Upbit Slashes Trading Fees Amid Growing Fee War

South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, has cut its trading fees for Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) to one-fifth of previous levels. The move appears to be a response to Korbit and Coinone, which have rolled out zero-fee trading policies in quick succession.

According to the company's announcement on the 28th, Upbit lowered trading fees in its BTC and USDT markets to 0.05% from 0.25%, starting on the 29th. This represents an 80% reduction in the fee burden. The discount runs through the 11th of next month.

The company is seen as responding to competition by first cutting fees in the BTC and USDT markets, which handle relatively smaller trading volumes. Korbit's share of trading value jumped to double digits after it eliminated trading fees across all listings. Analyst Kim Se-hee notes that 24-hour trading value shares among the country's four major won-based exchanges stood at 50.8% for Upbit, 33.3% for Bithumb, 10.8% for Korbit and 5.1% for Coinone as of 7 a.m. on the 28th.