Bitfinex is a Taiwan-based cryptocurrency trading platform owned and operated by iFinex Inc. It is available at https/www.bitfinex.com, but reviews about it are rather contradictory. Since 2014, it has been the largest bitcoin exchange platform with over 10% share of global trade. In 2016, Bitfinex was hacked and $72 million in bitcoin was stolen from customers.
The service first announced a security breach on August 2, 2016. The bitcoins were stolen from users' segregated wallets while the platform's creators ensured they tracked the hacks.
Immediately after that, the trading value of BTC fell by 20%. Upon learning of the incident, the Bitfinex developers stopped all trading and withdrawal of funds. In this hack, 119,756 bitcoins were stolen.
Shortly after the hack, Bitfinex created BFX tokens that were used to refund stolen capital to customers. In April 2017, the representatives of the service announced that they bought back all the tokens, for the most part paying off all the lost funds. Despite the measures taken, reviews of www.bitfinex.com are often negative.
In April 2017, Bitfinex announced that the site could no longer allow users to withdraw their funds in US dollars. This happened after the WellsFargo service set limits on its bank transfers. As a result, bitcoin traded at about $100 more than other exchanges as users began buying BTC to transfer and withdraw it to other exchanges.
Verification
Identity verification is required to trade FIAT currencies. Depending on the type of account (individual or corporate), the exchange may require additional documents.
In addition to personal identification and proof of residence, the Bitfinex verification process also requires a bank statement and a signed statement confirming the authenticity of the documents and information provided. It is worth noting that the place of residence is confirmed by the provision of a receipt for payment for housing and communal services, which must be paid more than three months ago.
According to reviews on Bitfinex.com, the verification process is a little more complicated than on other exchanges, but it is necessary to make deposits and withdrawals in currency, as well as to use Tether - an amazing technology that allows you to fix currency on the BTC block.
Currencies of the platform
At the same time, there are almost no restrictions when it comes to trading.
Currently, Bitfinex only acceptsUS dollars from FIAT currencies. The service also works with TetherUSD and the following digital denominations:
- Bitcoin;
- Etherium;
- Etherium Classic;
- ZCash;
- Monero;
- Litecoin.
This list is far from exhaustive - many altcoins are available for exchange and trading, even the less popular ones.
How do I fund my account?
Deposits aren't cheap, according to Bitfinex.com reviews. Regular transfers are available with a fee of 0.1% of the amount (with a minimum fee of $20). Express transfers that are completed within 24 hours on business days cost 1 percent of the amount, but not less than $20.
Fees
As you can see from the review and reviews of the Bitfinex exchange, trading fees start at 0.1% for the seller and 0.2% for the buyer. The first cut in fees is available from a trading volume of $500,000, which is quite high compared to other exchanges. As the monthly trading volume grows, the fees steadily decrease. An endpoint of $30 million or more would reduce fees to 0.1 percent for the buyer and exempt the seller from paying fees.
When it comes to deposits and withdrawals, everything except bank transfer is free.
The exchanger also charges a fee for margin funding. The service fee charged by margin financing lenders is 15 percent of fees receivedthrough active margin contracts. For those who place a hidden offer, the cost is slightly higher at 18%.
Bitfinex.com Trading Analysis
A review of the Bitfinex.com cryptocurrency exchange should start with a description of the trading platform. At first glance, it is very complex, but at the same time it offers many trading opportunities.
Due to the high trading volume and good liquidity of the rates, requests and orders are displayed in real time, allowing users to choose the best time to place their order. The exchange also offers margin trading with a leverage of 3 to 1. This means that the user must have at least 30 percent of the amount they wish to receive on credit.
Margin trading is supported by matching credits. As follows from the reviews about Bitfinex.com, they are provided in the corresponding section of the service. Any user can choose to provide the capital required by margin traders. In return, lenders receive a daily interest rate on the Bitfinex platform. This type of trading is called swap. It is not difficult to guess that such functionality provides opportunities for successful investment. Reviews and reviews of the Bitfinex crypto exchange fully confirm this.
In general, the platform offers a wide range of lending options. You can use existing orders to get borrowed funds in the required amount and for a convenient period. You can also simply open the corresponding position, afterwhat the system itself will help to make a choice.
How to trade?
Many types of trading orders are available, from which you can always choose the right option. The most significant and popular, according to traders, are:
- limit - involves the establishment of a certain price, below which trading will not be carried out;
- market - the transaction takes place at the market value of the digital currency;
- fill or kill (literally - “execute or stop”) - a type of limit order that ceases to exist if it is not executed within a certain period of time;
- stop - set when the unit price reaches the set mark;
- one cancels other (cancelling each other) - in fact, this is the simultaneous placing of limit and stop orders, and when one of them is executed, the second one is canceled.
Ease of use
The user interface of Bitfinex is awesome. The platform offers quick options for buying or selling digital currencies, as well as placing orders. According to reviews on Bitfinex.com, the website is mobile friendly and responsive. It works very fast, so live trading is possible all the time. Mobile apps are available for Android and iOS.
The service is available to users in four different languages: two versions of Chinese, Russian and English.
API
Despite the easily customizable interface and featuresindependent selection of the necessary elements, the creators of the exchange present the API functionality for developers. Thanks to it, you can create various third-party tools, including graphs and charts. All this will allow you to more widely apply available orders and conduct profitable trades.
Customer support
Customer support is available 24/7, but email only. Usually response emails arrive within 12 hours, but in some cases it may take longer. In addition, there is an official forum where users can request help. There is also a FAQ page, but it doesn't cover all the necessary information.
User Experience
There are numerous complaints from users against the Bitfinex.com cryptocurrency exchange, but they are mainly related to the scandalous hack. At the same time, there are almost no complaints about trading or working with accounts. However, sometimes traders point out the performance issues that Bitfinex has during a period of high currency volatility.
Bitfinex Security
The exchange claims that 99.5 percent of client funds are held in crypto vaults, with the remaining 0.5% remaining in trading to provide needed liquidity. The storage system has a tiered function and is geographically distributed in several secure locations.
For the client, the service offers two-factor authentication for both deposits and withdrawals. The exchanger claims to have advanced verification tools to determine whetheraccount hacked.
What can be said in general?
Despite the fact that the future of the site is doubtful due to the scandalous system hack, the fact that the service bought all its tokens in less than one year is remarkable. It is definitely a great exchange for buying and selling bitcoins, as well as working and investing in some other cryptocurrencies. The positive features of the service can confidently be called the following:
- high liquidity;
- low fees for cryptocurrencies;
- full package of order types, margin trading and lending market;
- availability of the Russian site interface;
- availability of applications for using the site from mobile devices;
- a huge selection of digital currencies and their pairs;
- many market analysis tools;
- wide selection of orders;
- compensate users for all losses from hacking.
At the same time, a review of the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange will be incomplete without indicating negative features. These include:
- too complicated verification process, especially complicated for Russian-speaking traders;
- high fee for USD deposits (via wire transfer);
- Ambiguous reputation of the site due to a scandalous hack.
