Bitfinex Review 2023: Is This Exchange Safe & Worth Using?

The support service at Bitfinex is available on a 24/7 basis. Typically, it takes up to 12 hours to receive an email reply, however, there have been cases when the reply exceeded this 12 hours threshold. If the registration was successful, you should see the window below, which asks you to confirm your email address. Bitfinex allows traders to deal directly with each other without having to go through public order books. It may take a maximum of 12 hours to process a withdrawal at Bitfinex; however, it does not normally take more than 2 hours in general. Yes, traders have the option to withdraw USD from Bitfinex at their discretion.

This article is not a recommendation by Investopedia or the writer to invest in cryptocurrencies nor can the accuracy or timeliness of the information be guaranteed. The exchange offers a mix of features suitable for newer and experienced traders. On the date of last updating this review the 24-hour trading volume had changed from USD 1.4 billion to USD 391 million on 20 March 2020, according to coinmarketcap. Bitfinex has a very good fee structure which makes it a standard feature of the platform. These fees vary according to the amount of crypto being traded and also according to if the user is making a new trade or taking an existing one.

Margin funding

Coinbase is available to U.S. users, while Bitfinex is only open to users outside of the U.S. The exchange’s history and allegations of continued wrongdoing may be concerning for investors. History of regulatory challenges and charges of misleading customers.

Based in Hong Kong, Bitfinex is one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the world that is geared towards cryptocurrency investing and trading. It is managed by iFinex Inc and it deals in BTC/USD and 7 other major Altcoins such as Ethereum and Monero. By volume, Bitfinex is currently the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, especially when the Central Bank of China decided to impose trading fees on cryptocurrency trading. This, in essence, resulted in Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges being unable to compete with other major cryptocurrency exchanges around the world.

Bitfinex Supported Cryptocurrencies

As discussed above, Bitfinex has a close relationship with the Tether stablecoin, which is always worth $1. However, past issues with dishonesty regarding reserves may make you rethink holding too much Tether in your account if you’re willing to hold it at all. Tether still claims that the currency is fully backed, but it’s up to you to decide if you believe it. FLR has soared into the top 100 crypto assets by market cap, sitting at number 72 at the time of writing. This fee is slightly below the industry average which is around 0.25%. A pro-suite of order types and tools empower traders to match their preferred strategy to every situation, including algorithmic order management.

Thank you for choosing Bitfinex as your cryptocurrency exchange of choice. Bitfinex requires verification for Tether usage and expedited cryptocurrency withdrawals. However, the exchange remains perfectly usable for those who only wish to provide an email address.

The exchange is available in over 52 countries of the world but not including the United States. They make use of two-factor authentication and also advanced APIs for connecting with third-party services, and also cold storage of customers’ assets. The platform is available in English, Russian, and the Chinese language. This exchange is open in 52 countries and supports Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, XRP, among others.

The fees are also something we think will annoy some traders, and as such, you should look at alternatives like Coinbase. Bitfinex also has several tools for advanced traders to use, while remaining easy for beginners to understand. However, we can’t look past its lack of insurance for funds and its limited regulation. Investments are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal. Bitfinex isn’t regulated in the US, and doesn’t offer its services there.

Corporate account and professional trading

It’s no secret that Bitfinex has experienced its share of problems. In 2015 the exchange was hacked for the first time and 1500 Bitcoins were stolen. Overall, Bitfinex is an excellent exchange for serious traders or for investors who want access to a large number of coins. However, the unlicensed nature of Bitfinex means that it is inherently more risky to use than alternatives.

Since then, Bitfinex has moved between a series of banks in other countries, without disclosing to customers where the money is kept. In May 2015 the exchange was hacked, which resulted in the loss of 1,500 Bitcoins or about $400,000 USD of their customers’ assets. In October 2018, Bitfinex again had serious difficulties with its banking relationships. Its management stated “Bitfinex is not insolvent on October 7.” Though trading on Bitfinex is not very beginner-friendly, it is very user-friendly and has a good user interface and experienced traders will love using the platform.

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Despite its success, Bitfinex has also attracted a fair amount of controversy as a result of suffering a number of hacks, and being closely linked to the Tether stablecoin. For the security measures, Bitfinex uses several layers of security measures for different areas of their website. In terms of fund security, 95% of the clients’ funds are kept in cold storage. Data are now kept is a new and more secure server with an expanded security team to oversee the security of the server.

Cryptocurrency trading and investments have been high since the time cryptocurrencies entered the finance sector. Hundreds of cryptocurrency exchanges are operating worldwide, most of which are regulated and a few are not. Bitfinex is not a regulated cryptocurrency exchange but one of the most reliable exchanges, focusing on the trader’s safety more than making profits. In this Bitfinex review, a summary of all important points is covered to help traders choose the right cryptocurrency exchange according to their conveniences. Bitfinex is one of the oldest and largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. It handles over $717 million worth of crypto trades every day.

Customer Satisfaction

Bitfinex also supports derivative trading if you complete Intermediate verification. For example, trading BTC/USD requires 10% initial equity, whereas ETH/USD requires 20% currently. However, some cryptocurrencies have “collateral haircuts” due to increased risk, so you get slightly less leverage. Plus, you need to stay on guard against using their inbuilt wallet as your permanent wallet because hacks like August 2016 can happen anytime and nothing is full proof in crypto. Card payment is supported for both verified, and unverified accounts. It happened because attackers were able to exploit a vulnerability in themultisig walletarchitecture of Bitfinex and BitGo.

Maker fees are paid when you add liquidity to the order book by placing a limit order below the ticker price when buying and above the ticker price for sales. Fees on Bitfinex are outlined by their fee schedule and are determined by trading volume over the last 30 days as well as maker or taker status. Tether is a cryptocurrency asset issued on the Bitcoin blockchain and each USDT unit is backed by bitfinex review a U.S Dollar held in the reserves of the Tether Limited. Bitfinex utilizes the Tether stablecoin and verified users on the site have the “Tether” funding option, in addition to “Crypto-Currencies” and “Wire Transfer” on the Deposit and Withdraw pages. Clicking this button takes you to the deposit page and here you can choose Us Dollar, Tether or from a list of cryptocurrencies in order to deposit.

When you do so for the first time, you will also have to read and agree to Bitfinex terms of service. There are no limitations as to how the borrowers use the funds they have borrowed via Bitfinex Borrow; the loan duration and the interest rates can be customized based on the borrower’s needs. However, the amount that can be borrowed is subject to the amount available in the trader’s account with an overall limit of $250,000 and the type of collateral used.

They will then be asked to select the trading pair that they want to trade. Finally, they will need to enter the amount and decide whether they want to do a ‘limit order’ or a ‘market order’ before placing trades. Traders are required to go through a 2-level authentication process in their login credentials and withdrawals. https://forex-reviews.org/ The first level of security is the 2FA (Two-factor authentication) layer, and the second level of security is the U2F that uses a physical security key. Apart from this, there is DDoS protection installed for securing the servers and IP addresses whitelist. Bitfinex offers the following unique features to its users.

Send and receive cryptocurrencies in an instant with just a few taps. Transfer between wallets and access your report to track your historical movements and ledgers. However, Bitfinex has done a good job trying to win back the trust of its customers.

Bitfinex offers order books with top tier liquidity, allowing users to easily exchange Bitcoin, Ethereum, EOS, Litecoin, Ripple, NEO and many other digital assets with minimal slippage. On this occasion a hacker was able to obtain 1500 Bitcoin from a hot wallet controlled by the exchange, the lost funds were quickly reimbursed by the exchange. However, a later attack proved to be more problematic as a hacker was able to circumvent security on the platform and access up to 119,756 Bitcoin, which were worth an approximate $72m at the time. The exchange also allows fiat deposits and houses a variety of cryptocurrencies with approximately 72 market pairs active on the platform. The speed of the procedure also depends on your enabled security measures. A rule of thumb here is the more secure your account, the faster Bitfinex processes your request.

• Trading teams also benefit greatly from these tools, as the software enables internal annotation, boosting opportunities for effective communication.
• If you hold the LEO currency in your account, you can save on fees.
• Newcomers are advised to stick with a simpler exchange that offers a variety of familiar payment options (e.g. Coinmama, CEX).
• Its main dashboard is clear, intuitive, and logical, and it also has a mobile app you can use (Android & iOS).
• You will have to provide documents confirming your name and contact, address, identity, bank information, KYC form, and others.
• What’s the best way to have a lack of compensation and incentive conversation in your department?

Plus, it stores a majority of funds in cold crypto wallets which are less vulnerable to hacks than hot wallets. In the long-run, Bitfinex helps you save money on trading fees. But don’t make too many deposits to avoid the $60 minimum fee. For staking, you simply deposit cryptocurrencies in your Bitfinex account that you want to stake. Bitfinex holds most staked tokens in a cold wallet and only stakes a portion of assets to reduce risk. In exchange, it pays you a certain amount of weekly interest that varies by asset.

The order also found that Bitfinex violated the Commodity Exchange Act by not registering as a Futures Commission Merchant. Both of them are involved in lawsuits regarding Bitcoin price manipulation allegations in 2017. However, they’ve always managed to provide equivalent value for any losses back to their customers. These decisions help Bitfinex safeguard its reputation in the public eye. The Bitfinex mobile App adapts the full functionality of the Bitfinex platform for seamless on-the-go trading.

Bitfinex is a Hong Kong based trading platform that was founded in 2012 by Raphael Nicolle. The exchange is both owned and operated by iFinex, Inc. and has managed to work its way to the top of the charts in terms of trading volumes and user activity on the platform. Bitfinex now stores 99.5% of its clients’ funds in cold storage. Only 0.5% of the funds are kept in hot wallets to provide the liquidity needed for the exchange. The cold storage system is geographically spread out and uses a multisig feature. Traders are now required to go through a two-level authentication process for their login and withdrawals.

The Bitfinex headquarters is based in Hong Kong and managed by iFinex Inc. It is one of the most liquid exchanges in the world that deals in digital tokens (BTC/USD pairs) along with seven other major Altcoins like Ethereum and Monero. It was the victim of the second-largest hack in cryptocurrency history. But it reimbursed all users who suffered from this hack, so its team appears to be honest. However, most cryptocurrency exchanges hire staff remotely, so there is, most likely, no one working in the Taipei office. The location of Bitfinex’s data center is unknown, and for security reasons, its location will probably never be revealed.