Bitstamp has introduced an “inactivity fee”: the new monthly fee of 10 euros for users who have not been trading, depositing, withdrawing or staking on the platform for 12 months.
Bitstamp and the “inactivity fee” as a new form of revenue for the crypto exchange
According to Bitstamp‘s report, starting from 1 August 2022, all users who have not traded, deposited, withdrawn or staked crypto in the past 12 months and who have a balance of less than €200 will be charged the new “inactivity fee.”
The new fee will be applied to inactive users and will be 10 euros per month. US users are not subject to it.
Crypto exchange Bitstamp plans to charge a monthly “inactivity fee” for certain users, as the market downturn weighs on trading volume in the industry https://t.co/hK5bim94x9
— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) July 5, 2022
“Crypto exchange Bitstamp plans to charge a monthly “inactivity fee” for certain users, as the market downturn weighs on trading volume in the industry”.
A way to recoup expenses and create a new form of income for the crypto exchange. In this regard, Bitstamp stated:
“Keeping inactive accounts on the books is a cost, and in order for us to continue providing great services to all our customers, we made the hard decision to implement the inactivity fee”.
Bitstamp and crypto-exchange strategies to survive the bear market
Apparently, Bitstamp is not the only crypto-exchange looking for new ways to come back from declining revenues due to the prolonged cryptocurrency bear market we are currently experiencing.
In fact, eToro’s platform also has an inactivity fee, which applies to users who do not log in for 12 months. Users can stop the charge as soon as they log in.
Coinbase, on the other hand, had announced that it was ready to lay off 18% of its staff due to large downward swings in the crypto market, which has impacted the crypto-exchange’s accounts. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, had also stated that the current long “crypto winter” is a form of recession that the industry is experiencing after an economic boom of more than 10 years.
Not only that, the week following his announcement, Coinbase also announced that it will shut down its Pro service for professional traders by the end of the year.
Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX, explained in a recent interview conducted by Forbes that he believes many exchanges are insolvent, even if they hide it.
Trading volumes down 10% in last 24 hours
Bitstamp has seen a 10% drop in trading volumes over the past 24 hours, amounting to over $163 million, according to CoinMarketCap data.
The Luxembourg-based crypto exchange was founded in 2011, making it one of the oldest exchanges still active.
Last April, Bitstamp released the results of its first global survey to analyze crypto trust and adoption around the world. According to what had emerged, 70% of institutional financial players surveyed recommended crypto as an asset class, and 80% of them believed that crypto will grow to truly universal adoption in the future.
Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2022/07/06/bitstamp-introduces-fee-charging/