Companies like Coinbase are more than just an exchange, they are your on-ramp and off-ramp for getting dollars (or whatever you use) into and out of the crypto space.

The reason why people don't recommend leaving crypto in an exchange account is that you are basically trusting that exchange with custody of your crypto assets. If they go under, then you have to get in line with a long list of creditors, and you will probably never see that money again. And yes exchanges do go under from time to time.

But Coinbase has been around for quite a while, and is strong. I think I have had an account there for over 10 years. And yes, in spite of all the warnings (and knowing how to store my own crypto) I still have a small stash of BTC there, just because I couldn't be bothered to move it, and BTC has gone up since I moved it there. (I also have a stash of ADA, but that has not fared as well.).

So if you decide to let Coinbase keep your crypto, and it fails, know that I am suffering right there along with you.

And storing your own crypto has its own issues, also. Best to learn how to keep it in a wallet that is totally offline, and learn how to keep it that way. If you lose your wallet (and any backup phrases you might have made), then your coins may be just as irretrievable as if the exchange went down -- but you will have only yourself to blame.

Generally the guidance is not to keep funds in an exchange any longer than needed. That’s what you should think of Coinbase as, so no, you shouldn’t keep coins in Coinbase long term. I’m not as deep into BTC, I only hold a little ETH, so my setup might be a little different to yours.

I’d recommend Metamask for a wallet. I think they just added BTC support as well. You will get a recovery phrase when you set up any wallet, make sure you keep it in a safe place, this phrase IS your money. If someone gets it, they have your money. Guard it.

Lemme address your other questions point by point:

• I need a Coinbase account to receive BTC, but I don't need to keep it there

Nope. You don’t need Coinbase at all. Your wallet can send a receive directly. You need Coinbase to go back and forth between fiat currency (dollars or whatever).

Does it cost anything to move my BTC out of Coinbase?

Yes. All crypto transactions charge a fee. I don’t know if Coinbase charges on top of that, but probably a bit.

is Coinbase safe?

Eh, safe enough. They are publicly traded and US based so that should give you some comfort, but exchanges get hacked and fail, which is why even if they are the best company in the world, you shouldn’t let them hold on to your coins long term.

Hope this helps!

By default your btc is in a custodial wallet at coinbase where they control the passphase so you only have access through coinbase.

Coinbase has been around awhile and is pretty good at fraud protection so I wouldn’t be too worried, but I would personally transfer my balance to a non-custodial wallet occasionally for long term saving. If you want to be able to convert back to fiat currency quickly leaving it on coinbase might make sense.

If you transfer your btc to a noncustodial wallet (for ex. Coinbase Wallet or Blockchain.com wallet) it will prompt you to write down the address and passphrase. After that you can access your btc via ANY btc wallet by typing in the passphrase (you’re not tied to the wallet software you use to access it). This is why if someone gets your passphrase they have your btc too.