Sounds straightforward-but that may not be Main (linked web page) the only cost. For example, that 1% fee might be called a trading fee or a trading commission; others apply a spread on the buy and sell price; and others may charge both. 1. The trading fee is the total you pay to buy. Before you trade, it’s best to find out the total price, not just the fee advertised. Crypto trading platforms use varying terms to describe their fees.

Sell cryptocurrencies using Canadian dollars. Credit and debit card purchases tend to be more expensive, Apple Watch while purchases funded by e-transfers and wire transfers tend to be free or have low additional costs. A spread is expressed in basis points (bps), with 100 bps equalling 1 percentage point. This fee varies from about 0.10% to over 4% per transaction, depending on several factors-most importantly the platform’s fee structure and your payment method. Some platforms charge a standard percentage of each buy or sell transaction, while others may apply a spread to the bid and ask prices, a quick-buy fee or some other markup cost.

Trading fees may escape your attention if you’re eager to dive into the crypto market and just want to get started. We’ll explain the different kinds of fees-including the ones that aren’t so obvious-and how you can save money by choosing your trading platform carefully. But fees are a guaranteed expense, so why not reduce the costs as much as possible to increase your net gains? Let’s say a crypto trading platform advertises a fee of 1%-if you buy $100 worth of bitcoin or another cryptocurrency, you’ll get $99 worth of crypto. Fees may have a bigger impact on your trading activities than you think.

So, if your trading platform applies a spread of, say, 125 bps, it means you’ll pay a fee of $1.25 on a $100 transaction (1.25%). This may not seem significant for a $100 purchase, but it translates to a fee of $125 on a $10,000 purchase. What about platforms that say they don’t charge a commission-does that mean trading is free? Likely not. Instead of taking a commission, these platforms might charge a spread or a quick-buy fee, as explained above.