Bitfinex Exchange Review 2024 : Pros, Cons & Trading Fees

Introduction

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 Summary

Official Website	https://www.bitfinex.com/
Headquarters	Hong Kong
Found in	2012
Native Token	UNUS SED LEO
Listed Cryptocurrency	100+
Trading Pairs	300+
Supported Fiat Currencies	USD/EUR/GBP/JPY/CNH
Supported Countries	Bitfinex is available worldwide except few countries
Minimum Deposit	10,000 for USD/EUR/GBP,
Deposit Fees	0.100% (min 60, USD/Euro)
Transaction Fees	0% to 0.200%
Withdrawal Fees	Depending on crypto
Application	iOS & Android
Customer Support	Email support

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What is Bitfinex?

Bitfinex is one of the oldest and best crypto exchanges in France and in the world, founded in 2012. 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.

The journey of Bitfinex as a exchange trading platform has not been impeccably smooth in its early days, as soon after it came into existence, the cryptocurrency exchange experienced two hacks and several other controversies for price manipulation and security breaches along with allegations of insolvency. But with its unique features and safety measures, it has managed to become one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world in terms of high volume.

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The Bitfinex exchange offers margin-trading, and their in-house indicators for both Bitcoin long and shorts provide essential trading signals to other leading crypto players in the market. Besides, the exchange also supports fiat trading, deposits, and withdrawals.

However, it might take a lot of time for a new user to complete the verification process, which is due to the backlog of applicants the exchange has. This yet again favors the exchange that despite a long verification process and turbulent records, cryptocurrency traders are keen to use the trading platforms for crypto trading and investments.

Features of Bitfinex

Bitfinex offers the following unique features to its users.

Easy Signup process

The Signup process at Bitfinex is very easy though it may be a little lengthy. It does not require much verification unless trade is made with fiat currencies. Also, the website has a mobile-friendly interface and is fast. There is also a compatible mobile app for Android and iOs users to navigate through.

Safety

Bitfinex security and safety are the major concerns for Bitfinex, not because the platform experienced consecutive hacks soon after its inception but because the customer’s safety is prioritized.  In order to keep client funds safe, Bitfinex stores 99.5% of its user funds in a cold storage system that is also geographically spread out and uses a multisig feature.

Traders are required to go through a 2-level authentication process in their login credentials and withdrawals. The first level of security is the 2FA (Two-factor authentication) layer, and the second level of security is the U2F (Universal 2nd Factor) that uses a physical security key. Apart from this, there is DDoS protection installed for securing the servers and  IP addresses whitelist.

Advance order types

Bitfinex exchange account supports a suite of advanced order types with top-tier liquidity, which allows users to easily exchange Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, EOS, NEO, and various other digital currencies with minimal slippage. For repeatedly entering multiple orders, an algorithmic order type called the ‘Scaled Order’ tool is designed to enable users to focus more on the trading strategies rather than wasting time entering orders manually.

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Advanced Chart

Bitfinex supports an advanced charting tool that allows traders to effectively visualize orders, price alerts, and trade positions. It helps them to simply tap and modify order properties.

Professional connectivity

The Bitfinex trading platform partners with professional traders and corporate accounts, which provides a fast and convenient trading experience to the users.

Bitfinex Exchange Pros and Cons

Account Opening Process

The account opening process in Bitfinex is quite simple, but it may take a little longer due to its customer base who are trying to open an account in Bitfinex, and therefore the waiting time to process may take a bit longer. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to sign up and start trading at Bitfinex:

Create Account

To create an account on the Bitfinex platform, users need to first log in to the homepage of Bitfinex and click on the “signup” button. Here the users need to fill in their email address and password that should be an alphanumeric one to provide for maximum security. A confirmation mail will be sent as per the login data at the provided email address, which the users need to confirm to activate their account.

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Verification

After users sign up, they will be directed to the verification page where they need to click on the “Verification” button and follow the on-screen instructions. They will then need to enter some personal details and subsequently upload a scanned copy of some government-issued IDs.

Users can directly begin trading on Bitfinex without confirming their personal details, but in case they intend to exchange fiat monetary forms for Bitcoin or any other stablecoins, verification is mandatory. Depending on whether the user holds an individual or corporate account, the exchange may ask for additional documents like a bank statement or a signed statement affirming the legitimacy of documents provided by the user besides personal details, ID verification, and proof of residence. Verification time can take a maximum of two weeks, depending on the interest.

Deposit Funds

After verification and activation of accounts, traders can deposit funds in their accounts. There is a ‘DEPOSIT’ button on the top right-hand corner of the screen, clicking on which opens up options of the traders from where they can choose which currency they want to deposit – EUR, USD, GBP, or YEN, etc.  The processing may take up to ten days before the account is ready for trading.

Start Trading

This is the last, and the final step after the traders can begin day trading at Bitfinex. They need to click on the ‘TRADING’ button at the top right side of the screen, which will take them to the main trading area. 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.

Payment Methods

Bitfinex allows the following deposit and withdrawal methods:

Deposit

Bitfinex accepts deposits in the form of both fiat currencies (EUR, JPY, GBP, and USD) and cryptocurrencies. However, fiat deposits can be made via wire transfers only. Bitfinex also supports USDT- Tether cryptocurrency, the quasi-fiat token that is unofficially pegged to the USD price. Free deposits are also available for Bitcoin, Litecoin, Zcash, Monero, Ethereum, Dash, Ripple, EOS, and over 80 other assets. Deposits via debit/credit cards or e-wallet transfers are not allowed at Bitfinex.

Withdrawals

For withdrawals, Bitfinex has specified a minimum wait time of 12 hours, but it generally does not take more than 2 hours if everything is legit. For expedited cryptocurrency withdrawals, Bitfinex requires transaction verification for USDT usage.

Fees

The following are the Bitfinex fees charged from the traders:

Bitfinex deposit fees

For deposits made via bank transfers into the Bitfinex account, the customers are charged a fixed fee of 0.1%. For deposits made via cryptocurrencies, a nominal fee is charged, depending on the specific coin with which the trader wishes to fund his account on the trading platform.

Bitfinex withdrawal fees

For withdrawal, a fixed rate of 0.1% is charged from the traders if they want to cash out via bank transfers. However, if the customers are looking for fast withdrawals (say within 24 hours), they will need to pay a fee that may exceed up to 1%.

A withdrawal fee amounting to 0.0004 BTC is charged from traders for withdrawing BTC from the exchange. As of November 2018, Bitfinex announced to increase its withdrawal charges to 3% on all withdrawals via fiat currencies if the user withdrew more than twice during the last 30 days or withdrew more than 1 million USD in the last 30 days.

Bitfinex trading fees

Bitfinex operates on a taker-maker fee structure where traders who fulfill existing orders are called  ‘market takers,’ while traders placing new limit orders are called ‘market makers.’ For takers, the trading fees start at as high as 0.2%. This is considerably higher as compared to the trading fees charged by other exchanges like Coinbase. However, the fees drop to as low as 0% for makers that compensate for the loss, and also, there are no trading fees charged for large orders that are conducted through the OTC desk.

Bitfinex also offers discounted maker fees of 0.10% for promoting liquidity at the exchange. Then there are also rewards given out to frequent crypto traders in the form of fee discounts. But to avail of the discounts, traders have to trade for an aggregate value of more than 0.5 million for 30 days.

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Services Provided

Following are some of the Bitfinex services listed that the exchange offers to its clients:

Lending and Staking

The lending and staking services offered by Bitfinex allow users to lend or stake their cryptocurrency holdings easily. For this, traders are not required to have the technical knowledge to operate a staking software; it is done automatically at Bitfinex. It has a separate P2P platform called the ‘Bitfinex Borrow’ that allows users to borrow funds from their fellow users using the cryptocurrency assets as collaterals.

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.

There are specific requirements that need to be fulfilled in order to be eligible for the loan, but there is no need for a credit check, unlike in traditional banks. Therefore, the best crypto lending service provided by Bitfinex is very popular among traders.

Margin Trading and Margin Funding

Bitfinex offers margin trading and margin lending; it allows its users to trade with up to 10x leverage by taking advantage of funding from the P2P margin funding market. Users can automatically enter a funding order themselves to borrow their desired amount at their convenient rate and duration.

Bitfinex also offers margin funding along with margin trading. Margin funding provides a secure way to traders to earn interest on fiat currencies as well as digital assets. Margin funding provides funds to traders who want to trade with leverage. The rate and duration of the funding can be customized by the users themselves. The ‘Auto-Renew’ feature automatically renews offers upon their expiry.

Derivatives trading

Bitfinex allows derivatives trading that allows traders to speculate on the price of an asset or derivative without the need to buy or sell it. Traders who intend to execute a trade only need to collateralize their derivatives account with their USDT holdings.

Over-the-counter services

An over-the-counter trading service is available for traders who wish to trade major amounts (say over $100,000) of cryptocurrency privately.

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Customer Support

The customer support team is available on a 24/7 basis but only via email, which is a serious drawback for the traders trading on the Bitfinex platform. However, as email is the only point of contact of the exchange with its clients, it makes sure that traders get their issues solved within a maximum of 12 hours from the time they have raised the queries.

There is a separate Telegram channel where the admin team answers general compliance-related questions. However, any account-specific queries require to be raised through the official support ticket system within the exchange to avoid any security issues. Bitfinex does not entertain private messages, and therefore traders should not share their passwords with anyone asking for it.

Our Verdict

Thus, Bitfinex is one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, with a comprehensive list of supported coins that allows traders to buy or sell their preferred cryptocurrencies. It is mainly the platform for advanced traders proficient in using top-grade charting tools with significantly high liquidity volumes. For newbies, Bitfinex may not be the right place to start with.

FAQs

Is Bitfinex safe?

Yes, Bitfinex is a safe and popular exchange to invest and trade. The exchange uses several security measures for allowing Bitfinex users to trade in a safe and reliable environment. For example, almost 95% of the clients’ funds are kept in cold storage to ensure security. All the data, both old and new, are kept in a secure server, and an expert onsite security team is entrusted with the responsibility to look after the server’s security, which is yet again protected by DDoS protection.

Is Bitfinex regulated?

No, the Bitfinex exchange is not regulated but is one of the top exchanges in the world. The company operates in Hong Kong and is registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Can you withdraw from Bitfinex?

Yes, traders have the option to withdraw USD from Bitfinex at their discretion.

How long does a withdrawal take at Bitfinex?

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.

[toggle tWhich countries can use Bitfinex?” state=”closed”]Most of the supported countries in the world can avail themselves of Bitfinex exchange services except the following countries like Bolivia, Bangladesh, Ecuador, and Kyrgyzstan. As of November 2017, the Bitfinex exchange has also stopped serving clients in the US due to the stringent regulatory policies in the US.[/toggle]