Coinbase is one of the most prominent and influential crytpo companies. It is the most recognizable exchange in the United States and has over 20 million users worldwide.It is extremely user-friendly and is great for beginners. Coinbase is the intro platform for many first time crypto investors because it has a number of features such a free GDAX account for all users, a user friendly mobile App,  and built in wallet options.
There are a variety of security measures, and all funds are insured by the FDIC up to $250,000. Because of this, Coinbase is a very secure and reliable exchange with a reputable brand name
Its' clean and simple platform make it easy to quickly buy or sell cryptocurrency, and track funds through individual currency wallets.
Coinbase is a fully regulated exchange that is compliant with all laws, and because of their size and brand, they have been the subject of IRS investigations in which they were forced to disclose trading information for thousands of user accounts. They openly track user details and trading information. and have been known to close accounts for violating the terms and conditions.This is one of the main reasons that some traders prefer to use another exchange when they have become more familiar with the crypto ecosystem.
Coinbase also has  a relatively small amount of currency pairings and the platform does not have tools to accommodate more advance technical traders.
Coinbase also offers a variety of funding methods that make it an attractive choice for US residents that want to start buying crptocurrencies.Accounts can be easily funded. Since Coinbase is regulated, US bank accounts can be directly linked. This allows for relatively easy deposits and withdrawals, with a flat fee of 1.5% for buying via a US account. The trading fee is 0.25%

UNUS SED LEO is an initiative started by Bitfinex that is focused on increasing the exchange's transparency. UNUS SED LEO means "one, but it's a lion" in Latin. The iniatative was created to increase the transparency of the exchange's finances, following a controversy related to the allocation of reserves from the stablecoin Tether, that was created by the same parent company as the Bitfinex exchange, iFinex. It is built around a token burning redemption mechanism which is tied to the parent company's revenues. Their dashboard provides insights into the fees that are collected, and the LEO tokens that are burned.