I was trading crypto almost every day, placing around $5,000 per trade and making four to five trades each week. The crypto trading fees were there, but I did not think much about them. To me, they were normal and unavoidable costs of trading.
That changed after a casual conversation with a friend. He asked if I had ever checked how much I was paying in crypto trading fees. I had not, so I pulled my trading history. Each trade had a small fee, $7.50 here and $12 there. Individually, they seemed small. But over hundreds of trades, the total was shocking.
In this post, I’ll show you exactly how I stopped throwing thousands away and ended up saving over $1,200 in crypto trading fees.
The Exchange I Was Using Before (And Why I Never Questioned It)
At the time, almost all of my crypto trading took place on Coinbase. Not because I had compared it with other exchanges, but because it was the first platform I felt comfortable using. When something works smoothly, you do not feel the need to question it.
Coinbase felt safe and reliable, so convenience became my priority. I focused on smooth trades and ignored what those trades were quietly costing me over time.
The fees were always there, clearly shown after each trade. But seeing a small amount deducted did not feel serious. It seemed normal, just part of trading, and since everything worked fine, I saw no reason to change anything.
That routine made it easy to assume fees were the same everywhere. Looking back, that assumption was the real mistake. Comfort, I later realized, was costing me far more than I ever noticed.
How I Actually Saved $1,200+ in Crypto Trading Fees
Once I added up my total Coinbase fees, the issue became obvious. The problem was not my trading. It was where those trades happened. When I first started trading crypto, Coinbase didn’t seem expensive. But once trading became something I did week after week, its fee structure turned every trade into a leak.
That realization changed my approach. I did not need to trade less or overhaul my strategy. I only needed to stop paying a premium to place the same trades. If I planned to trade consistently, I needed an exchange where frequent trading was not structurally expensive.
That left one question worth asking. What does each trade actually cost when repeated hundreds of times? The answer made the difference clear. Some platforms are built for occasional traders. Others are designed for traders who trade consistently.
That is what pushed me to move my trading to Bybit. By switching to a lower fee exchange, I reduced the cost of every trade going forward. In practice, I did not change how I traded, how often I traded, or what I traded. I simply stopped overpaying.
Only after making the switch did I calculate the numbers. I compared the costs of those same trades on Coinbase with what I actually paid on Bybit. Seeing the totals side by side made one thing clear. This wasn’t just a small change. It was the single decision that kept thousands in my account instead of quietly disappearing into fees.
How Much I Would Have Paid on Coinbase for the Same 500 Trades
To see what was really going on, I stopped guessing and reviewed my trading history. I used my average trade size of about $5,000, an estimated Coinbase trading fee of roughly 0.15% per trade, and a total of 500 trades. This helped me calculate how much I would have paid in fees if I had never switched exchanges.
Each trade came with a fee of around $7.50. On its own, that amount is easy to ignore. However, when the same fee repeats hundreds of times, the numbers add up fast. Across 500 trades, those small deductions turned into roughly $3,750 in crypto trading fees.
The real problem was that the cost felt invisible. Nothing about that total showed up all at once. The fees were spread across months of normal trading and quietly accumulated while my focus stayed on entries and exits. By the time I finished the calculation, the conclusion was clear. I should have switched exchanges much earlier.
That realization led directly to the next question. What actually happened after I switched, and how much did I end up paying as a result?
How Much I Paid in Crypto Trading Fees After 500 Trades on Bybit
After seeing how quietly Coinbase fees added up, I wanted to see what actually changed after switching to a different exchange. To keep the comparison fair, I changed nothing about how I traded. The only difference was the platform.
I used the same estimation method as before. With an average trade size of $5,000, an estimated Bybit trading fee of roughly 0.1% per trade, and the same 500 trades, the fee came out to around $5 per trade.
On its own, that number already felt different. It was smaller, but still easy to overlook.
Over 500 trades, those $5 fees added up to roughly $2,500. When I compared that to the $3,750 I would have paid on Coinbase for the same trades, the difference was impossible to ignore. Simply switching exchanges saved me about $1,250 across those 500 trades. That is to say, I saved 25% of my capital.
That realization made one thing clear. When you ignore crypto trading fees, you give away profits. Switching to a lower fee exchange like Bybit can be one of the most impactful and low effort decisions you can make.
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The Mistake I Didn’t Realize I Was Making
Looking back, the mistake was not obvious while it was happening. Trades executed smoothly, the results made sense, and everything seemed to be working as it should.
The problem was not that I traded too much. It was not that I paid fees. And it was not even the exchange.
The real mistake was assuming fees didn’t matter because they looked small on each trade. I believed that if a fee does not hurt now, it will not matter later. Without realizing it, that belief shaped every decision I made.
The exchange felt familiar, which made it feel safe. That sense of safety kept me from questioning whether it still fit the way I traded. I was no longer choosing the exchange. I was continuing with it out of habit.
That is why this kind of mistake is easy to miss. It doesn’t show up as a bad trade or a sudden loss. The cost builds slowly, spread across and hidden inside decisions that feel reasonable at the time.
I didn’t see it as a mistake until I laid all the numbers side by side. Only then did it become clear how expensive it had been to stay comfortable.
Who This Actually Matters For (And Who Can Ignore It)
If you trade only occasionally, crypto trading fees rarely grow into a real concern.
The shift happens when trading becomes consistent. Each fee still looks small and easy to ignore, but repeated over time, what feels fine in the moment can slowly add up to hundreds or even thousands without you ever noticing.
That is exactly what happened to me. After hundreds of trades, each around $5,000, I saved roughly $1,250 by moving to a lower fee exchange. If you trade as I did and have not checked your total crypto fees, hundreds or even thousands could be leaving your account every month while everything still feels normal.
You will not notice it trade by trade. You notice it only when you step back and look at the total.
When the fees you are paying no longer match how you trade, the simplest move can make the biggest difference.
Here is a simple guide with screenshots that shows how to open a Bybit account easily and claim your welcome bonus today.
Additional Resources:
Common Crypto Exchange Mistakes You Don’t Notice at First
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DISCLAIMER:
The information provided here is for informational purposes only. Do not rely solely on it for making investment decisions. It is not financial, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Always do your own research or consult a financial advisor before investing in cryptocurrency.