You can now perform all basic actions in Bitcoin through SMS

We are constantly trying to make Bitcoin easy and accessible to everyone. Some of the people who can benefit from Bitcoin the most (those in second and third world countries) don’t have a smartphone though!

To solve that problem, we created an SMS (i.e. text messaging) interface to Coinbase that anyone can easily use with their mobile phone, even if it’s not a smartphone. Come try it out!

To set up SMS, visit your accounts page:

You will see that SMS is disabled by default. Click on the ‘SMS Settings’ button and choose your 6-digit pin:

Now, just send ‘hi’ to 1 (650) 316–5555.

For transactions that affect your bitcoin balance (send, buy, and sell), we will confirm the command with a voice call and ask you to enter your pin to verify.

Here are some sample use cases. Showing someone a QR code for $100 in bitcoin:

• qr $100

Requesting 1.5 bitcoins from someone with a note on the transaction:

• request 1.5 user@example.com sold him an ipod

Pay someone back $20 (in bitcoins) for lunch:

• send 650–555–1212 $20 for lunch

Check the price first before buying 10 bitcoins:

• price 10 then buy 10

Tip Satoshi 0.01 BTC:

• send 0.01 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa

You can check out the full list of commands here.

Enjoy! Send us feedback if you have any issues or suggestions.