On the People's Bank of China’s behest, the four major Chinese bitcoin exchanges [introduced](news/have-we-just-seen-the-end-of-fake-chinese-bitcoin-trading-volumes/) trading fees this week, causing a significant drop in volume. While the exchanges have been charging for withdrawals, a tiered fee structure incentivised traders to maximize their volume in any way possible. Traders have long since suspected [Chinese exchange volume to be manipulated](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRbgq5hk_bg) through things such as wash trading and “volumizing.”