Bitfinex Eliminates All Trading Fees Platform-Wide in Bold Market Move
Bitfinex just dropped a bombshell on the crypto exchange landscape. The platform is waiving fees—across the board. No more maker fees, no more taker fees. Zero.
The Fee-Free Frontier
This isn't a limited-time promo for select pairs. It's a full-scale assault on the traditional exchange revenue model. The move effectively turns Bitfinex into a massive, global liquidity pool where the only cost of entry is the asset price itself. It bypasses the entire fee-tier ladder that traps most retail traders.
Why Now? The Competitive Calculus
The timing is provocative. In a market where exchanges quietly profit from spread and slippage, Bitfinex is betting that sheer volume will outweigh forgone fee revenue. It's a classic land-grab strategy—sacrifice short-term profit for dominant market share. One might call it aggressive; a cynical Wall Street veteran would mutter about 'acquiring users before the next fee-hike memo.'
The move pressures every major player to justify their cut. When trading is free, what are you really paying for? Execution speed? Security? Or just the privilege of participating in a system built on percentages? Bitfinex just called their bluff.
Bitfinex’s new policy sparks excitement in the crypto industry
In a press release, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Bitfinex, Paolo Ardoino, noted that the exchange believes in the existence of a high probability that it might successfully reward its current clients and greatly attract new customers to the platform.
He also revealed that Bitfinex was excited to implement this strategy, thanks to the crypto exchange’s long history of generating profits and the superiority of its technology. Meanwhile, Ardoino claimed that they will closely observe the effects this new policy will have on the rest of the industry.
His remarks followed Bitfinex’s recent comment about market behaviors encountered in the past. In this comment, the platform outlined a comparison that was released in a public message, declaring that the current period of reduced trading volume resembles the previous market cycles.
Concerning this discovery, reports highlighted that such persistent reductions in spot trading have frequently occurred in the past just before major price fluctuations in the market, either going up or down.
On the other hand, data from CoinMarketCap indicated that the total spot trading volume over the last month drastically decreased across all leading exchanges. This trading volume declined from more than $500 billion recorded at the start of November to about $250 billion this week.
It was also confirmed that daily trading activity faced difficulties in maintaining the level above the $300 to $350 billion range in late November and early December.
At times, volumes decreased to as low as $200 billion, representing the lowest level ever recorded in several months. Analysts attempted to explain that this ongoing drop followed a swift but sharp increase above $550 billion encountered in mid-November. Afterwards, trading volumes fell back at a faster rate.
Phantom introduces a new feature in the market
Meanwhile, Phantom, a popular Solana-based, non-custodial Web3 wallet, has introduced a new feature called Phantom Prediction Markets. This feature is powered by Kalshi, a prediction market platform that is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Notably, Bitfinex and Phantom have a functional relationship. To illustrate this claim, sources noted that Phantom’s support website recommends Bitfinex as a famous exchange that its clients can utilize to fund their Phantom wallets.
In the meantime, reports have admitted that Phantom and Kalshi’s integration will enable users to explore trending events, stay updated on live odds, and trade tokenized positions based on real-life outcomes directly within the Phantom app.
According to sources with knowledge on the matter, this outcome could include sectors such as politics, cryptocurrency prices, sports, culture, and economics.
In a tweet, Phantom stated, “Prediction markets in Phantom are not available everywhere. They may come with risks such as changing prices, limited availability of assets, and possible regulatory changes. Trading in prediction markets might have transaction fees and other costs. If your guess is wrong, you could lose all the money you put into an event. Mentions of third parties are for information only and do not mean we support or are connected to them.”
If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.
