Bitfinex Review
Bitfinex was founded in 2012 as one of the first platforms created to meet the booming interest in crypto trading. The exchange is one of the largest and over the years has gradually added more cryptocurrencies, instruments and creative features while gaining new users.
Bitfinex is owned and operated by iFinex Inc. with headquarters in Hong Kong. In the past, the exchange had its share of problems and controversies with its stable coin (Tether) that led to investigations by the New York Attorney General.
Pros / Cons
- High security
- Multiple deposit and withdrawal options
- Innovative instruments
- Lack of advanced UI customization
- Only 2 options for derivative trading
Bitfinex Features Review
| Markets | Crypto, fiat |
| Supported countries | Worldwide |
| KYC | Not Mandatory |
| Leverage | 100x |
| Deposits | Multiple |
| Min. Deposit | 0.001 BTC |
| Max. Withdrawal Limit | Depends on the verification level |
| Trading fee | 0.05% |
| Support | live chat, email |
| Mobile app | iOS, Android |
Bitfinex Security Review
User security is a top priority for Bitfinex and is constantly improving its audit processes and infrastructure. Bitfinex uses hot and cold wallets with only 0.5% of the assets on the exchange are kept in hot wallets, so there are enough funds available for quick withdrawals. The rest of the funds are kept in a secure cold wallet, which requires access authorization from multiple team members to refill the hot wallets or transfer company funds.
Account security option on Bitfinex:
- Two-factor Authentication (2FA)
- Universal 2nd Factor (U2F)
- Advanced verification tools for monitoring
- Withdrawals protection
- Advanced API key permissions
- Email Encryption with OpenPGP
Was Bitfinex hacked?
In May 2015, Bitfinex suffered a breach that resulted in the loss of 1500 bitcoins. In August 2016, Bitfinex experienced another security breach, losing 119,756 Bitcoins. The exchange acted quickly, halting all Bitcoin deposits and withdrawals and generalizing the loss of funds from the segregated wallets of all existing users by 36.067%.
All existing customers received BFX tokens equal to the amount of the funds that were stolen from their wallets. Later, Bitfinex paid its debts in full, so everyone could exchange their BFX tokens at a fixed price of $1 per token. Despite all legal disputes and accusations, Bitfinex has always compensated its users for the problems that have occurred on the platform.
Visit Bitfinex
Is Bitfinex available to US citizens?
On August 15, 2018, Bitfinex decided to no longer accept individual and corporate clients from the US because of the strict regulatory framework and the risk of getting into legal trouble with the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission).
Deposits and Withdrawals Review
Both fiat and multiple cryptocurrencies are available for deposits and withdrawals. At some point in the past, Bitfinex had difficulties in acquiring corporate bank accounts that temporarily left the platform without a fiat gateway.
Fiat deposit and withdrawal options:
- Euro (EUR)
- Chinese Yuan (CNH)
- Japanese Yen (JPY)
- Pound Sterling (GBP)
- US Dollar (USD)
In addition to Bank transfers, credit, and debit cards (VISA, Master Card) can also be used to deposit fiat currencies.
Deposits and withdrawals for over 70+ cryptocurrencies:
- BTC
- ETH
- LTC
- DASH
- XRP
- XMR
- EOS
- IOTA
- NEO
- ZEC
- And more
Trading Instruments
Bitfinex is one of the most diversified exchanges in terms of available cryptocurrencies and trading instruments. Derivatives and margin trading are also available on the platform, but they are quite limited compared to exchanges that specialize in these functions, such as Binance or Bybit. You can trade with up to 100x leverage on Bitcoin and Ethereum but if you are looking for Tron, EOS, or Litecoin trading with high leverage you will not find it here.
On the derivative side you can trade with up to 100x leverage on two pairs:
- BTC
- ETH
Over-the-counter (OTC) trading is also present, allowing traders wishing to buy or sell Bitcoin in large quantities to relieve public order books and avoid price fluctuations.
Order Types
- Market
- Limit
- Stop
- Stop-Limit
- Trailing-Stop
- Fill or Kill
- Immediate or Cancel
- Scaled
- Token Manager
The exchange is providing all of the advanced instruments for spot trading while on the derivatives side, it has only two trading pairs.
Bitfinex User Interface Review
Bitfinex has a professional UI design that provides the necessary environment for trading cryptocurrencies. The interface for spot trading maintains a strict layout with trading pairs, order registers and available balances on the left side, while the chart, positions, orders and order history take up the rest of the space.
The UI on Bitfinex is not as customizable as you might like. It is limited to a single layout type, which can be a negative point for the most demanding traders, otherwise, the interface design as it is, is very effective. The things you can change are the positioning of the ticker, order tabs from left to right, and the color of the interface.
The layout for derivatives trading has a very small difference in the order form – a scale for adjusting leverage and different texts on the buy and sell buttons to avoid confusion and the accidental creation of a derivatives order by distracted users.
Although the limited customization, what is available here is more than enough to satisfy a large group of dealers if they want to trade daily on Bitfinex.
Visit Bitfinex
Bitfinex Exchange Fees
Bitfinex trading fees are volume-based and depend on how much you have traded in USD equivalent over the last 30 days. The fees for both the spot and derivative parts of the exchange are relatively low and competitive.
The margin funding fee is charged on the standard fees generated by the active contract.
NOTE: You can further reduce the fees by holding the LEO token.
| USD traded in the last 30 days | Maker Fees | Taker Fees | LEO Holders Taker Fee Discount |
| $0.00 or more traded | 0.100% | 0.200% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $500,000.00 or more traded | 0.080% | 0.200% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $1,000,000.00 or more traded | 0.060% | 0.200% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $2,500,000.00 or more traded | 0.040% | 0.200% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $5,000,000.00 or more traded | 0.020% | 0.200% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $7,500,000.00 or more traded | 0.000% | 0.200% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $10,000,000.00 or more traded | 0.000% | 0.180% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $15,000,000.00 or more traded | 0.000% | 0.160% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $20,000,000.00 or more traded | 0.000% | 0.140% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $25,000,000.00 or more traded | 0.000% | 0.120% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $30,000,000.00 or more traded | 0.000% | 0.100% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $300,000,000.00 or more traded | 0.000% | 0.090% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $1,000,000,000.00 or more traded | 0.000% | 0.085% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $3,000,000,000.00 or more traded | 0.000% | 0.075% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $10,000,000,000.00 or more traded | 0.000% | 0.060% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
| $30,000,000,000.00 or more traded | 0.000% | 0.055% | up to -(25.000% + 6bps) |
Derivatives Fees
| USD traded in the last 30 days | Maker Rebate | Taker Fees | LEO Holders Taker Fee Discount |
| $0.00 or more traded | -0.0200% | 0.0750% | up to -2bps |
| $1,000,000.00 or more traded | -0.0225% | 0.0725% | up to -2bps |
| $10,000,000.00 or more traded | -0.0250% | 0.0700% | up to -2bps |
| $30,000,000.00 or more traded | -0.0250% | 0.0675% | up to -2bps |
| $100,000,000.00 or more traded | -0.0275% | 0.0650% | up to -2bps |
| $300,000,000.00 or more traded | -0.0300% | 0.0625% | up to -2bps |
Exchange Volume
The daily volume of Bitfinex is around $90 million, with Bitcoin and Ethereum accounting for most of it.. Altcoins like Litecoin, Bitcoin SV, EOS and Ethereum Classic have a daily volume of 2 to 5 million dollars. Many of the altcoin pairs have a very low volume on the exchange, due to market conditions or projects that lack user interest or use-cases.
Affiliate Program
The Bitfinex referral program is one of the best in the industry with 3 levels and the possibility of multiplying the percentages if the referred trader meets certain requirements. You can also receive a 5% rebate if you integrate the Bitfinex API into personal products or commercial libraries.
Levels
- Level 1: 18%
- Level 2: 6%
- Level 3: 2%
Multipliers
- Up to 1.44x if a trader becomes verified affiliate
- Up to 1.5x if the referred user holds the LEO token
- Up to 1.44x members share and like official posts
Review Conclusion
Bitfinex is a good option if you are looking for a balanced cryptocurrency platform with attractive side features. It is not recommended for newcomers as there are no user-friendly features such as automatically renewable purchases or a simplistic user interface. The platform has found a very stable ground when it comes to spot trading as an exchange tailored for people who are already familiar with this type of trading activity.
Bitfinex is a cryptocurrency exchange operating since 2012 with headquarters in Hong Kong, offering a lot of crypto and fiat trading pairs.