Introduction

Bitfinex is a Hong Kong based crypto exchange platform, which offers margin trading of all top-level cryptocurrencies. Margin trading means buying an asset that involves borrowing a part of the sum needed for the purchase from the broker executing the transaction (in this case, Bitfinex).

The domain was registered on October 11, 2012 and since the company is quite serious about security, before you can fund your account in USD, you are required to enable 2-Factor Authentication.

Bitfinex is one of the largest exchange platforms on the Internet. During its operation, the exchange passed many tests. It has been repeatedly hacked; Bitfinex received the status of non-grata (a foreign entity whose entering or remaining in a particular country is prohibited by that country's government) from various foreign banks, which made it difficult to deposit and withdraw funds. Nevertheless, Bitfinex has been operating for more than five years and is the largest crypto-exchange platform.

Sign-up procedure

Before actual trading, each user must register an account. In order to do this, provide the following information on the Bitfinex main page:

You're required to enter your email, name, and password. After this a verification email will be sent to your email address. Once you verify your email address, you'll need to verify your account.

Account Verification

Click on 'Manage Account' icon in the upper right corner of the page:

A drop-down menu should appear. Choose 'Verification' option. Afterwards you will be redirected to this page:

It is interesting that if you choose any reasons other than trading in USD and USDT, then you will be told that:

Based on your selections above, you do not need to request a verified account. All of the items you selected above are already available to non-verified accounts.

Therefore, if you think you don't need to deposit, withdraw, or trade USD and USDT, then further verification is not necessary. But in order to freely deposit and withdraw money in USD on the Bitfinex exchange platform, you should go through the verification. To confirm an individual account, one needs to do the following:

1. Fill in the online form (a person willing to trade must be 18 years or older).
2. Confirm your ID by providing passport scans and other documents (all documents must be translated into English).
3. Provide a bank statement for the account from which you will enter and withdraw funds.
4. Confirm the address by providing a utility bill (not older than three months).

Wallets

The exchange provides three types of wallets:

1. EXCHANGE (main wallet for exchange trading without margin)
2. MARGIN (margin wallet, transactions are carried out at the expense of investors used solely for trading - the trader cannot withdraw funds)
3. FUNDING (funds held in the funding wallet, which can be used Margin Funding)

In the 'BALANCES' section, information is displayed both for each separate wallet and the total amount :

If you want to check all your current balances, click on the 'Wallets' tab in the upper right corner of the page. The following information should appear:

Here you can check balances for each digital currency traded on the platform. In addition, quick transfer of funds is available within three wallets (EXCHANGE, MARGIN, FUNDING).

In the right part of the screen there is a chart block for selected currency pair (in this case, it is BTC-USD):

The chart of the currency pair was created using the TradingView service. It allows you to display data for different periods, starting from one hour, and ending with three years. In addition to monitoring the status of the pair, you can also use additional tools.

In the 'ORDERS" block (requests for purchase and sale of funds), active orders are presented, and in the 'ORDER HISTORY' all orders are stored — both executed and canceled:

In the 'ORDER BOOK' section you can see the purchase orders (the left side bar) and the sale orders (column on the right). Put a bell near the desired position to set the price warning (order for the purchase/sale of the selected position):

Depositing and Withdrawing Funds

Clicking on the 'Deposit' tab, you can deposit funds to your account via a digital wallet:

There are plenty of supported currencies and related wallets. For example, say you have a third-party wallet with some Bitcoins in it. Choose Bitcoin and click on it. The following page should appear:

Then click on the button 'Click to generate address' (remember that Bitfinex provides three separate wallets for your funds). The generated number is an address where you should send your BTC from the above-mentioned third-party wallet to. Note that bitcoins will not be credited immediately. This will take about 30 minutes, or even more (since the transaction has to propagate on the blockchain).

To withdraw BTC (or pretty much every available currency), click on 'Withdraw' tab near 'Deposit' one:

• Choose your currency, i.e. Bitcoin

• Then specify the address of the BTC wallet
• Specify an amount and a wallet from which the transfer should be made (EXCHANGE, MARGIN, FUNDING)
• tick the '"Add a note...", "I have read ..." checkboxes
• Click on 'Request withdrawal' tab.

Note: USD Wire Deposits Paused.
Wire deposits have been paused. Please see bitfinex.com/posts for further updates.

How to trade

When you hover your cursor on the currency pair on the left side of the page, you will see a list of coins available for trading. The price of each coin is "indicated" in BTC and USD:

You can also hover over the 'Trading' menu item on the top bar to see all the pairs available for exchange.

In order to buy or sell some cryptos, you need to choose the appropriate offer in the column 'PRICE' in the 'ORDER BOOK' (purchase on the left, sale on the right). Chosen position will be displayed in the 'ORDER FORM' section; just specify the number of the currency to be purchased or sold and click 'Exchange Buy' or 'Exchange Sell':

After that, the 'ORDER BOOK' displays your offer. In addition, under the 'ORDERS' section, the 'Edit' and 'Cancel' buttons should appear, which can also be used, if necessary.

Fees

Bitfinex Exchange has a complex fee schedule. It comprises of four elements, and depending on your actions, you will be charged with one or another fee.

Order Execution Fees are charged for executed orders during the last 30 days. Maker fees are paid when you add liquidity to their order book by placing a limit order under the ticker price for buy and above the ticker price for sell. Taker fees are paid when you remove liquidity from their order book by placing any order that is executed against an order of the order book.

Deposit Fees are free of charge except USD deposits via Bank Wire; in this case, fees are 0.100% of the deposit amount, with a minimum fee of $20.00.

Withdrawal Fees differ depending on a digital currency to be withdrawn. For example, BTC withdrawals are subjected to a fee of 0.0005 BTC. But for NEO, such fee would be free of charge.

Margin Funding Fees are charged on fees collected by Margin Funding Providers, i.e. 15.0% (of the fees generated by active margin funding contracts); when opened by a hidden offer - 18.0%. Charge on funding that is borrowed and subsequently returned without being used in a margin position - up to one full day’s interest.

For more information on Bitfinex Fee Policy, visit the Bitfinex Fees page.

Advantages

Among the advantages of Bitfinex are:

• Number of pairs. Bitfinex is suitable for almost all users who are interested in cryptocurrency. Through this platform you can exchange all popular digital currencies;
• High level of security. The developers of the Bitfinex exchange care about security. If you followed all the recommendations of Bitfinex representatives (2FA, API..), then your funds will not be lost or stolen;
• Mobile application. You can trade from anywhere in the world; all you need is a smartphone and access to the Internet. One more thing, do not forget to download the Bitfinex application;
• Large number of tools. Trade becomes easier and more efficient. Now at the disposal of traders there is a large number of additional tools, which, if used properly, provide much more efficient and faster trading.

Disadvantages

Despite the abundant number of useful things, Bitfinex has its shortcomings:

• Verification. For the non-English users, the verification process is very complicated. The main problem is that in order to verify an identity on Bitfinex, you need to submit personal documentation in English. It may be necessary to apply for certified translation.
• Transaction fee. Fees are slightly higher than that of other exchanges like Poloniex. Trading and exchanging on Bitfinex, you can deposit and withdraw money in dollars, but for this you'd have to pay $20.