This is what the Coinbase app looks like on an iPhone.
When you first open the app, you're presented with the latest price of bitcoin and its change within a certain period. You can see in the chart below how wild the latest moves have been.
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I happen to be one of the many who have never traded bitcoin before. There's a certain level of wariness in buying into the cryptocurrency world.
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However, Coinbase's interface makes it simple to enter the basic personal information it needs to create your account.
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User-friendliness quickly hit a snag. When I put in my address, the app didn't recognize I had already selected it from the autofill menu. I couldn't proceed unless I switched to the desktop app.
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So switch I did. From the desktop portal I could easily enter more identifying info.
The final step before entering my financial information was two-step verification for security, which Coinbase quickly sent to my phone.
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I decided to give the app another try and opted to use my debit card to buy the bitcoin.
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Entering all my information was just as straightforward as everything else. The problem was that I couldn't exit this screen. Neither the "buy" nor "not now" option registered. I had to press the X and start all over.
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Ultimately, and frustratingly, it was back to the desktop. So far, the actual process of buying bitcoin was simple — the app itself was my only nemesis. My $50 ended up buying 0.0524 of one bitcoin.
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No looking back! (Until I sell, of course.)
Oh. It appeared the price was falling pretty fast the morning I decided to buy. I went back to try again, doing my best to outrun the falling price.
I own bitcoin! Well, a small fraction of a bitcoin. But now this means I could sit on my hypothetical tiny pile of cryptocurrency and hope it amasses value.![]
Instead, I decide to sell off immediately. (But not before shedding a single tear for the 12 cents I've already had to part with.)](https://images.ecency.com/p/A9k44p7fmbQmAjb79YkX1bNj2F5ZUGW4L8kzuZn8QGE6VJoDGsLYyvCor793t8RabQmQ683vxM19WYAhSrRqYTSYwfgKtjaUkLnkgTMAQJfKm7yFYGBHBtzaARoSHZN8Ty568EwChWf8SHyM7NDGpYm6rRErKK2pGgcGfteedkFMC5mDYSGevEPXHoAiEZPJmYXvLDLjhA55PsQ2N4d8nq3mdVQQchPnkDLuHMVo39FvKXPipvccwoFhJtNFnaMj13CTWjeanuax5HzE.png?format=match&mode=fit)
To sell the bitcoin, Coinbase only allows users to pair their bank account with the app; a credit or debit card won't suffice.
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