Withdrawal Fee
Crypto withdrawal fee · Transfer fee · Network fee
The fee an exchange charges to send a coin to another exchange or a wallet: a fixed number of coins per withdrawal, set per coin and network, not a percentage.
Simple explanation
Background: Every coin that moves between Korean and overseas exchanges, whether for kimchi premium arbitrage or just to reach a personal wallet, pays a withdrawal fee on the way out. Korea's exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Digital X, formerly Korbit) each set their own fees, coin by coin.
A withdrawal fee is what you pay to move coins out of your exchange balance. It is not the fee for taking won out to your bank account: it is charged once per crypto withdrawal, to another exchange or to a personal wallet, and the exchange uses it to pay the blockchain's network fee (gas) for recording the transfer.
Its key feature is that it does not grow with the amount. A trading fee is a percentage of the trade, but a withdrawal fee is set in coins, so many BTC or so many XRP, and the same number of coins is taken whether you send ₩1,000,000 (about $710) or ₩100,000,000 (about $71,400). The smaller the transfer, the bigger the fee's share; and because the fee is a fixed number of coins, its won value rises whenever the coin's price rises.
The exchange sets the fee, and the same coin can cost different amounts to withdraw on different exchanges: in early 2024, Korean press found the Ethereum withdrawal fee varying up to fourfold between Korean exchanges. Exchanges revise fees as network costs change; in May 2024, Upbit adjusted the withdrawal fees of 144 coins at once, citing changes in network costs. Promotions can lower them for a while, so check the current figure on the withdrawal screen each time.
The network matters too. A coin issued on several blockchains, such as Tether (USDT), has its own withdrawal fee and minimum withdrawal amount on each network, and some overseas exchanges change fees without notice as network congestion rises and falls. A cheaper network only helps if the receiving side supports it.
Exchanges also take the fee in different ways: some deduct it from the amount you enter and send the rest, others send the full amount you enter and take the fee from your balance on top. Check the "amount received" line before you confirm, and remember that a request below the minimum withdrawal amount is refused outright. From a personal wallet you pay the network fee yourself instead of an exchange fee, and that fee moves with network congestion.
It matters a lot for the kimchi premium. An arbitrage round trip can mean two withdrawal fees: once when you send Tether to an overseas exchange, and again when you send the coin you bought there back to Korea. If the premium is smaller than trading fees, withdrawal fees and slippage combined, nothing is left, and on a small transfer the fixed withdrawal fee alone can turn the same premium into a loss. The same goes for the reverse trade, buying in Korea and sending abroad during a reverse premium.
CoinGaja's Kimchi Premium Calculator takes trading fees, withdrawal fees and order-book slippage out of the premium and shows what you would actually keep. Try different amounts to see how the fixed withdrawal fee changes the result. It does not include price moves during the transfer, the cost of getting dollars, or deposit and withdrawal delays.
Example
Overseas price in won ₩1,000, Korean price ₩1,008 → kimchi premium +0.80%; the withdrawal fee is 10 coins whatever the amount
Buy 1,000 coins abroad for ₩1,000,000 (about $710) and send them → 990 coins arrive × ₩1,008 = ₩997,920 → -₩2,080 (a loss)
Buy 10,000 coins for ₩10,000,000 (about $7,140) and send them → 9,990 coins arrive × ₩1,008 = ₩10,069,920 → +₩69,920 (about +0.70%, roughly $50)
Fee share: 10 ÷ 1,000 = 1.00% versus 10 ÷ 10,000 = 0.10%
If the coin's price doubles to ₩2,000, the same 10-coin fee goes from ₩10,000 to ₩20,000 (about $7 to $14)
Trading fees and slippage are left out
※ Example numbers, for illustration only
See it on CoinGaja
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