How to schedule daily Ethereum purchases on Coinbase? (DCA Strategy)

Setting Up Recurring Buys on Coinbase

1. Log into your Coinbase account using verified credentials and navigate to the Buy/Sell section from the main dashboard.

2. Select Ethereum (ETH) as the asset you intend to purchase regularly.

3. Click the Recurring Buy toggle or button—this option appears after selecting ETH and choosing a payment method.

4. Specify the amount in USD or ETH, frequency (daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly), and preferred time zone for execution.

5. Confirm your linked bank account, debit card, or Coinbase Wallet balance as the funding source before finalizing the schedule.

Payment Method Constraints and Limitations

1. Daily recurring purchases via debit card are subject to real-time authorization limits set by issuing banks and Coinbase’s internal risk engine.

2. Bank transfers (ACH) support larger daily dollar amounts but require 1–3 business days for settlement—Coinbase will only execute the buy once funds clear.

3. Users with Coinbase Card enabled may encounter separate spending caps that affect recurring ETH allocations.

4. International users face additional restrictions: SEPA transfers do not support true daily cadence due to banking cutoff windows, and some regions disable recurring buys entirely.

5. Coinbase Pro account holders cannot use native recurring buy features—the interface redirects them to Coinbase.com or requires manual API-based scheduling.

Fee Structure and Execution Timing

1. Each scheduled Ethereum purchase incurs the standard spread-based fee, not a flat commission—this varies depending on market liquidity at the moment of execution.

2. Daily orders placed before 00:00 UTC execute at the next available matching price on Coinbase’s order book, which may differ from the displayed preview rate.

3. No additional network fees apply at the time of purchase; gas costs are absorbed by Coinbase until the ETH is transferred out of the custodial wallet.

4. Failed executions due to insufficient balance or payment rejection do not auto-retry—the user must manually re-enable or adjust the schedule.

5. Historical trade records appear under Transaction History, tagged with “Recurring Buy” for auditability, but timestamps reflect actual fill time—not scheduled time.

Tax and Accounting Considerations

1. Every daily ETH acquisition creates a new cost basis, tracked separately in Coinbase’s Tax Reports dashboard using FIFO methodology by default.

2. Users integrating with third-party tools like Koinly or CoinTracker must enable API key permissions for transactions and balances, not just portfolio data.

3. U.S. taxpayers must report each purchase as a taxable event if funded with appreciated assets—even if no sale occurs—due to IRS treatment of crypto as property.

4. Coinbase issues 1099-MISC forms only for staking rewards or referral bonuses, not for recurring buys; users bear full responsibility for calculating capital gains on future disposals.

5. Business accounts registered with EINs receive consolidated monthly statements but retain individualized trade-level detail for reconciliation purposes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I pause or modify a daily recurring buy without canceling it?A: Yes—navigate to Recurring Buys in the sidebar, select the active schedule, and choose “Edit” to change amount, frequency, or payment method. Pausing is not supported; edits take effect on the next scheduled run.

Q: Does Coinbase guarantee execution at the exact minute I specify?A: No—execution occurs within a 15-minute window after the scheduled time, depending on system load and order book depth. No SLA governs timing precision.

Q: What happens if ETH price drops sharply right before my daily buy executes?A: The order fills at the prevailing market price on Coinbase’s exchange at execution time. No stop-loss or limit-order logic applies to recurring buys.

Q: Are recurring buys visible to other users on my shared Coinbase account?A: Yes—if multiple users have access to the same account via shared credentials or team permissions, all recurring buy configurations and histories are fully exposed.