Comparison Of CoinSpot And Coin Base As Online Financial Services Companies In Australia

Introduction to Online Marketing and E-commerce models

Online marketing also known as internet marketing is defined as using internet platform to market products, services or brands. Online marketing is supported by internet media such as affiliate marketing, website, social media, and search engine (Barolli, et al., 2017, p. 74). Online marketing allows businesses to understand the behaviour and needs of their customers, their competitors and the market at large.  Therefore, online marketing gives businesses to expand their market growth and expansion as well as their competitive edge (Wang, 2015, p. 111).

With the evolution of online marketing, three different electronic commerce (e-commerce) models were developed. The models are;

 Business to Consumer (B2C) which refer to the end to end trade between a company and consumers who use its products (Seybold & Marshak, 1999, p. 79).

Business to Business (B2B) which refer to the end to end trade between two companies/ businesses which transact together (Brinck, 2002, p. 132).

Peer to Peer (P2P) refers to a decentralised internet platform that allows to people to interact by buying and selling with each other. Buyers and sellers are permitted to transact directly without the intervention of a third party (Buford, et al., 2009, p. 331).

This paper seeks to compare and contrast two online financial services companies in Australia. Considering the emergency of cryptocurrency exchange platforms, this important segment of the service market will be addressed. Two competing websites, that is, the CoinSpot and Coin Base have been chosen for comparison basis.

1. Chosen e-commerce business model

The Peer-to-Peer (P2P) business model has been selected for the study. The introduction of cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin has seen many people engaging in P2P by buying and selling the currency. Bitcoin P2P business model uses websites and other internet platforms to facilitate the relationship between the buyers and sellers (Milne & Parboteeah, 2016, p. 23).

There are several platforms in Australia that facilitate cryptocurrency P2P business. The most famous platforms are Independent Reserve, Coin Base, eToro, CoinSpot, Bitcoin OTC, Coinmama, and CoinJar (Eyers, 2015); (Holderness, 2018). The study seeks to compare the Independent Reserve P2P platform and Coin Base P2P platform.

1. Business Name

Business 1: CoinSpot

Business 2: Coin Base

1. Homepage URL

The Homepage URL for CoinSpot is https://www.coinspot.com.au/ while its website is www.coinspot.com.au. 

• Homepage Screenshot

1. CoinSpot    

1. Why the website belongs to P2P business model

As mentioned earlier, Peer to Peer (P2P) refers to a decentralised internet platform that allows to people to interact by buying and selling with each other. In other words, P2P is an online market that facilitates buying and selling between two end users without interference from an intermediary (Liang, et al., 2011, p. 13).

1. CoinSpot

CoinSpot Pty. Ltd is an online bitcoin trading Company which is located in Melbourne, Australia. CoinSpot was established in 2013 and provides end users with a platform and wallet of buying and selling bitcoins among other currencies (CoinSpot, 2018). Users are required to register through the company’s website www.coinspot.com.au before they can gain login access and trade among themselves (Bloomberg, 2018). CoinSpot is considered to be the largest online platform in Australia based on the number of cryptocurrencies bought and sold on a daily basis. CoinSpot is an online trading system that uses a multicoin wallet and Australian dollar to store, send and receive tokens and cryptocurrency coins. An end user can communicate, receive and access cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Litecoin instantly into their wallet accounts after transacting (Dervojeda, 2013, p. 58).

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Business Model for Cryptocurrency Trading

CoinSpot meets the description of a Peer to Peer business model. First, it provides a platform where an end user can interact and undertake the business transaction. Second, there is no involvement of the third party. And third, all the activities are done online without a physical meeting between the buyer and seller.

1. Coin Base

Coin Base Ltd Company was founded in 2012 in San Francisco in the United States. The company operates in over thirty-two countries including Australia. Under the leadership of CEO Brian Armstrong, Coin Base realised revenue of I billion USD in 2017. Coin Base is an online broker who specialises in the exchange of Cryptocurrencies. Just like CoinSpot, Coin Base provides end users with a platform to facilitate the buying and selling of bitcoins among other currencies. Users are required to register through the company’s website www.coinbase.com before they can gain login access and trade among themselves (Coin Base, 2018).

Coin Base is the largest and highly popular online cryptocurrency exchange platform which facilitate an exchange of at least $ 150 billion on a single day. Although users shy away from Coin Base because of its high fees, the company offers security assurance and quality exchange. Some of the cryptocurrencies that the company trade in are Ethereum, Bitcoin, Ethereum classic, Litecoin, and Bitcoin cash (Eyers, 2015).

Coin Base meets the description of a Peer to Peer business model. First, it provides a platform where an end user can interact and undertake the business transaction. Second, there is no involvement of the third party. And third, all the activities are done online without a physical meeting between the buyer and seller (Dervojeda, 2013, p. 15).

1. Principal business goal (s)

The demand for cryptocurrencies has increased globally over the last five years. Today Bitcoin and other digital currencies are available in over 190 countries. The growth in the global digital currency industry has been attributed to by the forces of demand and supply. With the increasing growth on the online market, consumers wanted a common currency that would facilitate smooth trade. The existing currencies such as US Dollar, Australian Dollar, and Pound were affected by transactional risks. In other words, the currencies would lose value when exchanged from one currency to the other (Milne & Parboteeah, 2016, p. 12). Therefore, there was the need for common digital currencies hence the invention of the cryptocurrencies. More people were willing to transact using the currencies such as Bitcoin which resulted in high demand. Companies such as CoinSpot and Coin Base show this as an opportunity to expand their business. Online financial service platforms have ensured that the demand for cryptocurrencies has been met through adequate supply (Ivory, 2013, p. 57). Therefore, the general objective of platforms provided by CoinSpot and Coin Base is to enable the end users to transact at their convenience by enhancing the security of their money and reducing the time it takes before a transaction is completed (Barolli, et al., 2017, p. 213).

1. CoinSpot

The main objective platform is to facilitate currency exchanges. CoinSpot provides each user with a secured wallet/ account containing their details which allow them to send, receive and store coins. To facilitate seamless operations, CoinSpot provides users with a variety of digital currencies at their disposal. Generally, CoinSpot allows wallet owners to trade online irrespective of their location globally (CoinSpot, 2018).

1. Coin Base

The primary objective of Coin Base is to be the largest online exchange platform. With its presence in over 32 countries, Coin Base is in a right direction towards achieving its objectives. Lastly, Coin base strive to be a platform that provides quality online exchanges besides assuring the security of the users’ information and money (Coin Base, 2018).  

1. Assessing the websites using  on a five-point semantic differential scale

The questions have been assessed using the semantic differential scale below;

1	2	3	4	5
Very Poor	Poor	Inapplicable	Good	Very Good

1. CoinSpot

No	Questions	Scale	Comment
		1	2	3	4	5
1	How does the website URL relate to the business name?					√	The company’s name is contained in the website URL
2	How easily is the website found using general internet search engines (e.g. Google, Ask, AltaVista, Bing, Yahoo!)?					√	Appears among the top of the search lists in Google
3	Does the website give me all the organisational information a user could reasonably require?				√		All the necessary information has been provided. However, the home tab should be more detailed.
4	Are requirements to provide a user’s (personal or sensitive) information appropriate?					√	Yes, the information is appropriate. A user should provide an email, at least 10 character password, referral email and a confirmation whether the user is a robot or not.
5	How well does the website reassure users about the security and use of their information?					√	The Privacy Policy provide adequate information on security issues
6	How well does the website foster user trust in the organisation?				√		Accuracy, reliability, completeness and relevance of information is maintained. Captured information cannot be used without their consent.
7	How well does the website address legal issues associated with use of the website or engagement in transactions?					√	Adequate information has been provided on the terms of service, privacy policy and AML
8	How well does the website provide for the accessibility needs of users?				√		The website can easily be accessed via several search engines.
9	How well does the website address the language or cultural needs of users?		√				The website only use English language.
10	Does the website contain all the product information that a user could reasonably require?				√		The website contain the essential product information.
11	Does the website allow all the customisation (user-managed features) that a user could reasonably expect?		√				The website cannot be customised because of security issues.
12	How well does the website personalise the experience for users?					√	The website have help centre, Contact Support, Complaints and Disputes which facilitate personalised experience.
13	Does the website identify sufficient channels for user service/support?					√	The website have help centre, Contact Support, and Complaints and Disputes sites
14	How easy is it to find any information on the website about the organisation, their products or services?					√	A click on the listed tabs allows easy access to required information
15	How easy is the information on the website to read (i.e. is provided information in appropriate language and with sufficient detail for most users)?				√		The information is provided in a user friendly language to read and understand.
16	Is the website easy to navigate (i.e. move through the website to find information, products, or services, and engage in transactions with the organisation)?					√	It easy to access information through tabs at the top of the website.
17	How appropriate are the website aesthetics (e.g. use of layout, colours, imagery, fonts, etc) for the target audience?				√		There is the use of appropriate layout, colour, imagery and catchy fonts
18	How well does the website foster community among users?		√				There is no information that address fostering community among users
19	How quickly does the website load into your browser and do all website features, links and embedded objects (eg: media files or applets) work as intended?				√		It takes only 10-20 seconds for the website to load into a browser
20	How well does the website support different web-browsers or platforms (e.g. mobile devices)?					√	Can easily be accessed using personal laptops and mobile devices
21	Does the website provide a sufficient range of payment options as could be reasonably expected?				√		The Website a range of payments such as POli payments, BPAY payments, and Cash payments.
22	Does the website provide a sufficient range of delivery options as could be reasonably expected?			√			Not applicable in this case

1. Coin Base

No	Questions	Scale	Comment
		1	2	3	4	5
1	How does the website URL relate to the business name?					√	The company’s name is contained in the website URL
2	How easily is the website found using general internet search engines (e.g. Google, Ask, AltaVista, Bing, Yahoo!)?					√	Appears among the top of the search lists in Google
3	Does the website give me all the organisational information a user could reasonably require?					√	Yes, there is adequate information on the Company, contact, products and other information.
4	Are requirements to provide a user’s (personal or sensitive) information appropriate?				√		User’s are required to provide their personal information for the purpose of signing up and trade.
5	How well does the website reassure users about the security and use of their information?					√	Adequate measures have been put in place to ensure the security of the users’ information and wallet.
6	How well does the website foster user trust in the organisation?					√	There is a contact and support centres which address users concern to their satisfaction.
7	How well does the website address legal issues associated with use of the website or engagement in transactions?					√	The website has adequately addressed the legal and privacy issues of engagement.
8	How well does the website provide for the accessibility needs of users?					√	Necessary information has been captured in the website and it is easily accessible
9	How well does the website address the language or cultural needs of users?		√				Issues of culture and language barrier have not been addressed.
10	Does the website contain all the product information that a user could reasonably require?					√	The website contain information on nine services being offered
11	Does the website allow all the customisation (user-managed features) that a user could reasonably expect?	√					Users are not allowed to customise features for security issues
12	How well does the website personalise the experience for users?				√		There are variety of products and services that meet specific needs of the users
13	Does the website identify sufficient channels for user service/support?
14	How easy is it to find any information on the website about the organisation, their products or services?					√	The website can easily be found via search engines and browsers
15	How easy is the information on the website to read (i.e. is provided information in appropriate language and with sufficient detail for most users)?				√		The language is user friendly. The information can easily be understood
16	Is the website easy to navigate (i.e. move through the website to find information, products, or services, and engage in transactions with the organisation)?					√	The website has a well arranged layout that makes it easy to navigate.
17	How appropriate are the website aesthetics (e.g. use of layout, colours, imagery, fonts, etc) for the target audience?				√		The website has an effective layout, imagery and fonts. The colour is dull.
18	How well does the website foster community among users?				√		Users can engage each other through discussions using Facebook, Twitter and Blog
19	How quickly does the website load into your browser and do all website features, links and embedded objects (eg: media files or applets) work as intended?					√	It takes between 10 and 20 seconds for the website to load
20	How well does the website support different web-browsers or platforms (e.g. mobile devices)?					√	Can easily be accessed using different browsers and devices
21	Does the website provide a sufficient range of payment options as could be reasonably expected?		√				Information not disclosed
22	Does the website provide a sufficient range of delivery options as could be reasonably expected?			√			Not applicable in this case

1. Compare and contrast your chosen websites: which website is more likely to be successful than the other, and why?

Five main factors can be used to evaluate a website. The elements are Speed, navigation, text clarity, functionality and appearance.

1. Speed: Refer to the time it takes for a website to load. Both websites take approximately 20 seconds to load.
2. Navigation: Refers to how easy is it to access information on the website. A website can either have an easy to navigate or clumsy structure. CoinSpot can easily navigate because related information is captured under one tab. On the other hand, Coin Base has a poorly organised layout hence clumsy (Maier, 2008, p. 34); (Ivory, 2013).

• Text clarity: Both websites have used simple language that can easily be understood by users without much interpretation. Contact and Support Centres have provided for follow up assistance. CoinSpot targets a wide coverage (global) while Coin Base target the Australian market for now. Therefore, CoinSpot uses a simpler language to meet the needs of a huge market compared to Coin Base (Tate, 2009, p. 17); (Martinez, 2011, p. 33).

1. Functionality: Refers to how effective is the website to meet its primary objectives. Although both websites have adequately presented products in line with its objectives, CoinSpot is more outstanding (Steinmetz & Wehrle, 2005, p. 172).
2. Appearance: Refers to how easy is it to access the website from the homepage to the support centre. The CoinSpot is well laid out, considering its layout, compared to Coin Base. CoinSpot’s website is easy to scan (Nelson, 2009, p. 99).  

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