Crypto exchange Binance.US cuts fees as trading volumes remain abysmal

Binance.US, the American affiliate of global crypto exchange Binance, has reduced fees on more than 20 trading pairs, including Ethereum, Solana, BNB, and Cardano, as its trading volumes have all but dried up.

The exchange said it will now offer 0% maker fees and 0.01% taker fees on the pairs, with no subscription or volume requirements. Maker fees apply to orders that add liquidity by resting on the order book, while taker fees apply to orders that remove liquidity by filling immediately against existing orders.

Binance.US has also added more than 20 pairs to its "Tier 0" pricing model. All Tier 0 pairs — including BTC/USD, which replaces BTC/USDC — will now carry a 0.01% taker fee while keeping 0% maker fees.

The Tier 0 pricing model was first introduced in 2022 with bitcoin pairs, briefly drawing significant trading activity at the time.

But since June 2023, when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance and related entities, Binance.US's volumes have collapsed. Its share of U.S. dollar–supporting exchange volume has fallen to about 0.20% as of August, down from around 10% previously. Although the SEC dropped its case against Binance and related entities in May, activity on Binance.US has remained negligible, according to The Block's Data Dashboard.

Chris Blodgett, chief operating officer at Binance.US, declined to comment on why volumes remain low but said, "We look forward to continuing our mission of building the best and safest digital asset trading experience in the U.S. with high liquidity and tight spreads for even better price discovery and the best possible value."

The latest fee cuts mark another attempt by Binance.US to regain share in a U.S. market dominated by Coinbase and Kraken.

Earlier this year, Binance.US restored U.S. dollar deposits and withdrawals for the first time in almost two years. Dollar rails had been suspended in June 2023, days after the SEC sued Binance, Binance.US, and co-founder Changpeng Zhao for securities violations. That left Binance.US operating as a crypto-only platform, sending its market share into a nosedive. Later that year, Binance and Zhao pled guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations and agreed to pay more than $4 billion to resolve a Justice Department probe.

In May of this year, the SEC moved to dismiss its case against Binance as the agency charted a new regulatory course under the President Donald Trump administration. Several other high-profile cases — against Coinbase, Uniswap, and OpenSea — have also been dropped in recent months.

By lowering fees again, Binance.US is seeking to regain its standing as the lowest-cost venue in the country. Whether fee reductions alone can revive trading remains to be seen.