Coins-e, the cryptocurrency exchange that was established last year is celebrating its 1 year anniversary with a full week of zero-fee trading. This should be a very good opportunity for cryptocurrency traders and altcoin arbitrageurs who can exploit price discrepancies across different exchanges. Also, people looking to establish a decent long position or want to sell out their positions might do so on Coins-e now, as there would be no fee (of course, bear in mind that the volume/depth on Coins-e isn’t as great as some of the other exchanges like Cryptsy, Bter or MintPal).
Coins-e is a decent exchange that not many in the community seem to know about. It’s trading volumes are fairly low, so the markets aren’t too deep. However, the exchange has been very reliable with almost no issues while trading or depositing, so that’s a very good start. I’ve used Coins-e in the past when Cryptsy was down (which happens more often than you’d like) and it worked like a charm.
No trading fees can actually provide a good amount of liquidity to the exchange, so I suspect this promotion will help with volumes. We saw this in China when most exchanges had a zero fee policy to attract new customers, the trading volume was very high. When exchanges instituted a small fee, trading volume went downhill (although this was for the BTC/CNY market, the idea is the same).
Coins-e has the potential to be a serious contender in the growing cryptocurrency exchange business. It is old and has a spotless reputation. Somehow, it isn’t as visible in the community. Perhaps they need a new marketing coordinator who would help bring in volumes. Having such low volumes on a very well made exchange is a pity, especially in a market that is booming with new trading activity almost every day.
Until then, enjoy the week of free trading on Coins-e. The week starts on 23rd May 2013, per their announcement (and email they sent out to all members).
Used Coins-e for trading? How was your experience?