Bitstamp introduces €5 inactivity fee

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp has announced that from September 2026 it will charge a monthly fee of €5 on accounts that have been inactive for six months.

This is not the first time the exchange, which is owned by Robinhood, has attempted to introduce this measure. Bitstamp already made an attempt in 2022, but it met with resistance at the time.

In short:

• Bitstamp is introducing a monthly inactivity fee of €5 for each account that has not been used for six months or longer.
• The fee is charged in the account’s currency (euro, dollar or pounds) and takes effect on 1 September 2026.
• Users can avoid the fee by logging in or making a transaction at least once every six months.

How the inactivity fee works

According to the exchange, the fee is intended to cover administrative, security and custody costs for inactive accounts. The amount of €5 is deducted monthly from the available balance in the account’s currency. If there are insufficient funds, Bitstamp may charge the equivalent in cryptocurrency at the time of calculation.

An important detail is that the fee never makes the balance negative. When less than €5 is available, Bitstamp only deducts what is available. Should the balance fall to zero while the account remains inactive, Bitstamp may close the account at its own discretion under the terms of the user agreement.

How to avoid the fee

Avoiding the fee is simple: users only need to perform an action once every six months. This can be logging in, trading, depositing or withdrawing funds. Any form of activity resets the counter to zero. Bitstamp recommends that all users be active on their account at least once every six months, in case it is not being used.

The measure applies to all accounts that have been inactive for six consecutive months from 1 September 2026. The fee does not apply to periods before that date. Users with questions can contact Bitstamp customer service.