What was GDAX?

Coinbase Advanced Trade was previously Coinbase Pro, and before that GDAX. Learn everything you need to know about GDAX, how it relates to Coinbase, and why it rebranded.

If you've been involved in crypto trading for a while, you might remember a platform called GDAX. Once one of the go-to exchanges for serious crypto traders, GDAX has gone through multiple rebrands but still exists today—though under a different name. So, what exactly was GDAX, and how did it evolve into its current form?

GDAX: A brief history

GDAX, which stood for Global Digital Asset Exchange, was originally launched by Coinbase back in 2015. Coinbase, already well-known for its user-friendly crypto wallet, wanted to create a platform geared toward professional and active traders. Initially launched as Coinbase Exchange, the platform was later rebranded as GDAX, offering a more sophisticated trading environment than what was available through the standard Coinbase wallet.

By 2018, GDAX had become one of the most popular exchanges for traders who needed advanced tools and lower fees. It wasn’t just for buying Bitcoin or Ethereum anymore; it offered a suite of features that made it easier for users to track price movements, place complex orders, and trade directly for fiat currencies like USD.

That year, GDAX was rebranded again, this time to Coinbase Pro, to align it more closely with the main Coinbase brand. As of 2022, the exchange has been renamed Coinbase Advanced Trade, but many of the same features from its original GDAX days remain intact.

Read next: Coinbase vs Coinbase Wallet

Why was GDAX created?

GDAX was designed to cater to two different types of cryptocurrency users.

While Coinbase itself offered a simplified interface for beginners and casual investors to buy and hold Bitcoin, there was a growing demand for a platform that could offer more complex trading capabilities.

Coinbase responded by launching a separate exchange where users could place limit and stop orders, view real-time price charts, and trade a wider range of digital assets. Essentially, it was a solution for the more technical trader, someone who wanted more control over their trades.

As well as this, GDAX addressed one of the key criticisms of Coinbase: its high fees. Casual users on the main platform had to deal with wide bid/ask spreads, which resulted in less favorable pricing. GDAX, however, used a maker-taker fee model, allowing traders to benefit from lower fees, particularly those making high-volume trades.

Read next: Which Crypto Exchange Has the Lowest Fees?

GDAX key features

So, what exactly made GDAX stand out from Coinbase? Here’s a breakdown of its features that appealed to professional traders:

• Advanced trading tools: Unlike the standard Coinbase wallet, GDAX provided users with access to price charts, real-time market data, and an open order book. These features allowed traders to engage in technical analysis and make more informed decisions about their trades.

• Order types: Users could place more complex orders, such as market, limit, and stop orders. This gave traders greater control over how and when they entered or exited trades—features that were sorely lacking on the basic Coinbase platform at the time.

• More cryptocurrencies: GDAX was also one of the first places where Coinbase users could access digital assets that weren't available on the standard Coinbase app. While Coinbase mainly supported Bitcoin and Ethereum in its early days, GDAX began offering assets like Litecoin and Tezos early on, and this selection only grew over time.

• Lower fees: Perhaps one of the biggest draws to GDAX was its lower fees. By utilizing a maker-taker fee structure, GDAX incentivized users to add liquidity to the market, resulting in better pricing for trades compared to Coinbase’s spread-based fees.

Read next: How to make money on Coinbase

Why did GDAX change to Coinbase Pro?

In 2018, GDAX was rebranded as Coinbase Pro. While this change was mostly cosmetic—GDAX and Coinbase Pro had nearly identical functionality—it marked a significant step in Coinbase’s overall branding strategy.

By aligning GDAX under the Coinbase banner, the company aimed to create a unified experience across both its beginner-friendly and professional platforms. Despite the name change, the features that made GDAX popular remained: advanced trading tools, low fees, and support for more digital assets.

For users who had been trading on GDAX, the transition to Coinbase Pro was seamless. All account balances and trade history carried over, and users could continue trading without interruption.

Why did Coinbase Pro change to Coinbase Advanced Trade?

In 2022, Coinbase Pro was rebranded once again, this time to Coinbase Advanced Trade.

While the core functionality remained the same, the new platform continued to build on GDAX’s legacy by offering support for even more digital assets. At the time of its relaunch, Coinbase Advanced Trade supported hundreds of virtual currencies, a significant leap from the handful that GDAX had originally supported back in 2015.

Read next: Best Crypto Exchanges USA

GDAX vs. Coinbase: What’s the difference?

If you’ve ever wondered how GDAX (now Coinbase Advanced Trade) differs from the regular Coinbase platform, the main distinction is the target audience.

Coinbase is designed for casual investors who just want to buy and hold cryptocurrency with as little hassle as possible. It’s simple, easy to use, and provides a straightforward user interface with minimal options. However, this simplicity comes with higher fees and fewer trading options.

On the other hand, GDAX/Coinbase Advanced Trade was designed for active traders who need advanced tools like live order books, real-time data feeds, and the ability to execute different order types. These traders also benefit from lower fees, which is crucial for anyone making multiple trades in a short period.

GDAX may no longer exist under that name, but its legacy lives on in Coinbase Advanced Trade.

Coinbase Advanced Trade taxes

If you’re making transactions using Coinbase Advanced Trade (or the standard Coinbase exchange) - you’ll likely be in for a tax bill. You can learn more about how crypto is taxed in your country in our crypto tax guides, and you can connect Koinly automatically via API to Coinbase to import all your transactions, including Advanced Trades. Try it free today.