Bitfinex is a house exchange for trading in the market for bitcoin and other criptoactivos professionally. It is not only an exchange recognized for its wide variety of financial products and its years of experience, but also for its advanced technology tools and customer service.

It is one of the main cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, with a daily volume that exceeds one billion US dollars. But you may wonder if it is a safe platform and one that is worth trading on. You can find out that in this review , where we will explain what you should know about Bitfinex.

What is Bitfinex?
It is a Hong Kong based bitcoin and other crypto exchange, registered in the British Virgin Islands. It is considered one of the oldest and largest exchange houses on the market. It was founded in 2012 and, according to CoinMarketCap , it ranks fifth in the ranking of exchanges , only surpassed by Binance , Kraken, Huobi Global and Coinbase Pro .

It belongs to the iFinex Inc company, and since 2013 its CEO is JL van der Velde. At first, Bitfinex was a peer-to-peer (P2P) margin lending platform that only operated with bitcoin. Then new services and support for more cryptocurrencies were added, until it became one of the largest exchanges in the world. According to the same company, its mission is to offer users the best cryptocurrency trading experience .
To this end, Bitfinex strives to provide its clients with state-of-the-art tools and good customer service. Due to its advanced trading features, the platform is primarily aimed at traders and institutions . It offers access to the over-the-counter market, P2P financing, margin trading, and derivatives trading.

As stated on its website, Bitfinex’s strategy is to provide the best possible trading experience to liquidity providers and traders around the world, using state-of-the-art technology. It operates in more than 100 countries and has almost 300 exchange pairs . Thanks to its high liquidity, you will have no problems if you want to trade with large orders.

What does the Bitfinex exchange offer you?
Bitfinex’s portfolio of financial products is one of the most complete, so you will surely find what you need on this platform. Let’s analyze each of the services available.

Exchanges
You can exchange a huge variety of cryptocurrencies for national currency or for other crypto assets. Bitcoin, ether, NEO, litecoin, XRP, tether, tezos, and EOS are just some of the options available.

There are different types of orders for you to choose the one that best suits your circumstances. If you’re wondering, the daily volume of the BTC / USD pair on the platform is over $ 200 million, so liquidity is not something you need to worry about.

Margin trading
It is possible to trade with leverage of up to 10x . Something interesting is that you have several alternatives when opening a margin trading order . Bitfinex allows you to select the amount, rate and duration of the loan, but it also has an automated option in which the platform takes care of selecting the best available rate when opening a position.

Keep in mind that leverage involves great risks, so it is best to make sure you fully understand them and are prepared to face them.

Derivatives trading
For those who want to reduce the risks associated with token volatility, there is the option of trading Bitfinex derivative products . Among those products are perpetual contracts, which are a type of futures contract with no expiration date. To trade derivatives you must obtain USDT0 , a token that is obtained through the exchange of tether (USDT). The maximum leverage for derivatives trading is 100x.

Loans
An advantage of Bitfinex is that you can borrow in cryptocurrencies or in national currency. Bitfinex Borrow is a P2P platform where you request loans from other users . You have the possibility to establish the terms of the loan, selecting parameters such as type of interest rate, amount and period of time to make the payment. To have access to this service you have to meet certain requirements, such as having a verified account and funds in the margin portfolio.

Affiliate program
With the exchange’s affiliate program, users make a profit by inviting other people to join the platform. They earn an unlimited commission of up to three degrees of connection . The process to join this program is simple.

You just have to access the affiliate panel, generate referral codes and share them on your digital media. Later on, you can follow up to determine the performance of the referral codes and how much you have earned.

Bitfinex Honey Framework
Honey Framework is software released by Bitfinex that is designed for traders to develop trading strategies and execute custom orders in an automated way . It is an open source program, which means that users can contribute to improve it and adapt it to their needs. Installing it is really simple and it is available for the main operating systems, such as Linux, Windows and Mac.

Paper trading
It is a function for users to test their trading strategies in a simulated market without the need to deposit real funds on the platform. It is designed for you to better explore and understand Bitfinex features , and it allows you to create multiple accounts to experiment with different strategies without taking any risks. Paper trading is also available for unverified accounts, so all exchange clients have access to this tool.

What do you need to sell or buy bitcoin on Bitfinex?
The Bitfinex registration process is quick and easy, so it only takes a few minutes to complete. Data such as username, email address, password, time zone and captcha text are requested. Then, you have to access your email to finish the registration and start trading.

The first thing you should do after creating an account is to configure the security settings . Until this step is completed, you will not be able to trade. You must choose between the different options to increase the security of your account and protect the funds.

At a minimum, you need to enable two-factor authentication (2FA). You can also block withdrawals when the IP address is not the usual one, create a withdrawal confirmation phrase and other measures that we will talk about later.

Once you configure the security parameters, it is time to deposit the funds. You have two options: depositing cryptocurrencies or national currency , including the US dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen, the British pound and the Chinese yuan. However, if you are going to make deposits in national currency, your account must be verified.

When it comes to accounts for natural persons, there are four levels of verification: basic, basic plus, intermediate and complete . You start at the entry level when you open an account, which allows you to deposit and withdraw cryptocurrencies, do margin trading , exchange crypto assets, have access to the OTC market and margin financing.

To go to the next level, you need to provide documents such as official photo identification (passport, driver’s license or national identification card), phone number and biometric photo.

To pass to the intermediate verification level, they request a second official identification with a photo and a proof of address, which can be a bill for no more than three months from some public service. You will also have to complete a form with your personal and financial information, and sign the KYC statement.

At the last level, a bank statement is required to verify your financial status. In this statement you must highlight your name as the account holder, as your first deposit in national currency will come from it.

After you submit all the requested data, you will have to wait two to three business days for the verification to process. But you can still make cryptocurrency deposits to any of the three available portfolios, whether margin, financing or exchange . For more information about Bitfinex’s verification levels, go to their website .

Characteristics of the bitcoin trading exchange
Still not entirely sure if Bitfinex is the right exchange for you? So let’s keep finding out more about the features of this cryptocurrency exchange.

Safety
Security is an important factor to take into account, and more so in the case of Bitfinex which is known to suffer several cyber attacks in the past. In 2015 1,500 bitcoins were stolen, while in 2016 the equivalent of $ 73 million in bitcoin was stolen. After these events, the exchange decided to strengthen its security measures. Currently 99% of your clients’ funds are cold stored or offline, to avoid potential hacks.

In addition, they have protection against DDoS (denial of service attack), HTTPS TLS 1.3 encryption and regular backups. Users are required to activate two-factor authentication (2FA), and can add other additional security measures, such as withdrawal blocking against a new IP address, PGP email encryption, limiting account access according to the IP address and disable the option to keep the session active.

Interface
Bitfinex’s interface stands out as one of the most advanced and is designed for professionals, so it could be difficult for beginner traders . Its control panel includes multiple tools for trading and there are charts based on TradingView.

This dashboard is customizable and consists of a sidebar that shows data such as the user’s balance and the ordered order form, the value of the selected asset, the order books, incoming operations and the order history.

Accounts with a wide variety of order types, 15 in total, including limit order, market order, Stop-Limit order, Immediate or Cancel order, hidden order option and more. The company ensures that, thanks to its collaboration with Market Synergy, trading speeds are faster due to institutional-grade connectivity and specialized servers of its own design.

Mobile app
Its application offers you the same functions as the desktop version of Bitfinex, but from the comfort of your mobile device. It allows you to view your positions, open orders and trading history with the touch of a couple of buttons. It is a good alternative for those who want to operate anywhere and without limitations. To download it for free, you simply have to access Google Play or the App Store.

Customer service and support
The exchange has a fairly comprehensive help center , with articles that should answer most customer questions and concerns. But if that’s not enough, you can submit a request and contact technical support.

Upon entering the support section, you will notice a list with the main topics for consultation. Once you click on the section that corresponds to your case, you can describe the problem in detail and attach files if you wish.

Payment methods
You can make withdrawals by bank transfer in five national currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CNH). But for that, your account must have full verification. Standard withdrawals are processed within 5-15 days, while express withdrawals are processed within 24 hours. It is also possible to buy crypto assets with a Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay credit or debit card. Bitfinex has payment processors like Mercuryo and OWNR Wallet.

Cryptocurrencies
You have at your disposal more than 100 cryptocurrencies to trade on Bitfinex, and a total of 294 exchange pairs. Bitcoin, ether, XRP, UST, EOS, tezos, IOTA, cardano, stellar, bitcoin cash, zcash, NEO and litecoin are just some of the assets that the exchange has .

Liquidity
Bitfinex’s liquidity is in the top five among all exchanges , as shown by CoinMarketCap in its ranking . Its overall average liquidity is 431/1000 to date. The liquidity for its most traded pair, BTC / USD, is 873/1000, with a volume of 27.21%. Thanks to this, you can trade large orders without having significant losses.

In which countries is it available
One point in Bitfinex’s favor is that it is available in a large number of countries around the world, almost 200.

The Latin American countries that have access to its services are Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay, Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Costa Rica and Panama. It also operates in several European countries, including Spain. However, it does not provide its services to US citizens, the exchange reveals on its website .

What are Bitfinex fees and commissions?
Their trading commissions are based on the maker-taker scheme , and decrease the higher the user’s trading volume is in a 30-day period. For a volume less than $ 500 thousand, the maker’s commission is 0.1% and that of the taker is 0.2% , which is an average rate in the market. The minimum commission for users with a volume of $ 30 billion or more is 0% for the maker and 0.055% for the taker .

As for the deposit fees, they are free for cryptocurrencies and stablecoins . For bank transfers it is 0.1% for a minimum deposit of 60 USD. Withdrawal fees vary according to the asset and the method selected. For bitcoin it is 0.0004 BTC and for ether 0.013365 ETH.

If the withdrawal is made by bank transfer, Bitfinex charges the same commission as when depositing, 0.1%, while internal transfers of digital assets are free. Express withdrawals in national currency have a 1% commission.

There are discounts on commissions for those clients who acquire UNUS SED LEO, the platform’s token. On the Bitfinex website you will find more details about all their commissions and fees.

Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
• Ideal for trading large orders.
• It has advanced functions for institutions and professionals.
• Its portfolio of services is one of the broadest in the crypto market.
• With the Paper Trading function you can test strategies without using real funds.
• Allows you to create custom orders and automated strategies.
• Your trading and withdrawal fees are low.
• High liquidity and great variety of exchange pairs.

Disadvantages
• Does not serve residents of the United States.
• Not the best option for beginners.
• The amounts to open operations are high.
• You have suffered cyber attacks on several occasions.
• To have access to all their services, you have to do the KYC verification.

Conclusion: Is it still Bitfinex a good exchange for trading with bitcoin?
So should you trade Bitfinex? It depends on your circumstances. Keep in mind that although you can trade if you are a beginner trader , you will probably have problems due to the advanced features of the platform, which are specially designed for professionals and institutions . Due to this, the minimum amounts to operate are high compared to other exchanges.

If you are an expert trader , Bitfinex is a very good exchange house. It has multiple functions and services to trade custom orders , and its liquidity is high. You can do margin trading , exchange crypto assets, access the over-the-counter market, borrow, and much more. Besides, there are many options when it comes to cryptocurrencies and exchange pairs, and the trading and withdrawal commissions are low.

Now, if you reside in the United States, it is better that you choose another exchange, since Bitfinex does not provide its services in this territory . Although in the past it suffered several cyber attacks, today the company claims to have taken all measures to strengthen the security of the platform. Overall, this exchange meets the expectations of most traders .