Bitfinex claims to represent the next generation of online trading service providers. Self-proclaimed one of the first exchanges in the world, the company cannot exactly be described as flawless.
Since establishment, there’s been issues with their security, regulatory troubles and conflicts with the authorities.
This dying exchange is attempting to make a comeback, but now even FCA has labeled them as unsafe for unscrupulous actions. Read our Bitfinex review entirely before deciding if to ever invest here.
| Regulated by: | Unregulated Crypto Exchange |
| Is This Company Safe? | Due to many regulatory breaches and troubles with authorities, they’re not trustworthy. |
| Known Websites: | bitfinex.com
pulse.bitfinex.com bitfinextr.com |
| Have Warnings from: | FCA |
| Registered in: | Hong Kong / British Virgin Islands (alleged) |
| Operating since: | 2012-10-11 |
| Trading Platforms: | Web |
| Maximum Leverage: | 1:100 |
| Minimum Deposit: | $150 |
| Deposit Bonus: | Not available |
| Trading Assets: | Crypto |
| Free Demo Account: | Available |
| How to Withdraw from This Company? | This firm is not known as safe – better contact our legal experts for help withdrawing. |
Problematic From The Start
Some of the parent companies of this long running crypto exchange include iFinex Inc., BFXWW Inc., BFXNA Inc., Unus Sed Leo Limited and iFinex Financial Technologies Limited.
Currently, the company is owned and operated by iFinex Inc, but there is no data about where it might be based. While some 3rd party sources state that it is incorporated either in the British Virgin Islands or Hong Kong, but the company is not in either BVIFSC or SFC register.
We have also found another domain, bitfinextr.com, which is flagged as dangerous by our web browser. It’s operated by Bitfinex Teknoloji Anonim Şirketi, allegedly a Turkish company that does not appear in CBO database.
The platform is currently on the blacklist of SEC and NASAA, and is included in the CFTC whistleblower program.
The most recent warning was posted by FCA in October 2023, with investor warnings seemingly piling up from nearly every direction. Venus4T is also blacklisted and operates similarly to this crypto portal.
Recently, the exchange has branched out onto the securities market, under the ownership of Bitfinex Securities Ltd, regulated by AFSA in Kazakhstan.
Security Leaks And Hacking
The exchange is the subject of so many class action lawsuits that counting them becomes difficult. Numerous hacks, data leaks and security breaches have plagued the platform from the beginning.
Finance Magnates have reported that the company was involved in a hack and crypto laundering operation that led to the loss of $4.5 Billion in 2016. In 2021, Reuters reported on the disappearance of $850 Million, which ended with a whopping $18.5 million fine.
The most recent of these scandals found the company’s CEO facilitating a $150 million buyback as compensation to the victims, Bloomberg reports.
Covering All Corners Of The Web
The bitfinex.com website has been around since 2012, as you may see from the WhoIs register. Much of the website traffic is attributed to these nations:
- Vietnam
- United States
- Germany
- Turkiye
- Brazil
With such a long running history, the company has listings on CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko. There’s even a Wikipedia page that contains some of the information about prior hacking and security breaches.
The exchange is active on virtually every social website there is, including Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Reddit, and YouTube. This, in addition to LinkTree, Discord and Telegram networks allows them to reach out to a large audience.
The affiliated Bitfinex Securities branch hosts their own LinkedIn, X and Weibo accounts as well.
Reputation Doesn’t Look Good
There’s a nearly equal number of positive and negative testimonials on TrustPilot, with an average score of 3.1 out of 5. Over on SiteJabber however, the negative ones are far more prevalent, and the approval rating is only 18%.
It is a known fact that there have been serious problems with this exchange. These include regulatory action, hacking, data leaks and similar which might endanger more than your profits. If you suspect underhanded behavior from the company, feel free to get in touch with our legal experts, as the victims of CoinMate have done.
Fee Organization
For an exact number when it comes to fees charged, you can utilize the website fee calculator.
Crypto to crypto, crypto to stablecoin and crypto to Fiat include 0.100% Maker fees and 0.200% Taker fees. Trading derivatives include 0.0200% Maker fees and 0.0650% Taker fees.
The discount applies depending on the monthly trading volume all the way down to 0.000% Maker fees and 0.055% Taker fees.
Deposits and withdrawals are also charged – bank wire transfers with at least $60, while other currencies, including crypto, demand a fee that depends on the currency itself. For example, the BTC withdrawal fee is 0.0004 BTC.
Variety Of Features And Services
The platform offers a wide palette of different services, such as exchange, staking, derivatives and others. These functions are supported with varying widgets and software, like the platform, crypto wallet and a mobile app as well. It’s quite a shame the exchange suffers from bad leadership that has cost it its reputation and everything else.
Web Trader
The Bitfinex web platform is simple and fast. However, we couldn’t help but notice it misses the crucial features that make advanced trading solutions incomparably better.
All of the trading charts this terminal is based on are borrowed from the TradingView. That isn’t bad by itself, but it suggests the platform’s unreliability and subjectiveness to data manipulation, as is the case with an abundance of other web traders.
Mobile Trading App
The proprietary trading app for mobile devices is available for downloading on Google Play and App Store. Described as a one-stop-shop for all your crypto needs, this app sure makes attractive promises. Based on the low number of downloads, it doesn’t appear to be overly popular among crypto investors.
Financial Products To Buy And Sell
Crypto currencies at this trading server can be traded or exchanged against FIAT currencies like EUR, USD, JPY. Digital currencies could be traded between each other. Such is so in the case of pairs like ETH/BTC, LTC/BTC, ZEC/BTC, XRP/BTC.
Live Trading Account
Your Bitfinex account demands several steps in order to fully be created. Upon sign up you could choose to proceed without entering a Referral code, but you cannot add it later. Then you have to pass a 2-factor Authentication and verify your account as a real trading package.
Paper Account
If you’re not immediately sure or knowledgeable enough to start trading with real funds, you can choose to create a sub-account which is called a Bitfinex Paper Account. This is sort of a demo account that facilitates the learning and test-trading process.
Bitfinex Payment Methods
In order to fund your account and withdraw the accumulated profit you can use one of the offered channels:
- Credit/Debit Card (USD, EUR, JPY, TRY, GBP)
- Bank Wire Deposit (EUR, CNH, JPY, GBP, USD.)
- Crypto
- Tether Tokens (USDt, EURt, CNHt, XAUt, MXNt)
The minimum withdrawal size for cryptocurrency is $5 equivalent. In the case of FIAT currencies withdrawals, users with the Full Verification level can withdraw a minimum of 10,000 USD/EUR/GBP, which is a high requirement.
Contacting The Support
To send out a form, you first have to choose what subject or issue your inquiry is concretely related to and then fill out the form by describing your problem and leaving your contact details for an answer.
In case of the online chat, you will not be contacting a person or a support agent. This feature is led by a bot and it is fully automated to provide you with the links to the Support Centre articles to get answers to your issue.
Money Stolen? Consider Filing A Chargeback
The past scandals, regulatory blacklists and the poor approval rating this exchange has with their clients are all warning signs. Get your money out as soon as you can, before the whole thing blows over! If you need any help, get in touch with our legal experts via the live chat, and remember- our first consultation is free!
FAQ Section
Who Owns Bitfinex?
The exchange is known to frequently change their parent company. The current owner is iFinex Inc.
Is Bitfinex Better than Binance?
Objectively speaking Bitfinex is worse than Binance in nearly every regard. The exchange has a shady reputation and is attached to numerous scandals in the past.
What Can I Do If Someone Stole My Crypto?
Tracing crypto payments requires professional help. Get in touch with our team of experts if you need help recovering your crypto assets.
