Consumer complaint received 2026-02-16 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Virtual currency
Issue: Confusing or missing disclosures — 
Company: Coinbase, Inc.
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
Company : Coinbase , Inc . 
Product : Virtual currency Issue : Confusing or missing disclosures Sub-issue : Deceptive fee structure through dark UI patterns What happened : I am a Coinbase Advanced Trade user attempting to purchase cryptocurrency with the lowest advertised fees. Coinbase 's fee disclosure page clearly states that for my tier ( Intro XXXX ), maker orders are charged 0.60 % and taker orders are charged 1.20 %. 

However, Coinbase 's user interface is designed in a way that systematically steers users toward the higher 1.20 % fee through the following deceptive practices : XXXXHidden " Post Only '' Option : When placing a limit order below market price ( which should qualify as a " maker '' order ), the interface defaults to " Allow taker '' execution. The checkbox that enables the lower fee is unchecked by default and positioned below the fold, making it easy to miss. 

XXXX. No Clear Fee Warning : The order preview shows an estimated fee of XXXX USDC ( 1.2 % ) even when the order is set below market price, with no prominent warning that checking the hidden checkbox would cut the fee in half. 

XXXX. Deliberately Obscure Labeling : The checkbox that enables the lower 0.60 % maker fee is labeled " Post only '' - terminology that is meaningless to average users and appears intentionally designed to obscure its purpose. The industry-standard and user-friendly label would be " Maker only '' or " Guarantee maker fee ( 0.60 % ) '' which clearly communicates the purpose and benefit. 

" Post only '' provides no indication that : It reduces your fee by 50 % It ensures you're adding liquidity to the order book ( maker ) It prevents execution at the higher taker rate This obscure technical jargon prevents users from understanding that checking this box saves them money. Competitors like XXXX clearly label this as " Post-only ( maker fee ) '' in their interface, making the cost savings obvious. Coinbase 's choice of the most obscure possible label appears to be an intentional dark pattern. 

XXXXBuried Fee Disclosure : The actual fee tier information is not accessible through any obvious settings menu. I had to navigate through multiple pages ( Settings > Portfolio > Fees ) to finally locate it. Most users would never find this page, and even when found, it doesn't explain how to actually obtain the advertised maker rates in the trading interface. 

XXXX. Misleading Marketing : Coinbase advertises Advanced Trade as having fees " as low as 0.60 % '' but designs the interface to default to double that rate unless users discover and enable an obscurely-labeled checkbox with no explanation of its fee-saving purpose. 

Financial Impact : On a {$100.00} trade : Default setting ( unchecked " Post only '' ) : {$1.00} fee With " Post only '' checked : {$0.00} fee Excess charge : {$0.00} ( 100 % markup ) For users making regular purchases, this represents significant excess fees. On my initial {$100.00} test trade on XX/XX/year>, I was charged {$1.00} ( 1.2 % ) when I should have paid {$0.00} ( 0.6 % ) based on the order type I placed. 

What I expect : XXXX. Coinbase should default " Post only '' to CHECKED for limit orders placed below market price, since these are clearly intended as maker orders XXXX. The " Post only '' checkbox should be clearly labeled to indicate it provides the lower maker fee ( e.g., " Maker only - 0.60 % fee '' or " Post only ( reduces fee to 0.60 % ) '' ) XXXX. The fee estimate should prominently display both maker and taker fee scenarios before order placement, with clear explanation of how to guarantee the lower rate XXXX. Fee tier information should be easily accessible in settings, not buried XXXX menus deep XXXX. Coinbase should refund excess fees charged to users who placed maker-eligible orders without " Post only '' checked due to the deceptive interface design This appears to be an intentional dark pattern designed to extract excess fees from users who are unaware of the obscure, unlabeled UI toggle required to receive advertised rates. The combination of hidden placement, confusing terminology, and lack of fee impact disclosure suggests deliberate design to maximize fee revenue at customer expense. 

Date of incident : XXXX XXXX XXXX Amount involved : {$1.00} excess fee on initial trade ; ongoing impact on future trades

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief