Bitstamp, a crypto exchange based in Luxembourg has done away with its plans to charge a fee for inactivity. After the company made its plans known, it drew criticism and an outcry from many users. The exchange announced its intention to charge a €10 fee to users who haven’t used the platform. This fee would affect accounts with balances of €200 or lower, starting August 6th, 2022.
The exchange intended to levy this fee on users of its various arms. US users ere exempted from having to pay this fee. This announcement was condemned vocally by many on social media accounts. Other crypto accounts joined in and hit out against this proposed plan. A prominent news outlet reached out to the exchange to figure out the reasoning behind this decision. It also wanted to know whether the market downturn had been factored into the decision.
A spokesman for the Bitstamp Exchange said that the idea was to defray costs for maintaining accounts with little or no activity. The inactivity fee would cover these costs and the exchange had been debating doing so since 20221. He reiterated that current conditions in the financial markets had nothing to do with this decision.
Bitstamp withdrew this announcement from its official website and also deleted it from its other accounts. A few inactive users closed their accounts after the proposed fee announcement was made. Inactive users can make a deposit or withdraw funds and not pay the fee. The hue and cry related to this fee prompted the exchange to withdraw the plan for now.
