The popular bitcoin exchange and wallet service, Coinbase has added a new feature to its offerings. The company announced the launch of its Instant Exchange service on its blog yesterday. According to Coinbase, this new feature will allows users to reduce their exposure to fluctuating Bitcoin exchange rates while conducting bitcoin transactions.
The new Instant Exchange feature further simplifies the process of bitcoin transactions by significantly reducing the time take to buy or sell bitcoins on the network. Until now, only merchants registered with Coinbase could avail the Instant Exchange service to automatically liquidate bitcoin to local currency as soon as it is received. This service is now made available to all Coinbase users with a local currency wallet.
With Instant Exchange, Coinbase users can buy and send bitcoins in a single step. Similarly, it allows users to exchange bitcoin as soon as they receive it. Users with Coinbase wallet for dollars, euros and pounds can buy bitcoin during the sending process itself. In order to do so, they have to open their local currency wallet, enter the recipient bitcoin wallet address and the amount they wish to send (in bitcoin). Once initiated, amount equivalent to the bitcoins being sent will be deducted from the local currency wallet, converted to bitcoins (instant buying process will be activated in the background) and sent to the recipient wallet address.
Similarly, inward bitcoin deposits can be exchanged in one click using the Instant Exchange feature to receive the equivalent amount of fiat currency into the local currency wallet. A standard conversion fee will be applicable for the transactions made using the Instant Exchange services. However, Coinbase will not be levying any extra fees for using the Instant Exchange service. The applicable conversion fee is available on the website.