China's Largest Bitcoin And Litecoin Exchanges Charging Trading Fees

Starting January 24, 2017, China’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, BTCC, Huobi, OKCoin, will be charging a fee for every trading operation with Bitcoin and Litecoin.

According to the BTCC announcement:

“BTCChina ceased offering margin loan services as a result of the recent extreme volatility in bitcoin price. To curb market manipulation and reduce market volatility, BTCChina is also considering charging trading fees, as is the case with other bitcoin exchanges.”

Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges are now charging a flat fee of 0.2% per transaction for both market makers and takers starting 12:00 p.m. UTC+8 on Tuesday, January 24th. However, a trading fee will be charged only when the order is executed, and if the customer cancels an order before it is executed, then a trading fee won't be charged.

The decision by BTCC, Huobi, and OKCoin to implement a trading fee comes soon after the recent spot checks by the People's Bank of China that pointed out a “ significant volatility in bitcoin trading”.

According to the report by The Star Online, “a person familiar with the matter said the exchanges had not received direct instructions from the PBOC, but decided to introduce trading fees to align with its wishes to see the bitcoin market cool down.”