Earlier this year, Lee, in his 30s, decided to invest in virtual assets by depositing approximately 3 million won into Kbank and putting it into Upbit. However, as he hesitated to invest due to the significant volatility of virtual assets, it was already April when a sudden deposit of around 15,000 won was made. This was thanks to the increased virtual asset deposit service fees that started last year.
April is the regular payment period for deposit service fees at virtual asset exchanges. On the 9th, Upbit began distributing the deposit service fees, while Coinone completed its payments on the 1st. Bithumb paid its fees on the 10th. Typically, virtual asset exchanges pay deposit service fees quarterly, although some, like Korbit, distribute them monthly.
The virtual asset deposit service fee is the amount paid to members of virtual asset exchanges after deducting direct and indirect costs from the operational revenue generated by depositing the won balance in their accounts with management institutions like banks, as stipulated by the 'Act on Protection of Virtual Asset Users.' In other words, this is an interest-like amount received for using customer deposits by banks connected to virtual asset exchanges.
Banks that have partnered with exchanges for real-name accounts manage the deposits and pay part of the revenue to the exchanges, which is then returned to customers. Initially, the virtual asset deposit service fee was only around 0.1% to 0.2%. However, since the implementation of the Act on Protection of Virtual Asset Users in July last year, the deposit service fee rates have been increased. Among the operators, Bithumb has the highest rate at 2.2%, followed by Upbit and Korbit at 2.1%, Coinone at 2%, and Gopax at 1.3%.
However, with interest rates at banks being so low lately, the 2% virtual asset deposit rate is seen as better than bank deposit products. In particular, deposits at exchanges are comparable to parking accounts, as funds can be freely deposited and withdrawn at any time like with a parking account, while simultaneously receiving service fees equivalent to interest automatically.
Looking at the main parking account interest rates at banks, Woori Bank's 'Money Clip Wallet' has lowered its rate from 1.5% to 1.25% for this year, and IBK Industrial Bank's 'Money Box' currently offers a maximum interest rate of 1.5%. Internet banks, known to typically have higher rates than major banks, only show Kbank providing a rate of 2%, while KakaoBank offers 1.8% and Toss Bank offers just 1.2%.
For example, if 3 million won is deposited in Upbit, the daily service fee calculation formula (daily closing balance x 2.1% / 365 days) yields a service fee of 15,534 won for the quarter. Conversely, if left in the Money Clip Wallet during the same period, the interest calculation formula (daily final balance in the Money Clip Wallet x applicable rate ÷ 365 days) results in just 9,246 won. If the deposit had been 100 million won, Upbit would yield 517,808 won, while Money Clip would yield 308,219 won, creating a more than 200,000 won difference.
Deposits at virtual asset exchanges are not covered under depositor protection. However, according to Article 6 of the Act on Protection of Virtual Asset Users pertaining to the protection of deposits, deposits must be kept in trust, separated from proprietary assets, at management institutions like banks. Furthermore, Article 8 stipulates that exchanges must subscribe to insurance or reserves to prepare for incidents such as hacking or system failures, indicating that deposits are stored with considerable safety.
Additionally, parking accounts at banks may have deposit limits such as 50 million won or 100 million won. In contrast, there are no such limits for deposits at virtual asset exchanges. However, some parking accounts allow users to access their interest daily and reinvest to benefit from 'daily compound interest.' Also, while there are no fees for deposits at virtual asset exchanges, a fee of 1,000 won applies for withdrawals, which should be considered if frequent withdrawals are made.