Bitfinex was established by Raphael Nicolle in 2012.
The Hong-Kong based company provides a trading platform for cryptocurrencies users with some advanced features. The primary target of the company is to make their service available in the US market.
Verifications
Like any other cryptocurrency exchange service, Bitfinex requires some verification process to start trading. There are several stages of verification depending on the type of account. Individual and Corporate accounts need different types of documents to process verification.
Users need to submit personal info, identity verification, residency proof as well as a bank statement and signed a statement for confirmation of all the information and document validity.
Features
Bitfinex takes the verification process seriously, and it’s longer than the competitor’s. On the other hand, there are no limits applied to the trading volume. Bitfinex only accepts USD as fiat currency and the few another cryptocurrency, such as BTC, ETH, LTC etc. Bitfinex provides wire transfer service at a cost of 0.1% of the amount. Express wire transfer charges 1% of the amount and takes up to 24 hours to process.
Fees
The fee system of Bitfinex is a bit different from most other cryptocurrency exchange services. Their maker-taker policy involves maker adding liquidity to the exchange market and taker removing liquidity. Typical maker fee starts from 0.1% and taker fee starts from 0.2%.
The fee is reduced after the $500,000 mark and steadily decreases as the monthly trading volume increases. After the $30 million mark, maker fee is reduced to 0 and taker fee is at 0.1%. There is also marginal funding fee of 15% and hidden offer charge of 18%.
Pros & Cons
Bitfinex has a very complex trading platform with several trading tools. The clients have the option of selecting the following orders: Limit, Stop, Market, Trailing Stop, OCO, Fill or Kill, Post only limit order and hidden order. Bitfinex has high trade volume and excellent liquidity, which allows for real-time processing of the orders.
Marginal trading goes up to a leverage of 3 to 1. Users have the options of margin loans to support marginal trading. A lending market is available to grant marginal loans.
User Platforms
Bitfinex interface is one of the best in the business with swift transaction and order processing services. It provides mobile apps for iOS and Android to facilitate the trading experience for all types of users. There are 24/7 support services available through email. There is also an Official Forum to ask questions and stay informed.
Security
According to Bitfinex, 99.5% of the user fee is kept in the cold storage and the other funds are used to provide liquidity in the market. The cold storage has multisig authentication service and distributed in secure locations around the globe. The website has 2FA protocol for any login or withdrawal. The verification tools provide security from any scams. Despite all the security measures, the website went under several attacks, which resulted in a significant loss. But the company showed excellent failure management skills and minimized the situation.
Overall
Overall, Bitfinex is an excellent exchange service that provides high liquidity, low fees, and powerful trading tools. Aside from occasional mishaps, Bitfinex is a good choice for cryptocurrency traders.
