Coinbase has launched the Instant Exchange, a feature which will allow users to use bitcoins without being exposed to the fluctuations in the exchange rate of the digital currency.
Coinbase has already previously offered merchants with the ability to instantly convert the bitcoin payments that they receive into local currencies. The new Instant Exchange feature will provide the same feature to users with a local currency wallet in their accounts.
The Instant Exchange feature can be broken down into two services, Instant Exchange Send and Instant Exchange Receive.
Under Instant Exchange Send, users can send bitcoins by paying for the digital currency with the user's local currency. Users utilizing the feature will see Coinbase initiate an instant buy in the background, with the funds used to send the bitcoins debited from the user's local currency wallet.
To use the Instant Exchange Send feature, users can enter their local currency wallets from Coinbase's new send screen.
Under Instant Exchange Receive, users can receive bitcoins and the Coinbase will automatically initiate an instant sell in the background, which will then lead to funds being credited to the user's local currency wallet.
To use the Instant Exchange Receive feature, users can click the Instant Exchane link located in their local currency wallets. A bitcoin address will be revealed that the user can give to other users, and any bitcoins that will be sent to that specific address will automatically be sold and then credited to the user's local currency wallet.
"We're excited to offer these simple tools which will allow Coinbase users to realize the fast, cheap and global nature of bitcoin payments without exposure to bitcoin price changes," Coinbase said in its blog announcing the new feature.
According to the company, users with existing wallets in the U.S. dollar, Euro and Great Britain pound currencies can already begin using the Instant Exchange feature.
The feature is the latest attempt to curb complaints of the volatility of the digital currency. There are many services that look to solve the issue by locking the worth of bitcoins to the price of a certain currency, which the users can unlock once they are going to send the bitcoins or if they want the bitcoins to be exposed to its current price.
This system makes storing the bitcoins safer, but the value of the bitcoins is still lost once the user attempts to send the bitcoins. Dwindling bitcoin prices will also cause companies that offer the service to lose money rapidly.
The Instant Exchange feature of Coinbase circumvents these problems by automatically exchange the bitcoins for local currencies instantly.
