As the website states, Bitfinex is a go-to crypto exchange platform to trade cryptocurrency. This exchange was founded in 2012. This blog will review the features, fees, security, etc., of Bitfinex exchange in detail. In addition, a Bitfinex review will also help you understand the pros and cons of Bitfinex Exchange.
Table of contents
- Summary (TL; DR)
- What is Bitfinex Exchange?
- How to use Bitfinex?
- Bitfinex Review: Mobile App
- Features of Bitfinex
- Bitfinex Review: Wallets
- Bitfinex Exchange Fees
- How to use Bitfinex in US?
- Bitfinex Review: Security
- Bitfinex Review: Customer Support
- Bitfinex Review: Pros and Cons
- Bitfinex Review: Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
Summary (TL; DR)
- Bitfinex is a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange which was launched in 2012 and is managed by iFinex Inc.
- Using Bitfinex, you can easily trade over 100 digital assets like Bitcoin, Tron, Ether, Tether, etc.
- Bitfinex is one of the leading crypto exchange platforms in terms of trading volume.
- The exchange platform is commonly used by intermediate and well-experienced traders.
- This crypto exchange is not available for U.S. clients and four other nations, including Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Kyrgyzstan.
- Bitfinex exchange is a multilingual platform available in four languages – English, Russian, Mandarin, and Cantonese.
- With your mail, first, you have to open an account by signing up for a new account and then verify your identity. Later, you can deposit yours by choosing a cryptocurrency.
- Bitfinex also has lots of order types and has features like margin funding, margin trading, etc.
- With the Bitfinex mobile app, you can quickly look at the positions, orders, and trading history.
- Bitfinex wallets bring the ease of storing crypto safely. Moreover, the Bitfinex affiliate program allows traders to earn crypto commissions through referrals.
- You can make the payments via Bank transfer and through cryptocurrencies.
- Bitfinex stores 99.5% of its clients’ funds in cold storage, and the remaining 0.5% of the funds are stored in hot wallets to provide the necessary liquidity needed for the exchange.
- It would be best if you went through a Two-factor authentication via Google Authenticator. The second level of security is the Universal 2nd Factor (U2F), where you have to use a physical Security Key.
What is Bitfinex Exchange?
Launched in 2012, this crypto exchange allows its users to buy, sell and trade digital coins. Bitfinex supports payment methods through bank transfers and cryptocurrency. This exchange platform also supports fiat trading. Bitfinex ranks as one of the best crypto exchanges in terms of trade volume. Using this crypto exchange platform, you can easily trade over 100 digital assets like Bitcoin, Tron, Ether, Tether, etc.
Intermediate and well-experienced traders commonly use the platform. Unfortunately, the exchange platform was hacked two times in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Furthermore, the 2016 hack is considered one of the largest hacks in the crypto world as there was a loss of 120,000 BTC. So, Bitfinex had to pay back the customers’ losses, and they had to tighten up their security.
With a firm belief to offer the best and the ultimate crypto trading experience, Bitfinex strives to fulfill its mission by providing many state-of-the-art digital asset trading services to its users.
How to use Bitfinex?
- With your email, first, you have to sign up for a new account on Bitfinex.
- To verify your identity, you have to click the ‘Verification’ option available inside your account. Then, you have to verify your identity by entering some personal information and uploading a government-issued I.D.
- After verification, deposit funds in your Bitfinex account via bank transfer and click the ‘Deposit’ button. Then choose the currency you have to deposit with and then enter the required bank details.
- After funding your account, you can start trading by clicking on the ‘Trade’ button and selecting the trading pair.
Bitfinex Review: Mobile App
The Bitfinex mobile app is available for Android and iOS users, and you can download it via Google Play or Apple Store. However, you have to download the Bitfinex app, create a new API key and password/ biometrics for security reasons, and log in.
Bitfinex Mobile App: Features
Some of the uses of the Bitfinex Mobile App are as follows:
- This app gives you complete portfolio control. With the Bitfinex app, you can quickly look at the positions, the open orders, and the trading history.
- With the Bitfinex mobile app, you can trade numerous digital currencies from anywhere in the world.
- Bitfinex has created this mobile app to fit into the busy lifestyle of traders and users. The app also keeps you fully updated on all the crypto exchange happenings, and you can trade on the go.
Features of Bitfinex
Bitfinex Margin Funding
The funding market of Bitfinex allows you to earn interest on fiat and digital currency in a secure way by providing funding if you want to trade with leverage. You can also use the Auto-Renew option to renew your offers automatically.
Bitfinex Margin Trading
Bitfinex offers margin trading with up to 10x leverage by receiving funds from peer to peer margin funding platform. You can enter an order and buy your desired amount of funding, or you can open a position, and Bitfinex will do the funding at the best available rate for you.
Trading Exchange
Bitfinex offers Order books with top-tier liquidity. In addition, it enables users to easily exchange many digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, EOS, etc.
Bitfinex Futures
If you wish to mitigate the risks associated with digital tokens’ volatility, Bitfinex futures should be your next stop. Along with margin trading and margin funding, Bitfinex supports perpetual derivatives contracts on their exchange. Traders can trade derivatives with up to 100X leverage on various trading order forms.
Bitfinex Affiliate
If you want to discover innovative ways to earn crypto, you could try the Bitfinex Affiliate program. Traders can earn unlimited commission through referrals. Simply, Generate invite links on the dashboard; share them all over your social media circles. On each signup with your referral, your crypto earnings grow.
Advanced Order Types
Entering multiple orders can be a tedious task. Bitfinex has specially created a tool called Scaled Orders to do this. According to Bitfinex, it is an “algorithmic order type designed to enable traders to focus more on strategy instead of spending the time entering orders manually.” This tool automatically creates multiple limit orders on a determined price range, and you can still set the diversity and distribution of orders.
Paper Trading
This feature allows traders to test trading strategies in a simulated market environment without depositing actual funds.
There are also advanced features like the Bitfinex enhanced reporting framework, Bitfinex Terminal, APIs, etc. Check them out in the ‘Advanced Features’ section of Bitfinex.
Bitfinex Review: Wallets
A standard Bitfinex account extends three separate wallets to support each of the core functions. These wallets are beneficial for instant fund transfer without any fee.
- Bitfinex exchange Wallet – Exchanging funds between the supported digital currencies.
- Margin Wallet – Trading leveraged short or long positions.
- Bitfinex Funding Wallet – Rendering margin funding/ financing to other traders.
In addition to these, Bitfinex has Derivatives and token sale wallets to support those functions.
Bitfinex Exchange Fees
You can make the payments via Bank transfer and through cryptocurrencies.
Bitfinex Deposit Fees
To deposit funds to the Bitfinex account via bank transfer, you have to pay a fixed fee of 0.1%. However, if you deposit by cryptocurrency, Bitfinex will charge fewer fees depending on the cryptocurrency.
Bitfinex Withdrawal Fees
You have to pay 0.1% if you want to make a withdrawal via bank transfer. However, you can pay a fee of 1% to get it within 24 hours on business days. And fees of cryptocurrency withdrawal vary depending on the cryptocurrency.
Bitfinex Trading Fees
The trading fee varies based on how much you trade in a month. Additionally, it is also based on whether you are a market ‘Taker’ (i.e., the people who take up offers) or market ‘Maker’ (Investors). Furthermore, if you trade more than $500,000 in a month, you must pay a fee of 0.2% as a Taker’.
How to use Bitfinex in US?
Bitfinex does not provide its services in the USA due to regulatory rules. However, if you wish to use Bitfinex from the USA, you can install a chrome VPN extension such as Hola VPN, Nord VPN, etc. You can then change your IP address location and start using Bitfinex.
Bitfinex Review: Security
With a caption of “Your Security is our priority,” Bitfinex states that it continually improves its end-to-end security measures. However, it also says that it can’t reveal too many security details due to ‘security and proprietary’ reasons.
- Bitfinex stores 99.5% of its clients’ funds in cold storage, and the remaining 0.5% of the funds are stored in hot wallets to provide the necessary liquidity needed for the exchange.
- You are required to go through a Two- factor authentication via Google Authenticator.
- The second level of security is the Universal 2nd Factor (U2F), where you have to use a physical Security Key.
- There are also advanced API Key permissions.
- Withdrawals are monitored by I.P. address and other user behavior patterns. So, this triggers the admin to check for any unusual withdrawals manually.
- Email encryption gives more privacy and security via Encrypted email communication (PGP)
- Protection from DDoS ( Distributed Denial of Service) prevents trading from being stopped from outside attacks.
Bitfinex Review: Customer Support
- There is a live chat available in the form of a green message bubble in the right corner of the website.
- In the ‘Help center’ of Bitfinex, many guidelines, definitions, and steps are laid out to help users with trading and creating an account.
- You can also search your queries in the Search box of Help Centre.
- You can fill and submit your requests in the Contact section of the website. For that, you need to provide your email and name.
Bitfinex Review: Pros and Cons
Some of the advantages and disadvantages of using Bitfinex are tabulated below. You can take a quick look at them in the table below and decide further.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It accepts bank transfer payment methods for deposit and withdrawal. | No transparency in terms of security measures. |
| Bitfinex exchange is a multilingual platform available in four languages – English, Russian, Mandarin and Cantonese. | This crypto exchange is not available for US clients and also in four other nations including Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ecuador and Kyrgyzstan. |
| This exchange also has a simple, user-friendly interface. | |
| Bitfinex offers high liquidity compared to other exchange platforms. |
Bitfinex Review: Conclusion
Despite the hacking incidents, this Hong Kong-based crypto exchange is one of the best crypto exchanges among online traders. Bitfinex platform has taken all the necessary measures to rectify and bring back its customer’s trust lost due to security issues. It has leveled up its security, and it has various protections like 2FA, U2FA, advanced API key permissions, withdrawal protection, etc.
One of the plus points of Bitfinex is that it offers high liquidity. Bitfinex also has lots of order types and has features like margin funding, margin trading, etc. In addition, the Bitfinex platform has a user-friendly interface that allows users to navigate through the website easily.
But, with its advanced trading tools, Bitfinex is more suitable for experienced users than first-time users. And most of the security measures of Bitfinex are not transparent, making an assessment of its security level difficult. If you are a new user, check out our other exchange blog reviews on our website to get better clarity about crypto exchanges and the cryptocurrency world.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I fund my Bitfinex account?
You can start funding your account at Bitfinex with cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies like USD, EURO, GBP, and JPY.
How many hours does a withdrawal normally take at Bitfinex?
According to the Bitfinex website, the maximum withdrawal time can take up to 12 hours. But a typical withdrawal time takes only 1-2 hours.
How to buy bitcoin on Bitfinex?
Here is a quick breakdown of steps on how to but bitcoin on Bitfinex.
– Login/ sign up to your Bitfinex account.
– From the deposit page, choose the desired crypto for BTC purchase in the -cryptocurrencies section.
– On the exchange wallet, create a deposit address; make the transfer at the corresponding transfer.
– Once the funding completes, you can start trading.
Is Bitfinex safe?
Bitfinex is not regulated, and it has experienced two hacks in 2015 and the following year, 2016. Still. It offers Two-factor authentication, 99. 5 % of the customer funds are held in cold storage and many other security level-ups. And all the security measures aren’t transparent; we can’t evaluate the security status. So we can’t be sure of the safety of the exchange platform despite its security level-up.
How many cryptocurrencies does Bitfinex offer?
It offers more than 100 cryptocurrencies.
Where is Bitfinex exchange located?
Bitfinex is a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange managed by iFinex Inc.
