As a result of the whole DeFi hype, fees are starting to spike that high that Coinbase decided to pass the fees on their customers. It didn't mentioned BTC though, but I will assume that if similar issues (like 2017) wherein the bitcoin fees skyrocketed, I wouldn't be surprised if Coinbase pull a similar stunt.
it's a site-wide policy. their support page makes no distinction between bitcoin, ethereum, or any other network. they are now charging miner fees for bitcoin withdrawals too.
Bold move on them to pass it to their customers, and I'm sure this won't be taken lightly and we might see an exodus of withdrawals and moving their funds to other exchanges.
i doubt it. i'm surprised they didn't do this sooner tbh. last year, they raised fees from 0% to 0.5%---some of the highest fees among all spot exchanges. they did it because they knew their brand/market share and liquidity were dominant enough to survive any exodus, and they were right. they are still probably the biggest spot exchange, certainly in the USA anyway.
they are planning for the next bubble. during the last bubble in 2017, they were still in growth/investment mode, using zero fees as a way to build a solid customer base and market depth. now they no longer need to do that. they feel it's time to make hay while the sun is shining. that's why they are considering a public listing too, i'm sure.
