Binance U.S. makes BTC trading fee-free as competitors feel the heat

cointelegraph.com:

Crypto exchange Binance.US has removed trading fees for Bitcoin (BTC) spot market trades, following in the footsteps of Robinhood which pioneered no-commission crypto trading in 2018. 

Brian Shroder, CEO of Binance.US said the move makes the company the first U.S. crypto exchange to eliminate spot trading fees for Bitcoin for all users and without trading volume requirements. He added that they would also not be earning a spread on trades.

“We see this as an opportunity to revolutionize the way fees are approached in our industry, increase accessibility to crypto, and better support our market and customers in a time of need.”

3/ We hope our pricing model sees broader industry adoption over time, because that would have a positive impact on the ecosystem and market participants overall. We are happy to lead the race to zero-fees everywhere.See you on @BinanceUS

The news of increased competition on fees puts pressure on its competitors to do likewise. Shares in rival U.S. exchange Coinbase fell 9.71% on Wednesday, going down to $51.91 per share. Robinhood (HOOD), which is already at all time low prices, saw its share price stay relatively stable (-0.79% to $7.49 at the time of writing.)

Coinbase currently charges trading fees of between 0% and 0.50%, Kraken charges fees between 0% to 0.26%, and FTX.US charges trading fees of between 0% and 0.20%.

The amount charged as a trading fee typically depends on the currency pair, 30-day trading volume, and whether the order is a maker or taker order.

Shroder told Bloomberg on June 22 that Binance.US would not be earning a spread from its no-fee transactions, and would instead be generating revenue from other sources including a new staking service.

He said the zero-trading fees would