About Bitfinex
Bitfinex is amongst the popular crypto-exchange platforms that allow trading in an extensive range of cryptocurrencies. Though Bitfinex had its share of security hacks in the past, it has gained a reputation for being one of the largest crypto-exchange platforms in trading volumes today.
While it is not available in the US and several countries, it is a multilingual platform available in four languages. Besides the regular exchange trades, it offers features like margin funding, margin trading, derivatives, advanced order types, paper trading, and algorithmic trading via a separate platform – Honey. In addition, advanced traders can utilise features like professional connectivity, advanced charting facility, corporate account handling, enhanced reporting framework, Bitfinex API, and Bitfinex Terminal.
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A preferable cryptocurrency exchange for experienced traders
How is Bitfinex Regulated & Where is it Based?
Raphael Nicolle and Giancarlo Devansini established Bitfinex Exchange in 2012. J L Van der Velde currently serves as the exchange’s CEO. Bitfinex is an unregulated platform. It operates under the registered company iFinex Inc., registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), and is governed according to the laws of the BVI.
Bitfinex Sign Up and Verification
Signing up for a Bitfinex account is easy. New users can access the official Bitfinex webpage and click on the ‘Sign Up’option.
• Enter the desired user name and email address.
• Submit a strong password and confirm the same. Check the box confirming that you have specified a unique and robust password not used for any account other than the Bitfinex account.
• Select your time zone and provide details of the referrer code, if available.
• Click on the Open Account tab and await the confirmatory email.
• Clicking on the link provided in the email completes the account opening formalities.
Bitfinex requires KYC compliance, with individuals having the option to choose between four verification levels: Basic, Basic Plus, Intermediate, and Full.
• The minimum age for opening a Bitfinex account is 18 years.
• Personal info includes your email address, telephone number, and residential address.
• Users should submit two forms of valid government-issued ID with a photo, like a passport, driving license, national ID, etc.
• A bank statement is necessary to complete a full verification.
• Finally, you submit a declaration to complete the verification process.
Verifying an account is easy:
• Go to Manage Account followed by Verification.
• Choose your account type.
• Select the verification level.
• Complete the formalities and submit them to finalise the verification process.
Corporate users have to provide additional information.
Once you have signed up for the Bitfinex account, you should upgrade the security settings and set up 2FA. Besides, the following tips can prove helpful:
• Lock withdrawals when a new IP address is used.
• Limit the access to your Bitfinex account depending on your IP address.
• Set up a withdrawal confirmation passphrase.
• Enable PGP mail encryption.
• Lock/disable withdrawal address for all cryptos.
• Disable the option, ‘Keep Session Alive.’
Bitfinex Account Funding
Bitfinex allows funding with fiat currencies like USD, EUR, GBP, CNH, and JPY. Bitfinex also supports a vast range of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.
Here’s how you can make a Cryptocurrency deposit.
• Go to the Deposit page and choose the cryptocurrency you wish to deposit.
• Generate the wallet address for the wallet you wish to fund.
• Finalise the address and enter it in the receiving address column.
Bitfinex offers three types of wallets: Exchange, margin, and Funding. You can use your MasterCard, Visa, and UnionPay cards to fund your Bitfinex account.
How to Trade on Bitfinex?
Trading on Bitfinex is also straightforward, especially for first-time users.
• Ensure that your Exchange Wallet has the necessary funds for trading.
• Go to the Trading page and select the appropriate trading pair.
• Select the Exchange tab on the Order Form.
• Specify the Order type, size, and price.
• Finally, click on ‘Exchange Buy or Exchange Sell’ to complete the trade.
Bitfinex allows different types of trading such as OTC trade, paper trading, and margin trading. In addition, Bitfinex offers a range of order types like Limit, Order Book Limit, Market, Stop, Stop-Limit, Trailing Stop, Fill or Kill, Immediate or Cancel, and Sealed Order.
Bitfinex Supported coins
Bitfinex offers all mainstream coins/pairs for trading. They include Bitcoin and several popular altcoins, including Ethereum, Litecoin, Neo, Dogecoin. The entire list of coins available for trading can be searched on their homepage.
Bitfinex Fees
Bitfinex offers a reasonable fee structure on its different products. Here is the trading fee structure that depends on the trade volume executed in the last 30 days.
Order Execution
Maker fees – Up to 0.10%
Taker fees – Up to 0.20%
Derivatives Order Execution
Maker fees – Rebates from – 0.02% to -0.03%
Taken fees – 0.0625% to 0.075%
Bitfinex Security Features & Hacks
Bitfinex has had its share of security breaches over the years.
• The first such instance occurred in 2015 when threat actors stole more than 1,500 Bitcoins.
• The second breach was in 2016 when cybercriminals siphoned off nearly 120,000 Bitcoins.
Nonetheless, there has not been any major breaches in recent years as Bitfinex has adopted robust security features to protect their customers’ interests; some of these include:
99.5% Storage in Cold Wallet: They store approx. 99.5% of users’ funds in an offline, multi-signature wallet that requires 4 out of 7 hardware security modules (HSMs) in possession by globally distributed management team members who can approve a transaction.
Routine Penetration Testing: They claim to regularly perform penetration tests on their systems to ensure no vulnerability could pave the way of infiltration by a threat actor.
Several Measures to Ensure Security at the User Level: Detecting IP address change when your account has been logged in from a new account, IP Address whitelisting, 2FA, notifying users to keep the session alive are some crucial measures they provide to ensure user security.
Bitfinex Customer Support
Bitfinex has a dedicated Help Centre that helps new users to understand the Bitfinex mechanisms. Additionally, users can contact Bitfinex support and get assistance in all aspects of Bitfinex operations.
Conclusion
Despite the security hacks in 2015 and 2016, Bitfinex has proved to be a reliable cryptocurrency exchange. It does have a tedious verification process that could take a couple of days for basic level verification only. However, the trading platform is straightforward to use for both first-time and advanced users. Professional traders especially can prefer this exchange as it allows considerable trading volumes and a range of advanced features that include an extensive suite of crypto coins and tokens.