Bitfinex was founded in 2012 and is one of the oldest crypto exchanges in the world. The headquarters are in Hong Kong and it’s not available to US citizens. If you read any Bitfinex review, it will tell you that they did work with US citizens in the past. However, as of August 15, 2018, the broker decided to stop serving individual US and corporate customers. Nevertheless, they offer services in the US to institutions that hold more than $10 m in assets. Those institutions qualify as Eligible Contract Participants (ECPs).
Bitfinex is an advanced, veteran cryptocurrency exchange with a haunted past of hacks and allegations. The exchange is well suited for advanced traders and also supplies the option for margin trading and lending. Bitfinex does not accept US customers. At the moment, Bitfinex works with serious amounts of global daily crypto volumes. Their biggest market are Bitcoins; however, there is much more. Bitfinex provides margin trading and lending across 263 crypto assets. This includes crypto-to-crypto pairs and crypto-to-fiat pairs, through its BVI entity, iFinex Inc. Keep reading this Bitfinex review for more information about the subject. On the other hand, you can always visit their official website.
Overview
Bitfinex was founded in the British Virgin Islands in 2012 by iFinex inc and it is headquartered in Hong Kong. The company initially started out as a P2P margin lending platform for Bitcoin only. Some of the founders and management of iFinex inc. are also related to Tether, the US pegged Stablecoin. Any Bitfinex review will tell you that this exchange is one of the most popular ones in the world. However, it’s best suited for advanced traders. Additionally, there is an option for margin trading and landing. At the start. Bitfinex was a P2P margin landing platform just for Bitcoin.
At the moment, Bitfinex is among the oldest and the most recognized names in the industry. Additionally, some of the founders and management of iFinex inc. are also related to Tether. As we all know, Tether is considered to be one of the best stable coins in the world. Our Bitfinex review will show and explain everything that this exchange has to offer. Once you learn what Bitfinex is, we can talk about using it for finding and depositing on a Bitcoin Sportsbook.
Bitfinex Services Review
Advanced Trading Platform
Bitfinex offers the most liquid order book in the world. High volume is important for traders, as it ensures a low spread, which is the difference between the best bid and ask prices. Bitfinex features an advanced, customizable GUI, over 50 trading pairs (e.g. BTC/ETH), and plentiful order types, such as limit, market, stop, stop-limit, trailing stop, fill or kill, and scaled orders. Bitfinex’s trading platform interface is customizable. You can also get access to advanced charting functionality and API access. These features combine to make it a popular exchange with more sophisticated cryptocurrency traders.
Margin Trading and Funding
Bitfinex users are able to borrow and trade with up to 3.3x leverage through the site’s P2P (Peer to Peer) margin trading platform. Borrowing terms (amount, duration and interest) can either be determined by the user himself or automatically through Bitfinex. On the other hand, cryptocurrency owners are able to lend their funds securely to traders in order to earn interest on it. Users can offer funding across a wide range of currencies & assets, at the rate and duration of their choice. Warning: Margin trading amplifies both upside and downside risk and is not recommended for new traders. Margin funding locks your funds on Bitfinex for the duration of the loan.
Over the Counter Services
Last but not least, Bitfinex have a feature for the biggest traders. Bitfinex provides an over-the-counter trading facility. It can be used by customers who want to trade large amounts of cryptocurrency privately. This service matches and secures major private deals.
Deposits, Withdrawals & Fees
Bitfinex accepts a couple of different deposits. Their fiat deposits have to be in EUR, JPY, GBP, or USD. Additionally, these deposits can be made only through wire transfer. Bitfinex also offers free deposits on over 90 assets. As we mentioned above in the Bitfinex Review, they also have a connection with Tether. It’s a quasi-fiat token which is pegged to the US dollar’s price. For using Tether, Bitfinex requires verification. Expedited cryptocurrency withdrawals also require verification.
Commissions & Fees
The commission fee for crypto trading at Bitfinex generally ranges from 0.1% for makers to 0.2% for takers. As trades go up, the fees go down. As we said, this is a platform for large players. For people who have traded more than $500,000 worth of crypto in the last 30 days, the maker fees are reduced to 0.08%. The fees keep going down until they eventually reach zero. For that to happen, 7.5 million in trades has to happen over 30 days. The taker fees also go down with trading. They can drop as low as 0.1% when the trailing 30-day volume reaches $30 million or more.
Currencies
Bitfinex accepts fiat deposits in EUR, JPY, GBP, and USD. Fiat deposits can be made through a wire transfer only. Bitfinex also supports Tether (USDT), the quasi-fiat token unofficially pegged to the US dollar’s price. Free deposits and fairly cheap withdrawals are available for Bitcoin Litecoin, Ethereum, Zcash, Monero, Dash, Ripple, Iota, EOS, and an additional 80+ assets. Bitfinex requires verification for Tether usage and expedited cryptocurrency withdrawals. However, the exchange remains perfectly usable for those who only wish to provide an email address. Bitfinex also offers direct access via a Tor hidden service.
Security & Supported Countries
This Bitfinex review will also talk about the problems that the exchange had in the past. In 2015, the Bitfinex exchange was hacked for the first time and 1500 Bitcoins were stolen. However, the theft that happened in 2016 was much bigger as nearly 120,000 BTC were stolen. Mt. Gox are the only exchange to have suffered a bigger theft. However, unlike Mt. Gox, Bitfinex made their clients whole. It took a year but clients were eventually fully compensated.
To avoid similar problems, Bitfinex have increased their security ten-fold. Any Bitfinex review will tell you that Bitfinex now holds approximately 99.5% of its users’ funds in cold storage offline, using a multi-signature scheme that requires at least four out of seven of its Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) held by its management team, who are globally distributed. They also added Two Factor Authentication (2FA). If that’s not enough, customers can set a required passphrase when making withdrawals.
Supported Countries
If you read any Bitfinex review, it will tell you that this exchange is available everywhere. While that’s not completely true, Bitfinex is available in most countries. For that reason, it’s easier to list the countries where it’s not available. You can’t use it in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, and the US.
Bitfinex vs Kraken
The Bitfinex and Kraken exchanges are designed to support advanced traders. They both offer trading tools and leverage that lets traders manage risks and maximize their returns. However, there are several differences among them. The Bitfinex exchange works mostly with high-volume traders. Kraken, on the other hand, is available for all types of traders. Sadly, Bitfinex is not available to US customers. However, Bitfinex can be used in Japan while Kraken is not available there.
These are just the basic differences between these two platforms. While our Bitfinex Review has covered everything you need to know about it, at the moment you don’t know a lot about Kraken. For that reason, head over to our Kraken Review and learn more about that exchange.
Conclusion – Bitfinex Review
If you’re a non-US advanced trader or looking to trade large sums, then Bitfinex is definitely an option. However, if you’re new to cryptocurrency and looking to get your first coins, Bitfinex is not for you. The lack of easy deposit methods combined with the complicated interface will certainly take time to master and will make costly mistakes more likely. Newcomers are advised to stick with a simpler exchange that offers a variety of familiar payment options (e.g. Coinmama, CEX).
On the other hand, if you’re an experienced cryptocurrency trader, Bitfinex likely offers everything you’ll need and more. The high cryptocurrency liquidity combined with advanced features such as margin funding, leverage, and multiple order types makes it a great trading platform. For those worried about the safety of their funds due to past hacks, there’s not a lot to say other than it seems that until today Bitfinex has made it a priority to reimburse their customers in such cases.
For more information about Bitfinex and other cryptocurrency related matters make sure to check the Bitcoin Dictionary section on the Coinbet24 blog.