According to industry estimates, there are 10-15 million cryptocurrency investors in India. According to the World Bank and crypto.com data, the number is 990 million investors globally. Despite the enthusiasm, these are still early days and investors not only need to understand what these products are but also consider the costs associated with trading in cryptos. These costs vary across exchanges, so it is important to understand not only what the costs mean but how much they add up to. Read here to find out what crypto exchanges in India charge.
The most common cost heads that a user will encounter include joining fee, deposit fee, taker and maker charges and withdrawal charges. Here’s a look at what they mean and how they affect your investable amount.
How much will you pay in different fees if you invest Rs 1,000. To find out, read this.
Joining Fee
Major cryptocurrency exchanges in India, including Bitbns, ZebPay, Giottus, WazirX and Unocoin, do not levy any joining fee. But there may be a small membership fee for inactive accounts. To join, you will need to register and complete the KYC process. You can also make use of any joining incentives such as a small quantity of coins.
Deposit Fee
Deposit fee is levied when you transfer money or coins to the crypto exchange to start buying or selling. The amount depends on how you are moving the money (via UPI, Netbanking or bank transfer). If you wish to use Netbanking, first check if the crypto exchange has a tie-up with your bank or not. Usually, bank transfers are the cheapest option. Most exchanges do not accept cards to avoid fraud and to keep costs low.
Trading Charges
This is the most expensive and complicated part. How frequently you buy or sell, at what price, and which units you choose to trade in (crypto-crypto or rupee-crypto pairs) impact your total cost. Crypto-crypto pair means you will use crypto (instead of rupees) to buy another crypto. Rupee-crypto means you use money (rupees) to buy the crypto. Two things to understand here are maker and taker fees. “Taker” is an order that trades at the market price. So, if you buy/sell at the price visible then (market price), you will pay a taker fee. If the buy/ sell order is placed at a price that is different from the market price, you pay a maker fee.
Taker fee is often higher than the maker fee. These trading charges vary across exchanges. The range is nil to 0.25 per cent at present in most exchanges.
To find out how much the trading charges affect your investment, read this.
Withdrawal Fee
Withdrawing money is essentially a two-step procedure. You place your sell order (instant or at a set price) and when the funds reflect in your wallet with the exchange, you can withdraw the money fully or partially, into your registered bank account. Some exchanges levy a charge when you withdraw into fiat and some don’t. You can also withdraw in coins, which usually has a cost attached.
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