Coinbase Quietly Increases Trading Fees at the Expense of Retail Investors

The changes will become effective Monday, Oct 7, 2019, at 5 PM PT. According to the exchange, the new fee structure is meant to increase the depth and liquidity of all crypto markets offered by Coinbase Pro.

Retail Traders to Pay More in Fees

When the old and new fee schedules are compared, retail traders will be most affected by the changes. Prior maker and taker fees for trades below $100,000 per month were 0.15% and 0.25% respectively. The new fee structure will now introduce three new tiers to replace the aforementioned tier of trades below $100,000 per month.

• For trades below $10,000 per month, the new maker and taker fees will both be 0.50%. This is a 233% increase in maker fee and a 100% increment in taker fees.
• Trades above $10,000 and below $50,000 per month will incur a 0.35% maker fee (133% increase) and a similar 0.35% taker fee (40% increase).
• Monthly trades with a value between $50,000 and $100,000 will retain the old fee schedule.

The Reaction of the Crypto-Trading Community

Crypto traders took to Twitter to express their displeasure with the new trading fee structure. One such tweet that can be found below, expressed a desire for alternative exchanges:

Coinbase has announced a 333% increase of their fees from 0.15 to 0.50 for makers. So, maker & taker is now both 0.50!

I'm looking for another exchange right now, can you post your favourite alternative and its maker/taker fees?

— The Moon 🌙 (@TheMoonCarl) October 4, 2019

Twitter user Larry Cermak (@Lawmaster) went on to declare Coinbase Pro and Bitstamp as the most expensive exchanges for retail investors.

Coinbase just hiked their fees for retail and became the most expensive exchange (tied with Bitstamp) for retail investors. They used to charge 0.15% maker and 0.25% taker. Now they charge 0.5% for both maker and taker. Yikes pic.twitter.com/IQTa2fAes7

— Larry Cermak (@lawmaster) October 3, 2019

What are your thoughts on the move by Coinbase Pro to increase trading fees? Will retail investors choose other platforms such as Binance U.S. or will they remain loyal to Coinbase Pro? Please let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.