It is your responsibility to determine what, if any, taxes apply to the payments you make or receive, and to collect, report, and remit the correct tax to the appropriate tax authority. Coinbase is not responsible for determining whether taxes apply to your transactions or for collecting, reporting, withholding, or remitting any taxes arising from any transactions. Coinbase may, however, be required to report transaction information to applicable tax authorities.
Cryptocurrency taxation is complex (every trade is potentially a taxable event), and Coinbase's reporting to the IRS means the agency already has your transaction data — meaning failure to properly report can result in significant penalties and interest.
Coinbase's User Agreement gives the company broad unilateral powers to suspend accounts, freeze funds, and reverse transactions with limited notice, directly affecting your access to your money and cryptocurrency. In the event of Coinbase's insolvency, cryptocurrency held in your Coinbase account may be treated as Coinbase's property under bankruptcy law, leaving you as an unsecured creditor rather than the outright owner of your assets. You can withdraw your cryptocurrency to a self-custodied hardware or software wallet to avoid platform insolvency risk, and you can opt out of mandatory arbitration by sending written notice to Coinbase within 30 days of first accepting the agreement.