Crypto exchange to charge ‘Inactivity fee’ for some users

Crypto exchange Bitstamp plans to charge a monthly inactivity fee for certain users, as the market downturn weighs on trading volume in the industry. "We recently sent out an email informing customers that starting August 1, some inactive accounts will be charged an Inactivity Fee of €10 a month," the company said in a blog post.

The charges, at 10 euros ($10.27) per month, will apply to accounts that haven’t traded, deposited, withdrawn or staked assets for a year with a total balance of less than 200 euros, starting August 1, Bitstamp said in a company blog. Users in the US aren’t subject to the charges. 

“On the August 1, 2022, If you have traded, deposited, or withdrawn, or staked assets with Bitstamp Earn, in the preceding 12 months, you’re not affected by the charge at all. It doesn’t matter if your total balance is above or below €200, you’re an active customer,” it added.

“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 said in the blog. To avoid the charge, users can buy or sell crypto, make a deposit or withdrawal, or enroll in staking services, a way of earning rewards for holding certain cryptocurrencies, it said. 

Crypto exchanges have been looking for ways to lessen their dependence on trading revenue, which tends to fall during prolonged market downturns. Coinbase Global Inc., the largest U.S. crypto exchange, has warned that trading volume in the second quarter will be lower than in the first. FTX US, the cryptocurrency exchange co-founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, recently expanded into equities trading, a way to diversify revenue sources while capturing a broader group of retail investors.

EToro, which offers both stocks and crypto trading, also has an inactivity fee, which applies to users with no login activity for 12 months, according to its website. Users can stop the charges as soon as they log in, it said.

Founded in 2011, Luxembourg-based Bitstamp is one of the oldest active crypto exchanges. Its trading volume in the past 24 hours was more than $173 million, according to data from Coingecko.

The crypto industry has been shaken by a series of collapses in recent months including the failure of so-called stablecoin TerraUSD, large U.S.-based lender Celsius network pausing withdrawals and Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital entering into liquidation.