Bitfinex Review (Crypto Exchange + Fees + Coin List) 

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Bitfinex is a British-Virgin Islands-based centralized cryptocurrency exchange launched as a company in 2012, making it one of the older crypto exchanges. The exchange is owned and operated by iFinex Inc. 

Note that Bitfinex is a global exchange and US residents are not allowed to use it. The exchange does not require KYC (Know Your Customer) identity verification protocols to be completed for use.

History of Bitfinex

Bitfinex was founded in Dec 2012 as a P2P Bitcoin exchange that offered digital asset trading services to a global user base. The exchange has been the center of several controversies and hacks, including one in 2015 and 2016. Compared to other exchanges, the exchange has never been able to maintain any serious banking relationships. 

The exchange has also faced several controversies with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for illegal, off-exchange retail commodity transactions in digital assets. The stablecoin USDT (Tether) is closely associated with Bitfinex, with whom they share common shareholders and management. 

In Feb. 2021, Bitfinex agreed to pay $18.5M in a settlement with the New York Attorney General’s office regarding allegations over Bitfinex parent company iFinex making false statements about the backing of USDT and the movement of hundreds of dollars between the two companies to cover up massive losses by Bitfinex in 2017 and 2018. 

Bitfinex’s executives include CEO JL van der Velde and Paolo Ardoino, the CTO of both Tether and Bitfinex. The senior management team brings together decades of experience in technology, financial services, and compliance. 

Bitfinex is best for:

  • Intermediate to advanced cryptocurrency investors, spot traders, and futures traders who desire access to trading instruments on a global exchange, with a core offering of major coins
  • Crypto-only traders (no stocks offered) who wish to obtain access to the entire Bitfinex suite of products
  • Active traders who desire a high latency platform, average rate trading fees with a clearly defined & tiered, trading volume based pricing structure for makers and takers

PROS

  • Wide range of trading and lending products
  • Mobile and desktop friendly
  • API
  • Leaderboard and other reporting tools
  • Payment cards
  • Futures, margin, and derivatives products
  • 172 coins and 437 trading pairs
  • P2p network
  • Paper trading feature
  • Automated trading strategies and advanced order types
  • Staking and lending services

CONS

  • History of regulatory issues and hacks
  • Questionable involvement with USDT
  • Not available to US residents
  • Lack of maker fee rebates
  • No leveraged tokens or other advanced derivatives

Pros & Unique Features

The biggest perks of Bitfinex are its range of trading and lending products as well as benefits offered to holders of its native exchange token UNUS SED LEO.

Bitfinex offers select services for traders including a full-featured mobile app with trading functionality, realtime market statistics, the Bitfinex terminal, an API, the Bitfinex Leaderboard, payment cards, and reporting tools.

The exchange offers traders access to order books with deep liquidity in major futures markets such as BTCUSDT and ETHUSDT, margin trading at a max of 10X leverage by receiving funding from the peer-to-peer margin funding platform, margin funding with a secure way to earn interest on fiat and digital assets, and derivatives products such as perpetual futures contracts and more. 

In total, there are 172 coins and 437 trading pairs offered. Sub-accounts and dedicated customer support are offered for corporate and professional traders, as well as an OTC service and dedicated servers. 

Bitfinex Terminal offers real time historical Bitfinex market data delivered through a distributed database that can be queried over a P2P network. This allows customers to cache, update, and distribute data in an advanced way.

There is also a paper trading feature offered which is unique in the crypto exchange market, as well as the functionality of event-driven automated trading strategies and custom and advanced order types.

Bitfinex offers select services for lenders such as staking, Lending Pro, other lending products, and Bitfinex Borrow. Users can earn staking rewards with Bitfinex’s soft-staking program by simply holding digital assets on the exchange. Users can also borrow stablecoins and crypto against their crypto asset collateral. 

As for customer support, Bitfinex offers support via website or chat. Users can access support via the mobile app or the online interface. The team also runs a blog with industry-related updates and company news. 

Cons & Disadvantages

The main disadvantages of Bitfinex are its history of regulatory issues and hacks, its questionable involvement with USDT Tether that individuals in crypto may have differing opinions on, and lack of availability for US users. There have also been several security lapses in the past for Bitfinex that cast uncertainty regarding its security being comparable to that of other exchanges that have never been hacked previously. 

Bitfinex has paid fines to regulators in the past for deceptive practices several times. While its margin trading services and spot cryptocurrency offerings are competitive, along with the exchange’s competitive fees though it has a lack of maker fee rebates (for spot, derivatives do offer maker rebates) even for extremely high 30-day volumes in the billions of dollars, and additionally, there are no other advanced derivatives products offered such as leveraged tokens, so advanced derivatives traders will prefer other exchanges for this purpose, such as FTX and Binance. 

US users who wish to transact with more functionality without KYC may opt to use competitors like KuCoin, thereby gaining access to a much wider selection of trading instruments such as margin and futures. International users do not have to do full KYC, however for its highest tier of KYC, the requirements can seem excessive including bank statements in addition to photo ID and proof of address. 

Market stats

Bitfinex Fees

Bitfinex uses a maker-taker fee schedule with tiers for the user’s trailing 30-day USD trading volume. The exchange offers fee discounts for holders of the native LEO token.

Trading fees are incurred when an order is filled by the exchange’s matching engine. If an order does not execute, there is no fee charged until it does execute at a later point, or it can be canceled.

In general, for a maker-taker fee schedule, taker fees are charged on market orders that are filled immediately (takers of liquidity from the market), and maker fees are charged on orders that are not filled immediately but rather are placed in the orderbook as limit orders (adding to the market liquidity). 

Market orders are always charged taker fees since they take volume from the orderbook, while limit orders are always charged maker fees since they add liquidity and volume to the orderbook. 

The table below shows the tiered fee structure for Bitfinex’s spot markets and can be found here

Bitfinex Fee Schedule Based on 30-Day Trading Volume (USD)

30-Day Volume (USD) Maker Fee % Taker Fee %
≥ $0 0.10% 0.20%
≥ $500K 0.08% 0.20%
≥ $1M 0.06% 0.20%
≥ $2.5M 0.04% 0.20%
≥ $5M 0.02% 0.20%
≥ $7.5M 0.00% 0.20%
≥ $10M 0.00% 0.18%
≥ $15M 0.00% 0.16%
≥ $20M 0.00% 0.14%
≥ $25M 0.00% 0.12%
≥ $30M 0.00% 0.10%
≥ $300M 0.00% 0.09%
≥ $1B 0.00% 0.085%
≥ $3B 0.00% 0.075%
≥ $10B 0.00% 0.060%
≥ $30B 0.00% 0.055%

Other Trading Fees

Crypto to Crypto e.g. BTC/ETH fees are 0.100% for makers and 0.200% for takers, with a 0 bps taker discount for native LEO token holders. 

Crypto to Stablecoin e.g. BTC/USDT fees are 0.100% for makers and 0.200% for takers, with a 0 bps taker discount for native LEO token holders. 

Crypto to Fiat e.g. BTC/USD fees are 0.100% for makers and 0.200% for takers, with a 0 bps taker discount for LEO holders. 

Derivatives trading fees e.g. BTC-PERP are 0.02% for makers and 0.0650% for takers at the minimum volume level, with a 0 bps discount for both makers and takers who hold the native LEO token. 

Discounts for holders of UNUS SED LEO (the native exchange token) can be found here.

The fees for executing derivatives orders beyond the minimum volume level ($2M or more volume traded per last 30-day trailing period) then reduces and can be found on this page. Taker discounts for LEO token holders range from -0.02% to -0.015%. 

Bitfinex borrow and margin funding fees can range from 15-18% and LEO token holders can receive discounts of up to 5%. 

Other Fees

Bitfinex charges the following deposit, withdrawal, and other fees:

  • No deposit fees for crypto, stablecoin, or securities, but does charge 0.1% fees for bank wires
  • $150 fee for token recovery if deposit is missing memo or wrong tag
  • Small amounts of withdrawal fees charged that can be found here
  • Withdrawals to another user’s Bitfinex address are free of charge (internal transfer)
  • For card buys, additional 2% processing fees are applied to orders

There are no fees for signing up or for having an inactive exchange account, nor any fees for holding funds in an exchange account, and users may hold assets as long as desired. 

Account Tiers & Limits

Bitfinex requires at least basic level KYC which is very minimal—no photo ID or selfie or phone number required. 

Other account levels that require KYC include Basic Plus, Intermediate, and Full. All levels are allowed to use the exchange for trading, so KYC is not necessarily needed to trade at Bitfinex, however margin trading access will require at least basic KYC (official photo ID, selfie, phone number), and derivatives trading will need at least to meet at least the Intermediate verification level (everything for Basic Plus, as well as a second official photo ID, proof of address, financial questionnaire, KYC declaration). 

Intermediate users also have access to lending products, using Tether and other stablecoins for deposit, whereas basic level clients can only deposit crypto. 

Only Intermediate and Full verification levels qualify for UNUS SED LEO discounts.

Bank wires are restricted to only the Full verification level as well, which requires everything needed for the Intermediate level, as well as a bank statement. 

Verification levels and KYC requirements may be found here. There is no maximum withdrawal limit for any tier. 

crypto collateral loans

Crypto Security

Bitmex has been the target of several hacks during its existence. Over the years, Bitfinex has taken focus to improve their security procedures and user account protection. 

All users should use 2-factor authentication (2FA) on accounts to add an extra layer of security and for sensitive operations such as logging in, API keys, and withdrawals. Users can also create advanced API keys with advanced read/write permissions on a per-feature basis. 

The majority of system funds are stored in offline, multi-signature cold wallets and only 0.5% of the exchange’s crypto assets are accessible in hot wallets for day-to-day platform operations. As an added protection, the cold wallets are not available from the platform or the platform servers.

Users also have the option of using ultra-secure hardware security keys for 2-factor authentication such as Yubikeys (U2F). Login data is saved and analyzed for unusual activity and IP addresses are detected to prevent session hijacking. 

Users also have access to withdrawals protection via a security system that monitors withdrawals by IP address and other user behavior patterns, triggering manual admin inspection on unusual withdrawals. Withdrawal address whitelisting is also a feature.

Other procedures Bitfinex maintains for its security are detailed here.

Bitfinex Trading

Bitfinex Review Conclusion

Bitfinex is an okay choice of cryptocurrency exchange for investors and traders, however the exchange has faced a history of regulatory controversies and security lapses that have led to hacks that may make some users feel uncomfortable to use it, alongside their controversial involvement with Tether. 

However, traders and investors alike who value access to advanced trading tools with high liquidity in major futures markets, with competitive fees and fee discounts (plus maker rebates) for holding the native exchange token LEO may find the exchange worth using, especially since KYC is not required for basic spot trading, but is required for margin and derivatives trading. 

The choice of coins and trading pairs is also extensive, but US users are not allowed access to any exchange services or products. International users looking for lending, borrowing, and staking options, or institutional clients looking for reporting tools, an API, paper trading functionality and event-driven automated trading strategies and custom order types may find the functionality Bitfinex offers valuable.

  • Bitfinex offers access to 172 coins and 437 trading pairs, which is a middle of the road level of selection if compared to other top crypto exchanges on the market
  • Intermediate to advanced traders and investors trading both spot and derivatives who desire access to advanced trading tools and reporting will enjoy using Bitfinex
  • Advanced traders who wish to use up to max 10X leverage may choose Bitfinex over other platforms

Other Alternatives

For customers who desire access to an equally simple user interface with even more trading pairs, or those who do not desire to participate in cryptocurrency futures trading either Bittrex, Coinbase, and Voyager can make better alternatives with a more competitive amount of cryptocurrencies offered to trade and similarly competitive trading fees and functionality.

Beginners, buy-and-hold investors, and low volume traders may prefer the easy to use features and functionality of Coinbase with its brand presence, US regulatory approval, and cryptocurrency education that even provides the chance to earn free cryptocurrency for learning, an area where Bitfinex lacks. Coinbase also has a lot less controversy and record of security breaching surrounding it.

Coinbase is best designed for buy-and-hold investors or casual to intermediate cryptocurrency users though has a much larger selection of cryptocurrencies offered compared to Bitifnex—402 pairs vs. Blockchain.com’s 81 pairs—while active traders who need access to order books and advanced charting functionality will prefer using Coinbase Pro, FTX, Binance, or KuCoin though their fee structures and product offerings differ.

For customers who desire to trade and invest in stocks in addition to top cryptocurrencies and do not mind having a smaller selection from which to choose or only desire access to the top 20 cryptos on the market, Webull and Robinhood are brokers that offers US equities and a small selection of cryptocurrencies. 

Other competitors to Bitfinex include Bitmex, Bybit, and Phemex.

Bitfinex vs Coinbase 

The only advantage Bitfinex offers over Coinbase is its lower fee schedule for both makers and takers, in addition to its paper trading platform, custom and advanced order types, and derivatives and margin offerings.

Both exchanges offer the option of advanced charting and crypto-to-crypto trading pairs using Coinbase’s Coinbase Pro product and Bitfinex’s online and mobile platform. 

However, whereas Coinbase offers no margin or futures products, Bitfinex offers up to 10X leverage and lots of futures pairs. The selection of coins and trading pairs for spot trading is comparable across both exchanges.

Coinbase is a public US company and offers transparency into its industry-leading security along with its brand reputation, while Bitfinex has had several regulatory and security issues, plus US users are not allowed to use it.

Ultimately, advanced users who desire both competitive fees and a greater selection of trading products than what either FTX or Coinbase offer may find the choices below equally valuable.

Bitfinex vs FTX 

FTX may win out against Bitfinex for even intermediate traders, offering 323 coins and 492 trading pairs, which is higher than Bitfinex’s 172 coins and 437 trading pairs. Derivatives traders who want to trade margin, futures pairs, or leveraged tokens and options will prefer FTX by far since Bitfinex only offers futures and margin, but does not offer leverage tokens.

FTX is known for its extensive futures pairs and top-class matching and liquidation engine for advanced derivatives traders, while Bitfinex is also known for its history in catering to advanced traders in the crypto industry, however FTX is more well-respected in terms of regulations and security, and is a much newer exchange.

Neither Bitfinex  nor FTX can be used by US persons, and FTX instead offers a US version of its exchange whose trade offerings are far more limited than its parent global exchange and do not at all compare to FTX International’s selection. 

International users who can use FTX International may prefer FTX, and international users at both FTX and Bitfinex can trade spot without KYC as a bonus. US users trading at FTX US need to do KYC procedures. Fees are competitive and similar across both exchanges.

Bitfinex vs Gemini

Bitfinex and Gemini are very different exchanges with different focuses for their users.

There is a slight difference in fees: the minimum fee tier at Gemini starts at 0.35% for takers and 0.10% for makers, with a flat transaction fee between $0.99-$2.99 and 1.49% transaction fee for trades over $200, so there are extra fees per transaction and extra “auction” fees, which Bitfinex offers slight fee discounts for holders of the native LEO token and its minimum fee tier is lower, starting at 0.10% for makers and 0.20% for takers.

US investors and traders are allowed to use Gemini with KYC compliance since Gemini is regulated and based in the USA, however as a result, Gemini offers no margin or futures products, but Bitfinex does offer up to 10X margin and leveraged products such as futures, but US users may not use the exchange. 

Whereas Gemini has taken care to cater to regulators and be compliant, Bitfinex has had more regulatory issues in its history. Gemini offers 62 coins and 86 trading pairs which is smaller to that of Bitfinex, offering 172 coins and 437 pairs, but Gemini’s Gemini Earn product has far more staking selection and higher APY offered than Bitfinex’s staking services and other financial services products currently offered.

Bitfinex vs Kraken

Kraken offers margin trading at up to 5X leverage even for US investors and several other margin offerings, while Bitfinex offers margin for only international users who KYC and are outside of the US. Simply put, US users will prefer Kraken for its regulatory compliance and strong track record.

Kraken uses a maker-taker fee schedule, starting at 0.16% maker fees and 0.26% taker fees at the entry level which is not quite as competitive as the fee schedule for Bitfinex at its entry level tier. Kraken offers no other fee incentives such as rebates or reductions except for volume, however, while Bitfinex does.

Both Bitfinex and Kraken offer a much similar variety of cryptocurrencies and pairs (over 90 coins, over 400 pairs at both exchanges), so users who value a large selection and advanced traders who seek margin may be ok with either exchange depending on their willingness to KYC and jurisdiction.

Kraken is accessible in 48 US states with KYC and is regulated and licensed by FinCEN in the USA, while Bitfinex is not.

Bitfinex vs Binance

Binance is the leading global crypto established exchange by trading volume, offering a much larger selection of cryptocurrencies than Bitfinex—over 351 coins and over1300 pairs.

Traders looking solely for the most advanced trading options such as high leverage margin and futures products will prefer Binance, as it offers many USDT futures pairs that are not offered even on Bitfinex or FTX, the other derivatives leader, at the moment. 

Binance’s base maker-taker fee is also far more competitive than that of Bitfinex, starting at 0.1%, and offering further 25% reduction in fees if paid in BNB. Bitfinex also offers fee reductions for holders of its native LEO token however its fees require much higher volume to be reduced and the reductions are not as large as those offered by Binance.

While Bitfnex does offer lending, staking, and paper trading alongside an OTC desk and institutional client services, Binance offers a more extensive web and ecosystem of products, support, and liquidity, especially given its larger daily volume as compared to Bitfinex.

Binance is the most popular and well-known futures market in the global cryptocurrency industry and well-known for its extensive futures pairs. The Binance exchange is not at all accessible to US persons and US customers will have to use Binance US which is a much more limited version of its global parent site, with only 64 coins and 130 pairs.

Binance requires full KYC now to trade even spot products, and Bitfinex does not require KYC for trading spot, but does require it for access to margin and futures.

In summary, advanced traders and intermediate users alike who value a large selection of cryptocurrencies, products like staking, lending, and more, competitive fee structures, and futures and margin products will probably prefer Binance. 

Bitfinex reporting

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bitfinex Safe?

Bitfinex has been faced with several hacks and regulatory issues since its inception so it is impossible to say if these issues are truly fixed, however the exchange continues to run to this day and is still a top 10 leading exchange by daily trade volume. 

To ensure better safety and security, all users should use 2-factor authentication (2FA) on accounts to add an extra layer of security and for sensitive operations such as logging in, API keys, and withdrawals. Users can also create advanced API keys with advanced read/write permissions on a per-feature basis. 

The majority of system funds are stored in offline, multi-signature cold wallets and only 0.5% of the exchange’s crypto assets are accessible in hot wallets for day-to-day platform operations. As an added protection, the cold wallets are not available from the platform or the platform servers.

Users also have the option of using ultra-secure hardware security keys for 2-factor authentication such as Yubikeys (U2F). Login data is saved and analyzed for unusual activity and IP addresses are detected to prevent session hijacking. 

Users also have access to withdrawals protection via a security system that monitors withdrawals by IP address and other user behavior patterns, triggering manual admin inspection on unusual withdrawals. Withdrawal address whitelisting is also a feature.

Other procedures Bitfinex maintains for its security are detailed here.

How long does Bitfinex Withdrawal take?

Withdrawals at Bitfinex can take up to 12 hours to fully process. Users should contact customer support for assistance if a withdrawal takes longer than 12 hours to process.

The usual timeframe for ACH withdrawals to reach the user’s bank is 2-4 business days, excluding weekends and holidays. 

Is Bitfinex a good exchange?

Bitfinex is an okay choice of cryptocurrency exchange for investors and traders, however the exchange has faced a history of regulatory controversies and security lapses over the years.

Traders and investors alike who value access to advanced trading tools with high liquidity in major futures markets, with competitive fees and fee discounts (plus maker rebates) for holding the native exchange token LEO may find the exchange worth using, especially since KYC is not required for basic spot trading, but is required for margin and derivatives trading. 

The choice of coins and trading pairs is also extensive, but US users are not allowed access to any exchange services or products. International users looking for lending, borrowing, and staking options, or institutional clients looking for reporting tools, an API, paper trading functionality and event-driven automated trading strategies and custom order types may find the functionality Bitfinex offers valuable.

Where is Bitfinex located?

Bitfinex is registered in the British Virgin Islands and has offices in Taipei, Taiwan, among other locations.

Does Bitfinex require KYC?

Only partially. Bitfinex requires at least basic level KYC which is very minimal—no photo ID or selfie or phone number required. 

Other account levels that require KYC include Basic Plus, Intermediate, and Full. All levels are allowed to use the exchange for trading, so KYC is not necessarily needed to trade at Bitfinex, however margin trading access will require at least basic KYC (official photo ID, selfie, phone number), and derivatives trading will need at least to meet at least the Intermediate verification level (everything for Basic Plus, as well as a second official photo ID, proof of address, financial questionnaire, KYC declaration). 

Intermediate users also have access to lending products, using Tether and other stablecoins for deposit, whereas basic level clients can only deposit crypto. 

Only Intermediate and Full verification levels qualify for UNUS SED LEO discounts.

Bank wires are restricted to only the Full verification level as well, which requires everything needed for the Intermediate level, as well as a bank statement. 

Verification levels and KYC requirements may be found here. There is no maximum withdrawal limit for any tier. 

What are the Deposit and Withdrawal Methods and Fees for Bitfinex?

Bitfinex offers the following deposit and withdrawal methods, with the corresponding fees:

  • Credit/debit card: Fees depend on the payment processor here (third party, deposits only), minimum purchase of $25
  • Bank transfer: fee of 0.1% with a minimum of 60 USD/EUR charged
  • Wire transfer: fee of 0.1% with a minimum of 60 USD/EUR charged
  • Crypto asset deposits are free, and withdrawals fees can be found here

What is the Minimum Withdraw Amount for Bitfinex?

The minimum withdrawal amount for cryptocurrency is $5 equivalent. Bitfinex users with at least the Full verification level can withdraw a minimum of 10,000 USD to their bank account. 

How do you withdraw from Bitfinex?

Instructions for withdrawing from users accounts can be found here from official support sources.

Users can withdraw from the wallet trading account by navigating to the Withdrawal page of the exchange. 

From there, the user should select the currency he or she wishes to withdraw. Then, fill in the details of the withdrawal and be sure to include a tag or memo if needed.

The user should then pick which of the three exchange wallets he or she wishes to withdraw from. The withdrawal options including the blockchain network and any associated fees will then populate on the screen. 

Finally, the user enters in the exact amount he or she wishes to withdraw, the destination wallet address, and clicks the “Request Withdrawal” button.

Is Bitfinex a wallet?

No, Bitfinex is a full-featured cryptocurrency exchange, but offers users a 3 multi-currency wallets as part of its exchange services with which to custody cryptocurrency: an Exchange Wallet, a Margin Wallet, and a Funding Wallet. 

How to use Bitfinex?

Using Bitfinex can be done by going to bitfinex.com, creating an account on the platform, undergoing the required KYC procedures to use the account (or choosing not to if only trading spot), deposit any trading funds into the account’s Exchange Wallet, and then get access to the spot market offerings and begin trading.

User Reviews

  1. A Reddit user asks for an honest review of Bitfinex if it is a good place to buy XDC or not. u/StructureMysterious4 responds: “been with bfx since 2016, deposited large amounts, and withdrawn with no issues, to me, they are reputable enough to keep money in there.” On the other end of the spectrum, you get u/FaithlessnessSad345 saying: “I can say nothing good about bitfinex. I have a delayed deposit since 2 months. Support tells me to wait until they can recover it. I obviously sent the correct coin to the correct address. But still they need to recover something. Support is operated by real staff, but still some departments are very slow.”
  2. u/zzyamuraihazz gives an honest review of Bitfinex with its advantages noted over Kraken, namely that they like the P2P functionality and the spread is small, but they have had withdrawal problems and don’t like the outlined market. “Price swings are to be expected, but I’m NOT OK with a swing that is 3 times as vigorous as other markets.” 
  3. A user reports Bitfinex locking a large amount of USD for KYC issues that only got resolved after they went public with their complaints (9 months after the account lock began).
  4. Several traders offer their opinion of trading on Bitfinex, especially about its security. A few users responded with using it for the fact it has OCO orders. 
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