Binance had reset the transaction fee on some Bitcoin trading pairs. However, the explosion of wash trading caused the crypto exchange to change its decision. Here are the details…
Binance will exclude 13 spot BTC pairs
In a blog post published late Friday, Binance announced that it will exclude 13 spot BTC pairs from trading volume calculations as an increase in wash trading was observed following the announcement of zero trading fees for BTC pairs. Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, tweeted an hour before the final announcement. He responded to the observation that $3 billion worth of BTC was bought in just 2 hours, although it had no effect on the BTC price. Zhao used the following statements:
We think this is due to people trying to earn zero fees and VIP tiers. We will exclude BTC trading from VIP calculations. We remove all possible incentives for wash trading. Details will come in an announcement soon.
Don’t users want zero transaction fees?
Wash trading is a practice where traders buy and sell the same financial instrument at the same time. The practice is illegal as it can allow investors to misrepresent demand for a particular asset. Following the decision, Binance’s CEO created a survey to see if users still want zero fees on Bitcoin pairs. However, he added that the exchange is willing to push it if the community decides to do so. Zhao used the following statements:
So, it’s quite a hassle to bring you 0 paid trades. We won’t have to do all this work if you don’t want to. Let’s see what the poll will show. We listen to our users.
Binance seeks to expand
At the time of writing, most users have voted to remain free trading on BTC pairs. The poll received 66 percent of the yes votes. As we reported on Kriptokoin.com, Binance launched free trading in Bitcoin pairs as it celebrated its 5th anniversary on Friday. In particular, this move is set to inflame competition among crypto exchanges. It is worth noting that Binance is one of the few exchanges with expansion plans despite the downturn in the crypto market. Rivals like Coinbase and Gemini have had to downsize to keep costs down even as trading activity has plummeted. This put an extra burden on stock market revenues.
As it is known, Bitcoin has experienced a serious loss of value, especially in the last 2 months. The value of the largest cryptocurrency is currently around $21,627, up 0.3 percent. However, it has dropped as low as $18,000 in recent weeks. There are many who think that this level is a “bottom level”. However, there are also those who predict greater rises in BTC.
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