Bitfinex Exchange Review: Why oldest isn’t the safest?

Introduction

Bitfinex has been in the news for many reasons. Some are positive and some are very bad. If you are new to cryptocurrency and are searching for a good exchange? Then you need to read this before signing up for this exchange. In this Bitfinex review, you will get to know about the exchange’s history, performance, controversies, pros and cons, rating, and many more. 

Overview 

What Is Bitfinex Exchange?

Bitfinex is a cryptocurrency trading platform founded in 2012 by Giancarlo Devasini & Raphael Nicolle in Hong Kong, China. It is registered in the British Virgin Islands. The present CEO of the company is JL van der Velde. 

Initially, the company started out as a P2P margin lending platform for Bitcoin only. Then, it provided access to Exchange Trading, Margin Trading & Funding (P2P Financing), Over the Counter (OTC), and Derivatives, for a wide selection of digital assets with advanced trading features and charting tools.

They have their own Utility Token – Leo Token (LEO) which was based on the ethos of quality over quantity. The other products include – Bitfinex borrow, Bitfinex Pay, Bitfinex Terminal, and Bitfinex Honey & Reporting App. Now let’s understand more about Bitfinex wallets

Bitfinex account has three main wallets:

1. Exchange Wallet – exchanging funds between currencies supported at Bitfinex;
2. Margin Wallet – trading leveraged short and long positions;
3. Funding Wallet – providing margin funding/financing to other traders.

Features

• Trading exchange – It offers spot trading, margin trading, P2P financing, and Over-the-counter & derivatives trading with advanced trading features and charting tools. It also provides 10x leverage in margin trading
• Trading fees – The maker fee is 0.10% and the taker fee is 0.20%
• Paper trading – Beginners can use this feature to practice mock trading in a simulated market environment without having any fear of losing money. 
• Leo Tokens – UNUS SED LEO (Leo token) is a utility token of Bitfinex born out of the ethos of quality over quantity, designed to empower the Bitfinex community. The purchase price is 1 USDT per token. Token holders will be given benefits and discounts in trading
• Security – 99.5% of the funds are stored offline in cold wallets and only 0.5% of funds are in hot wallets. It has completed System Organization Control SOC 2 Type 1. Other security features include 2FA, sending email on login every time, detecting IP address change and halting withdrawal for 24 hours post IP change, IP address whitelisting, suspicious activity audit, etc
• Staking – Now you can get up to 10% APY for staking your crypto assets on Bitfinex. 
• Mobile App – You can access your portfolio and other crypto assets at your fingertips. Bitfinex Pulse brings crypto news, updates, and trends in an easy format so that you can stay up to date on the events 
• Lending Pro – Lending Pro is a highly customizable tool that utilizes automated technologies and advanced features to manage to lend based on a user’s specifications and market conditions. 

Bitfinex Exclusive Features

• Bitfinex Borrow – Now you can borrow cryptos from peers by giving other cryptos as collateral with a customized repayment period. Bitfinex act as a facilitator in this transaction
• Bitfinex Pay – It allows you to accept payments for your online store in cryptocurrencies. It is easy to install and the exchange is constantly adding new crypto assets to the payment method. 
• Bitfinex Honey – You can now practice algorithm trading with ease at Bitfinex Honey. No need of downloading software. You can execute time-tested Algo trading strategies from your browser only. 
• Bitfinex Terminal – A terminal for market data sharing using decentralized technology that can be used for trading strategies. It has a free version with basic market data and paid version with advanced market data
• Bitfinex Reporting – An exclusive software provided by Bitfinex to measure and improve trading strategies. It also allows you to generate tax reports with selected dates. 
• Bitfinex Alpha – A newsletter program where they will notify us of weekly updates on everything related to crypto. The content is created by think tanks and industry-leading experts. Just subscribe for free to get free insightful information

Cryptocurrencies Available on Bitfinex

Bitfinex supports over 180 cryptocurrencies and tokens on its trading platform including 

• Bitcoin 
• Ethereum 
• Terra
• Tether
• Solanum
• Litecoin
• Ripple
• Polkadot
• Cardano
• Dogecoin
• Avalanche

The supported fiat currencies include – USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, and CNH. 

How to Create an Account on Bitfinex

1. Visit the official website of Bitfinex. Click on ‘Sign up’.
2. Enter your Username, Email, create a password, and add a referral code if any.
3. Click [Sign up]
4. For the security of the account, enable 2FA. Tap [continue]
5. Enter the 6-digit code, and click [Enable]
6. Click [Confirm Email Address] in your inbox and confirm it
7. Now you are all set to login into your account and access the features.

How to Buy Cryptocurrencies From Bitfinex?

Let us learn to buy cryptocurrency on Bitfinex

1. Login to your account. Navigate to [Deposits]
2. Choose payment cards(credit or debit). Choose payment methods like Simplex, OWNR, or Mercuryo.
3. Choose the currency from the list. Select the exchange wallet you want the funds to be deposited.
4. Agree to the terms of third parties and finish the payment process.
5. You will be redirected to the Bitfinex page showing that the process was successful.

How to Sell Cryptocurrency?

Let us sell cryptocurrency on Bitfinex

1. Login to your page. Go to the trading section.
2. Select the trading pair you want to trade.
3. Scroll down to the section of [Order Form]
4. Select the type of order, order size, and amount for the limit order. For market orders, the order will be executed at the current market price.
5. Click ‘Exchange sell’ and now your order is completed.

How to Deposit Cryptocurrency on Bitfinex?

Let us deposit cryptocurrency on this exchange. In order to make a deposit, your account verification level should be intermediate

1. Log in to your account. Navigate to the deposit page.
2. Choose the cryptocurrency/fiat currency you want to deposit and the wallet you want to deposit.
3. Copy the address and paste it into your external wallet.

How to Withdraw Cryptocurrency on Bitfinex?

Let us withdraw cryptocurrency from this exchange

1. Visit your wallet page and click [withdrawals]
2. Select the type of withdrawal you want to make: Cryptocurrency, Bank transfer, Tether tokens, or Lightning Network.
3. Select the currency you want to withdraw from Bitfinex.
4. Choose which of your wallets you will be withdrawing from and fill in the necessary details
5. Finally, press the Request Withdrawal button

Make sure that your account is verified for a smooth transaction

Exchange Fees & Supported Payments

There are no deposit charges for cryptocurrencies & stablecoin, however, if you are depositing/ withdrawing fiat currency the charge is 0.100% with a minimum fee of 60 USD/ EUR. The withdrawal fees for cryptocurrencies vary for different cryptocurrencies. 

For express bank wire withdrawals, the fee is 1.000%, with a minimum fee of 100 (USD/Euro).

There is no trading fee for OTC trades done through the Bitfinex OTC Desk. 

Generally, the maker fee is 0.10% & taker fee is 0.20%. The trading fees also depend on various factors such as the amount of Leo Tokens you hold in your wallet, your trading volume in the last 30 days, etc. Bitfinex also provides a fee calculator where you can see the maker and taker fees depending on the trading volume and amount of Leo Tokens you hold. Maker fees can go low up to 0.00% and taker fees up to 0.0550% if you are a high-volume trader and hold more Leo Tokens

Mobile App

Bitfinex App is available on both google and apple app store. The app allows you to manage your portfolio, and keep yourself up to date on market trends and news with the Bitfinex Pulse feature. The user interface is simple and easy on the eyes. It is recommended for both beginners & advanced traders. 

Affiliate Programmes

Bitfinex offers a unique affiliate program where existing users, who become Bitfinex Affiliates, can earn fees from up to three levels of connection within their network through a commission-based structure.

New users, who sign up on Bitfinex through our Affiliate Program, receive a 6% discount on trading costs. Moreover, if the referrer and referee hold Leo Tokens, you will get multiplier benefits too. The more Leo tokens you hold, the more benefits you will receive

Bitfinex also has a developer’s reward program where developers get a 5% rebate for each trade made through the APIs integrated with Bitfinex API. This reward is fixed and not subject to monthly reductions over time. 

Customer Support

Bitfinex exchange has a help section where you can find solutions to your general queries and FAQs. You can also raise an email support ticket which will be replied back in 24-48 hours. It has also a chatbot that will give specific replies to your issues. There is no phone or live chat support, so for urgent issues you still have to raise email tickets. 

Bitfinex Controversies 

2015 – Bitfinex exchange was hacked resulting in a loss of 1500 bitcoins

2016 – 119,756 Bitcoin worth $72 million at that time were stolen from the Bitfinex exchange. However, the case is still going on in the U.S. 

2019 – New York attorney general accused Bitfinex of covering up $850 million by moving client and corporate funds. The legal dispute was settled when Bitfinex agreed to pay a fine of $18.5 million to New York Probe. 

2021 – Bitfinex agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for illegal, off-exchange retail commodity transactions in digital assets with Americans

Conclusion

Bitfinex is a cryptocurrency trading platform for advanced traders as it provides in-depth market data and trends through Bitfinex reporting and Bitfinex Pulse feature. Moreover, Bitfinex Honey is good for algo traders. You can manage your portfolio on the go with their mobile app. 

However, for beginners, it can be time-consuming to learn about the platform and its wide variety of features. The fees are considerably low and have industry-standard security features. Moreover, Bitfinex wallets offer more security. The exchange has a lot of USD liquidity and a lot of orders and trading options, and it’s the biggest BTC exchange in terms of volume transacted.

However, Bitfinex has been the subject of controversy several times and is not a particularly transparent firm, so we would advise anyone utilizing Bitfinex to only retain a minimal amount on the exchange at any given moment.

FAQ