Recently, a reader DM'd me: "I heard there are formal virtual currency exchanges in China with particularly low fees. Is it true?" — This sent chills down my spine. Veteran crypto players know that China banned all virtual currency transactions back in 2021 , so why do people still cling to the illusion of "legitimacy"? Today, I must cut through this fog with blunt clarity: There are NO legal virtual currency exchanges in China, and the "fees" charged by global platforms are riddled with pitfalls!

Take last year's case exposed by Hunan Pingjiang Court: An exchange lured users into leveraged gambling with "perpetual contracts" offering 1,000x leverage, ultimately deemed "online gambling" . What’s the real logic here? Fees are just a facade; exploitation is the truth! Let’s dissect this seemingly simple yet high-stakes issue.

First of all, it's important to clarify that in China, virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial activities. As early as 2021, ten departments including the People's Bank of China issued the "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with the Risks of Virtual Currency Trading and Speculation", clearly stating a comprehensive rectification and prohibition of virtual currency trading. So, strictly speaking, there are no so-called "formal" virtual currency exchanges in China.

However, if we look at formal virtual currency exchanges recognized by some countries and regions globally, they do charge transaction fees. Just like when you transfer money at a bank and have to pay a handling fee, or when you buy and sell stocks in the stock market and incur transaction costs, it's a normal business practice for virtual currency exchanges to charge fees.

There are generally two common types of fees charged by virtual currency exchanges. One is the trading fee. Every time you conduct a buy or sell operation, the exchange will charge a fee based on a certain percentage of the transaction amount. This percentage may vary among different exchanges, usually ranging from 0.1% to 0.5%. For example, if you use 10,000 yuan to buy Bitcoin and the trading fee rate is 0.2%, you will have to pay 20 yuan in fees.

The other type is the withdrawal fee. When you transfer virtual currency from the exchange to your own wallet, the exchange will also charge a certain fee. The amount of the withdrawal fee is related to the type of currency you want to withdraw, the quantity, and the network congestion situation.

These fees can be a significant expense for investors. Therefore, when choosing an exchange, you must carefully compare the fee policies of different exchanges and select those with relatively lower fees to reduce your transaction costs.

However, when participating in virtual currency trading, you must also be aware of the risks. The virtual currency market is highly volatile, and prices can fluctuate significantly in a short period. Moreover, virtual currency trading also faces various risks such as regulatory and technical security risks. So, everyone must invest carefully and not put all their savings into the virtual currency market.

In conclusion, although there are no formal virtual currency exchanges in China, formal exchanges globally do charge transaction fees. I hope that when you invest, you will learn more about relevant knowledge and make rational investment decisions so that you can move more steadily and further in the cryptocurrency circle, a world full of opportunities and challenges.