Bitfinex was established in 2012 and is one of the most renowned crypto exchanges. This exchange is a platform for institutional and professional traders. It boasts the largest BTC/USDT volume thanks to its 100x leverage.
Bitfinex offers a wide range of order types, margin trading and over-the counter (OTC) trading. This makes Bitfinex an excellent platform for traders who are looking for advanced options at low fees. It is not available in the United States.
Cryptocurrencies on Bitfinex
Bitfinex offers support for over 170 cryptocurrencies through its active trading platform. These include Bitcoin, Ethereum and Terra, Tether. Solana. Litecoin and Ripple are just a few of the many cryptocurrencies Bitfinex supports. Bitfinex supports many in-demand currencies, which is why there are so many that it cannot list them all.
Bitfinex is in close contact with Tether stablecoin. It is worth $1 every day, as we have already discussed. If you are willing to keep too much Tether, you might want to reconsider due to past problems with reserves. Tether claims that the currency has been fully backed. However, it is up to you whether you believe this claim.
These were the most traded currency pairs on Bitfinex:
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Cryptocurrency assets are volatile in nature. Buy and trade at your own risk.
73% of retail investor accounts lose money trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Trading with financial instruments carries high level of risks that is not suitable for all investors. Before making any investment decisions, you should seek advice from independent financial advisor to ensure you understand the risks involved.
Trading with financial instruments carries high level of risks that is not suitable for all investors. Before making any investment decisions, you should seek advice from independent financial advisor to ensure you understand the risks involved.
- Bitcoin/U.S. Dollar (BTC/USD)
- Luna/U.S. Dollar (LUNA/USD)
- Luna/Bitcoin (LUNA/BTC)
- Bitcoin/Euro (BTC/EUR)
It is not known if this is the current situation.
Trading Experience
The Bitfinex dashboard makes it easy for advanced traders. The order form on the left-hand sidebar allows traders to place trades. Here they can select different markets and view their balances. You can customize the dashboard to suit your preferences. The dashboard also features charts from TradingView, which is a popular charting tool.
Payment methods for those looking to purchase crypto include wire transfer, bank transfer, cryptocurrency deposit and third-party processors.
- Mercuryo
- OWNR wallet
- Simplex
Only verified accounts are eligible to make deposits and withdraw via bank transfer. Fiat currency withdrawals can take up to ten days.
This is the only platform that allows you to shorten cryptocurrencies and use leveraged trading strategies. These features will be available to professionals in addition to the Bitfinex Reporting app, which offers detailed portfolio tracking tools.
Fees
Bitfinex fees are, in comparison, relatively low. It is important to remember that cryptocurrency exchanges charge fees completely different from forex brokers. The type of trade is what determines the fees charged by cryptocurrency exchanges. Sellers are charged a higher fee than buyers because they take liquidity from the market. Sellers are considered to be liquidity providers.
The charges and fees are as follows: “Takers”, those who accept the offers, pay 0.2%. Investors who place trades (Makers) are subject to a 0.1% fee. The Makers fees are completely waived in cases where trading volume exceeds $7.5million. If there is enough volume, the takers fee can be as low as 0.1%. Additional fees may apply to short selling. These fees vary depending on the platform and its peer-to-peer functionality. Investors are generally not allowed to short-sell more than 70% of their total position.
Bitfinex Payment Methods
| Action | Bitfinex Fee |
| Bank deposit | Minimum fee of $60, 0.1% |
| Crypto & stablecoin deposits | No cost |
| Crypto withdrawals | It all depends on cryptocurrency |
| Crypto-to-crypto, crypto-to-fiat, crypto-to-stablecoin | 0.1% Maker, 0.2% Taker |
| Trades | 0% – 0.2% |
| Derivatives order execution | 0.02% Maker, 0.065% Taker |
| Margin funding | 15% – 18% |
| OTC trades | 0% – 0.1% |
Security and Verification
Bitfinex currently stores 99.5% in cold storage. To provide liquidity for the exchange, only 0.5% of funds are kept in hot accounts. Cold storage is distributed geographically and employs a multisig feature. For withdrawals and login, traders must now go through two levels of authentication. The Two-factor authentication (2FA) layer is the first level of security. The Universal 2nd Factor, (U2F), is the second level of security. It uses a physical security code.
Customer Service
Bitfinex offers 24/7 support via email ticket. This is the only option for support beyond the extensive help page. It is worth noting that it does not offer chatbot or live chat, unlike many other exchanges.
Open a Bitfinex Account
Bitfinex is worth looking into if you are a serious trader who deals with large capital amounts.
Visit Bitfinex.com to open an account. Once you click “Open Account”, you will be taken to a signup page where you will need to enter your email, username and password as well as the time zone. You will then be asked to confirm your email. To create your account, follow the link in the confirmation email. Your account is now created. To make your account more secure you’ll need to enable 2-factor authentication (2FA).
Verify your account to deposit or withdraw fiat currencies such as USD or Euro. This usually takes between 2-3 days for most users.
You can choose to have verification or 2FA in the upper right corner of the drop-down menu under “Manage Account”. You will need to provide documents to verify your identity, address, bank information and complete a Know-Your-Customer (KYC) form.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Competitive Fees | US clients not accepted |
| Established Company | Not transparent |
| Ethical | |
| High liquidity | |
| Multiple order types supported |
Competition
Bitfinex is a major player in the crypto market, but there are many other exchanges that you should consider if your goal is to trade cryptocurrency. Let’s take a look at Bitfinex and Coinbase, another popular cryptocurrency trading platform.
- Coinbase is available for U.S. users while Bitfinex is limited to U.S. residents.
- Bitfinex charges standard trading fees of 0.10% to 0.2%. For low volume traders, fees are 0.60% on the Coinbase Pro platform.
- Coinbase provides basic, active and mobile trading platforms. Bitfinex provides similar platforms for trading cryptocurrency.
- Coinbase is closely associated with the USD Coin (USDC stablecoin), while Bitfinex has a close affiliation with Tether (USDT).
- Coinbase and Bitfinex both paid fines to U.S. authorities.
Conclusion
Bitfinex is a well-established cryptocurrency exchange that’s geared towards professional traders. The exchange has a number of advanced features and supports around 250 cryptocurrencies. Bitfinex is a great option for traders who are experienced, but new crypto investors might want to consider other options.
While Bitfinex has received mixed reviews from users, its history of regulatory problems is also concerning. You can’t use Bitfinex if you are in the United States. We recommend that you check out our list to find the top cryptocurrency exchanges. If you are outside the U.S. you will need to balance the low fees and good platform with a poor track record, including breaches of customer confidence.
Bitfinex has a history of hacks, fines and violations that could make it difficult to trust, but it can be a great place to start a little gamble.
