Every trade occurs between two parties: the maker, whose order exists on the order book prior to the trade, and the taker, who places the order that matches (or "takes") the maker's order. Makers are named because their orders make the liquidity in a market. Takers are the ones who remove this liquidity by matching makers' orders with their own.

Our fee structure is a maker-taker structure where fee rates differ based on whether you’re on the “make” side of a trade or the “take” side of a trade. The maker-taker model encourages market liquidity by rewarding the higher volume makers of market liquidity with a fee discount. It also results in a tighter market spread due to the increased incentive for makers to outbid each other. The higher fee that the taker pays is usually offset by the better prices this tighter spread provides.

Learn more about our fees at https://poloniex.com/fees.