Coinone, 1.0% Usage Fee on Customer Deposits... Immediate Payment Also Available

Second Major Exchange to Go Public After Gopax
Focus on Upbit, Bithumb, and Korbit

Coinone revealed the usage fee rate, which is equivalent to interest on customer deposits, as the second among the top five virtual asset exchanges, following Gopax.

On the 19th, Coinone announced through a notice that, in consultation with Kakao Bank, it set the customer deposit usage fee rate at 1.0%. The usage fee is calculated based on the KRW balance at 24:00 daily (end-of-day balance). The daily calculated usage fees are summed and paid after deducting taxes and public charges.

The payment method can be chosen between regular and on-demand payments. Regular payments are possible quarterly (March, June, September, December) and are paid on the first business day of the month following the quarter. For example, the first regular payment date will be October 1. On-demand payments can be made through the 'Receive Interest Now' feature within the service, allowing users to receive accumulated usage fees up to the previous day regardless of regular payments.

Gopax, the first among the top five exchanges to announce, set the customer deposit usage fee rate at a pre-tax 1.3% through consultation with Jeonbuk Bank. The usage fee is paid quarterly and is expected to be paid within 10 business days of the month following the quarter. A 15.4% withholding tax on interest income is deducted from the usage fee. The usage fee accrual starts from the day after KRW points are generated in the user's account, with the deposit amount based on midnight.

The remaining three exchanges are also expected to disclose their usage fee rates by today, the day the "Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users (Virtual Asset Act)" is enforced. Upbit, the number one domestic exchange by market share, stated in a notice on the 16th, "Please refer to separate notices for additional matters related to the implementation of the Virtual Asset Act, such as the payment of deposit usage fees," but has not yet disclosed specific usage fee rates. As of 2023, Upbit's 'deposits liabilities,' corresponding to customer deposits, reached 3.828 trillion KRW. Among the top five exchanges, Upbit was the only one to receive interest from its contracted bank, K Bank, but due to violations of the current Act on the Regulation of Similar Financial Business, it was unable to pay usage fees to customers. Amid controversy, the interest income has been used for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) activities.

Bithumb also announced that it signed a user deposit management contract with NH Nonghyup Bank and plans to pay profits to customers. Although the usage fee rate has not yet been announced, it is expected to be around 1%. The payment cycle is estimated to be quarterly. Korbit plans to pay usage fees monthly. According to Korbit's disclosure, usage fees will be paid on the third business day of each month (excluding legal holidays). Similarly, specific rates have not been disclosed.

From this day (the 19th), following the enforcement of the Virtual Asset Act, virtual asset exchanges are required to pay usage fees on user deposits. The Virtual Asset Act, the first industry-specific law, provides legal grounds to protect users and establishes a regulatory framework against unfair trading practices such as market manipulation.