Cobo's wallet shutdown fee takes 10% of a $1,000 balance at the first monthly charge

Below $5,000 the minimum sets the bill, because $100 is exactly 2% of a $5,000 balance ^[22]. Every smaller account pays a higher rate: 5% a month on $2,000 ^[24], 20% on $500 ^[25], and 10% on the 1,000 USDT in Cobo's own example ^[21]. At a flat price, that 1,000 USDT is gone after ten monthly collections ^[23].

The percentage is taken in the tokens themselves, worked out on the quantity of each asset left at collection time, with no conversion between coins ^[5]. The minimum is different. Cobo converts it to dollars at CoinMarketCap prices at collection time and splits it across assets in proportion to their value ^[6], so in a falling market the same $100 takes more tokens. (That last step is our inference from the pricing rule, not Cobo's wording.)

Crypto Briefing counts about a month between the Dec. 1 shutdown and the first charge, though it notes the stated withdrawal deadline remains Nov. 30 ^[14]. Since the Jan. 1 deduction is calculated on what remains at that moment ^[5], an account emptied in December would have nothing to charge, provided transfers still work.

The sources date the notice differently. According to crypto.news, it is dated Oct. 15 and appeared on Cobo's website on Oct. 16 ^[12]. Crypto Briefing says Cobo announced the closure on Oct. 16 ^[13].

Cobo also warned of people offering to help with withdrawals. Its staff, it said, will never ask for personal information, passwords, seed phrases or private keys, and it offers no paid expedited withdrawals ^[20].

We think the fee is a forcing device first and a revenue line second. The consumer app stopped accepting registrations in 2021, and the company says it has mainly focused on institutional wallet services since ^[8]. Institutional custody and Wallet-as-a-Service continue ^[10], and an Agentic Wallet launched earlier in 2026 ^[11]. We'd expect the company's attention to sit there, and none of it to go to a consumer app it stopped selling five years ago.

The counter-thesis is income. A dormant balance above $5,000 pays more than $100 a month ^[22], and Cobo has not released figures on how many people still use the app ^[9]. Three outcomes would separate the readings: most holders leave by Nov. 30 and the fee collects little; withdrawals stay open into December and only the people who stay are charged; or withdrawals shut on Dec. 1 and the fee becomes the only path for stragglers. A user count showing sizeable dormant balances would prove us wrong.