Coinbase was one of the first, and certainly one of the largest, crypto exchanges to introduce social media-style features.
As things stand, you’ve already been able to send funds via Coinbase in the same way you could with PayPal or Revolut.
The transaction happens off-chain, and it has zero fees.
This is because we must always remember that if your funds are in Coinbase, they’re not actually yours. They’re part of Coinbase. They’re held by them, for you.
So, when you send, say, 100 ALGO from you to me, it’s just a case of making 100 ALGO disappear, virtually, from your account, and making them appear, virtually, in my account.
The funds never actually move on-chain. And they’re still part of Coinbase’s portfolio.
But I digress.
The bottom line is Coinbase is now offering a similar feature through its wallet, and it works via WhatsApp and Telegram.
Telegram is by far the world’s most crypto-friendly social network among those that are well known and popular.
You can create your own Telegram crypto wallet and send funds directly on the app.
Even though this is a stark reminder that your crypto, if held inside a centralised exchange, is not at all your crypto, this is a good feature.
It saves time, and fees.
And it helps onboard users.
We just have to hope Coinbase continues to do the right thing and keeps our funds safe.
But that’s a different conversation altogether.
I’ve crossposted this article on Publish0x.
bitcoinea 
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