Get started, and a list of available cryptocurrencies will appear; you can choose from the list as per your interest or budget. However, Coinbase levies a transaction fee of 99 cents on a purchase of 5 USD. After the buying process, you’ll have to wait a week before you can send the purchased Bitcoin to someone. 

The selling process is as easy as buying; you can select whether to sell a fraction of a whole available lot. Since the exchange rate of such cryptocurrencies is excellent, there is massive scope for another app like Coinbase in the market. All you have to do is offer efficient features and understand the need of your audiences. Let’s look at the features that are a must to have in such apps.

Get Best-in-class Features for your Cryptocurrency app

Features to be Included in the Development of a Cryptocurrency App

Efficient features define the success of your app, like Coinbase. Users are attracted to an easy-to-use and flexible app, whether it is a cryptocurrency app or any other sector’s app. Here are some prominent features that you should consider including in the app’s development process. 

1. Security

In the financial sector, the most important feature is security. It should be the highest priority for your app development process. The security of cryptocurrencies in the wallet of your users should be your primary concern. Everyone loves a high level of security features. Various cryptocurrencies have similar security features as any other regular banking apps, and they are easy to implement. You should consider implementing a two-factor or multi-factor authentication. It can be implemented with either a text message or a one-time password on email.  

2. Logout Timer

In any of the financial apps available in the market, timed logout is considered an essential feature. This feature monitors the activity of the user on the app or website and automatically logs out the users after a set period of inactivity or when the user’s device is locked. Timed log out enables unwanted usage of the application and can save from any unauthorized usage of the app. You should implement this feature in your cryptocurrency exchange app. 

3. Client-side Private Key

As finance is considered a fragile sector hence, the safety of your customer must be ensured. Users should trust your application when trading different digital currencies. In case your app stores the private server-side key, it becomes more prone to cyber-attacks which leads to litigation, and it can easily damage your reputation. By implementing the client-side private key feature, your app gets protected from these attacks and related challenges.  

4. Restrict Repeated Payments

Although your cryptocurrency app will not act as a bank, you should deliver the same security features to ensure optimum customer satisfaction. Restricting repeated payments to the same address and notifying the user for their approval for the same enhances the reliability of the app. An ideal digital currency app creates a new wallet address for every individual transaction and detects the chances of fraud if someone tries to load digital currencies multiple times on the same address. This feature will enable the user to alert any possible Bitcoin fraud that is prevailing on the web.  

Also Read: How to Develop a Trading Platform?

5. Strong Backups

Digital currencies are not like regular money. Hence, backups are required to ensure the credibility of the available digital cash in a user’s wallet. Your app should have a strong backup option that allows them to create a backup of their available currencies. The safest backup option is considered to be the system of the users or a micro-SD card. However, you always have the option of integrating secure cloud storage apps like Google Drive or Dropbox.  

6. Robust UI

Ui is the most important thing that sets first impressions of your app. While developing a high-tech cryptocurrency app, you should consider making your UI simple and interactive. You always have the option to create an alluring look, creative guidance, and a user guide that states every term and condition to use the app and some common FAQs. To deliver a smooth experience to your users, you can hire a UI designer from an app development firm to enhance the results. To distinguish yourself from the crowd, you should create something different. Remember, impressions matter.  

 7. Push Notifications

Push notifications are one of the generic features in any app, but it does the trick. Your users should be aware of everything that is happening in the app. In the case of cryptocurrencies, the exchange rates are fragile and can change every hour. Your app should notify the users every time there is a price change. Your customers will find the app more trustworthy if they are being notified about everything that happens to their coins. It depends on the developer of your app to implement some personalized notifications that can help you bring back some inactive users of the app. 

8. Intelligent QR Scanner

Various cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoins are now being accepted at a number of outlets. An intelligent QR scanner can help in easy transactions while paying through digital currencies. Your app development company can implement some logic and develop an intelligent scanner that identifies the outlet type by scanning a particular QR code. For instance, if a private QR is scanned, then it should open the page to send funds, and in case of a payment request, it should update the information to the user’s page, etc. 

Looking to develop a Cryptocurrency app

Development Process of a Cryptocurrency Exchange App

Developing an unconventional financial digital currency app has its own share of challenges. You should be clear on your ideas and take the first step. Before starting the development phase, you should be clear about the market demand and the expectations of the users from such apps. To get an idea about the market’s current trends, you can either hire a market research team or carry out market research by yourself. Start with the analysis of the competition and conduct user interviews, and you will have the primary needs of the users that are expected from your app. This research will clear out various things and give you a clear idea about how your product should look like. In the case of digital currencies, look out for the pros and cons of various coins and how they attract users. 

After the market research, you should develop an efficient roadmap for the project. Now you are clear about the functionalities your app should offer. Develop a monetization model, like whether you will charge a fee on the transactions or levy a fee on transfers. You should discuss these terms with your legal and finance team. The next step consists of hiring an app development company. Check for the reviews of a company and the ratings of the products developed by them, and you will land a dynamic company. 

Technologies to Consider

The majority of the functionalities of your cryptocurrency exchange app will depend on the technological stack you choose for the development. Some most common frameworks being used in digital currency app development are React Native and Flutter; these are cross-platform mobile frameworks. 

For the purpose of web app development, you can use the languages such as Node.JS, Angular, React.JS, PHP, etc. In terms of backend development of your app, you should consider using MongoDB, MySQL, AWS, Firebase, etc.  

APIs are essential aspects of the digital cash app development process. There are various APIs available out there that you can integrate into your development process, such as Binance API, Bittrex API, Poloniex API, Coinbase API, Kraken API, BitFinex API, Bitstamp API, Hitbtc API, Gemini API, Kucoin API, etc.  

Team Requirements

At this stage, you are aware of the features, functionalities, and technology stack to be implemented in your app. Now to integrate these, you require a development team that can turn your idea into reality. You always have two options available in hiring a development team. You can either hire a freelance team that will charge you hourly, or you can go for a full-fledged mobile app development company that will deliver you a higher quality. Before hiring any company, make sure they understand this niche and have developed some best quality products in the same field. 

In any case, you will require a set of people to develop your project. The team members will include developers for Android and iOS, a graphic designer and marketing team, a project manager to supervise the development process, and a QA engineer to test the final product and find errors. 

Bring your idea of a Cryptocurrency app like Coinbase into reality

Wrapping Up

Cryptocurrencies are in trend, and the business that follows the trend can never go wrong. The field of digital currencies is massive and has been rising coherently. The need for the development of cryptocurrency apps has gotten tremendously high, and still, a fraction of the population is yet to invest in this sector. The future of this sector holds millions of opportunities, and you should dive right into it. With the right set of features and technologies, your project can make it big in the market in terms of user base and revenue generation. 

Matellio can help you in developing an app like Coinbase. Our proficient app developers have developed several cryptocurrency exchange apps that have received great appreciation from the clients and users. Get in touch with us to discuss your idea, and we will develop it exactly as per your expectations.

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