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Switzerland-based crypto exchange ShapeShift has launched zero-fee trading and its loyalty token FOX. ShapeShift founder and CEO Erik Voorhees announced the news on Twitter Nov. 20, noting that zero-commission trading on the platform is enabled by the newly released FOX token.
According to the executive, zero-fee trading solves two major problems of non-custodial exchanges — illiquidity and high price of services.
In order to trade at a zero-fee rate, ShapeShift customers will have to hold the Ethereum-based ERC-20 FOX tokens, Voorhees explained, stating:
“The model is simple: hold FOX & you trade at a 0% commission rate. If not, you trade at our retail rate. You don’t spend or lose the FOX tokens to get the benefit. Just hodl.”
In a Medium post, Voorhees elaborated that the platform gives customers 100 FOX tokens on verified signup. Each FOX token grants $10 of free trading volume every 30 days.
Voorhees expects 30% surge in trading accounts in a month
Voorhees also stated that the new feature is not a temporary offer, emphasizing that zero-commission crypto trading will now be granted perpetually on ShapeShift.
In an interview with industry publication The Block, Voorhees said that he does not think that zero-commission trading will negatively affect ShapeShift’s revenues. Instead, ShapeShift plans to sell its FOX tokens to new clients in exchange for perpetual free trading services if the model eventually succeeds. Moreover, users who do not hold FOX tokens will still pay their fees.
As a result of the zero-fee trading launch, Voorhees expects a 30% surge in the number of ShapeShift trading accounts.
Zero-fee cryptocurrency trading is not a new concept. American stock brokerage Robinhood Crypto is a major provider of zero-fee crypto trading, allowing users to trade seven major cryptocurrencies with no commission fee. In late September 2019, California-based financial firm SoFi launched zero-fee crypto trading on its platform SoFi Invest.