Newly Launched Prism Service Revamps Its Fee Structure due to Customer Demand

A lot of people were quite surprised by the launch of Prism. This new Ethereum-based portfolio service is operated by the Shapeshift team. Whereas the company had hoped for a few hundred signups, the success has been overwhelming so far. However, there was one glaring issue, as monthly fees were quite steep.  The company has addressed these issues and released an updated fee structure.

Prism Lowers User Fees Already

It is good to see cryptocurrency companies take user feedback to heart. In the case of Prism, most of that feedback revolves around the platform’s fees. This non-custodial portfolio platform has been well-received by the community so far. Do keep in mind this service is still in beta, and things may change over the coming months. A lot of users are looking to manage their digital asset portfolio. Launching a service such as Prism makes a lot of sense at this point in time.

The project is quite elegant and powerful as well. It is not your traditional exchange by any means. Trading cryptocurrencies and digital assets is possible. To do so, users create a custom “prism”, which requires them to put Ether into a smart contract. It is an excellent way for users to buy multiple cryptocurrencies in one go, without going through centralized exchanges. Casual cryptocurrency enthusiasts will definitely see the value of this platform moving forward. There is no counterparty risk involved, which makes Prims even more appealing.

However, the service launched with pretty steep fees. Paying 1% per month is quite “ludicrous”, according to some users. People will gladly pay for the prism service, but not such a steep amount. The company collected feedback and came up with a blond plan to improve their platform. As of today, the 1% monthly capital fee has been removed. The closing fee – waived during beta – and the rebalance fee are still in place, though.

Monthly Capital Fees May Return in the Future

Prism also explained why this capital fee was introduced in the first place. The fee is a time-based rate of return on the capital locked up by the seller during every transaction. It is a way to incentivize capital to collateralize the Prisms created by users. It is not a revenue generator first and foremost.  The 1% fee is on par with ETH lending rates across multiple exchanges, thus it makes a lot of sense. However, Prism always intended to make the rate float, and be set by the market itself.

In the future, the monthly fee may return. Once Prism lets others provide collateralized ETH capital on the Seller side, people will look for some incentive. Buyers will pay this fee to sellers, or vice versa, depending on which group of users is the largest. It is good to see Prism take this valuable feedback to heart and act on it so quickly. This platform has a lot of potential to make cryptocurrency trading even more appealing to the masses.