This new, paid plan would get rid of commission fees for trades, while providing perks like phone support.
Coinbase has confirmed that it is testing a new subscription service for a small number of users.
The exchange has devised a paid plan that would eliminate commission fees on an unlimited number of trades.
However, customers would still need to pay a spread fee — and it isn’t known exactly how much a subscription would cost.
Screenshots leaked online suggest other perks will include prioritized phone support, and up to $1 million in protection if funds are stolen by a stranger.
Although a subscription could potentially offer big savings for high-volume traders, even if spread fees still apply.
In a statement, the exchange said:
“We’re always looking to learn more about how we can best serve our customers in different ways. Right now, we are still in early stages so everything about the future product experience will be shaped by the feedback we receive from our users.”
The Battle for Fees
Coinbase’s experiment comes as the company tries to fend off competition from the likes of Robinhood, which have attempted to entice users by eliminating trading fees. (This company still generates crypto revenues from other means.)
Some analysts have expressed concern that Coinbase’s business model could be affected by a race to the bottom on fees — eroding the revenue stream it’s most reliant on.
Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau told Bloomberg that moving to a subscription-based model could be an astute move for Coinbase, as it could inject a little more certainty into the exchange’s financial performance. He added:
“That would reduce lots of volatility going forward. To me that’s a positive to multiples expansion. Trading is just highly unpredictable.”
In other developments, the platform is going to start offering advanced trading functionality on Coinbase.com — providing services that, until now, were mainly associated with its Pro platform.
