Bitfinex
Bitfinex
Data verified on unchanged since the sources
Worth it if you trade actively and at high volume: 0% maker fees, P2P margin lending and paper trading reward frequent operators.
Avoid it if you live in the United States (not supported) or consider the 2016 hack and the controversial Tether ties disqualifying.
An advanced custodial exchange offering maker fees as low as 0%, paper trading and P2P margin lending, with ties to the USDT issuer. Key caveats include the 2016 hack, the lack of US retail access and the controversial link to Tether.
Data & conditions
| Maker / Taker fee | 0.1% / 0.2% |
|---|---|
| Markets | Spot + Derivatives |
| Max leverage | 10× |
| Supported assets | 180+ |
| Trading pairs | 350+ |
| 24h volume (as of Jun 15) | $360.24M |
| Fiat on-ramp | Yes |
| Deposit methods | bonifico bancario (SEPA via OpenPayd), bonifico internazionale (wire), carta di credito/debito, criptovalute, Tether (USDT) |
| Geo restrictions | US, CA, IR, KP, CU, SY, VE |
| Staking / Earn | Bitfinex Staking |
| Fund custody | Custodial (platform holds funds) |
| KYC | Full |
| Supported countries | EEA, APAC, LATAM · 50+ countries |
| Regulator | CNAD (El Salvador), BVI FSC |
| OAM Italy registration | No |
| Segment | B2C |
| MiCA / License status | VASP BVI Registrazione parziale EU |
Strengths
- 0% maker fee; paper trading; P2P lending margine; issuer USDT.
- No notable sovereignty advantage documented.
Weaknesses
- Hack 2016; no USA; legame controverso with Tether.
- Custodial: the platform holds your funds and can freeze or lose them.
- Full KYC required: verified identity, zero pseudonymity.
- Subject to regulation (Registrazione parziale EU): reporting to authorities and freezes on order.
- Geographic restrictions (US, CA, IR, KP, CU, SY, VE).
Verdict
The score stays mid-tier because the product depth (derivatives, P2P margin lending, maker fees down to 0%) is offset by concrete user-facing weaknesses: the 2016 hack, only partial EU registration and marginal regulators such as CNAD (El Salvador) and the BVI FSC. The 0.2% taker fee is uncompetitive and the controversial tie to the USDT issuer adds counterparty risk that is hard to overlook.
Even with a privacy score of 3, it remains a custodial, full-KYC exchange, so on self-custody and censorship resistance it offers little. Its organic link to Tether places it at the heart of centralized stablecoin infrastructure, the opposite of the trustless, on-chain model this lens rewards.
Promp's editorial rating based on real fees and net annual cost. Promp reviews third-party products independently.
"Sovereignty" rating: score computed on privacy/anonymity (30%), fund control (20%), censorship resistance (20%), trustless/auditability (20%) and costs (10%). Same data, different weights.
Reputation
What happened to people who used Bitfinex, and what users say. External signals: they do not feed the promp.it rating.
Incidents & regulatory actions
History not verifiedWe have not yet completed the incident search for this service: no entries here does not mean no events.
Public reviews
-
Google Play ↗
3.5/5
3,757 reviews
Exact count from JSON-LD (visible label rounds to ~3.5).
- Trustpilot ↗ 1.8/5 334 reviews
-
App Store ↗
4.1/5
173 reviews
US storefront ratings (iTunes id 1436383182), not a global aggregate.
Weighted average across 3 public review platforms (4,264 reviews in total), weighted by volume. This is not our rating: it is those platforms’ average.
FAQ
What are Bitfinex's fees?
On Bitfinex, spot fees are maker 0.1% / taker 0.2%. They drop with monthly volume and VIP tier.
Is Bitfinex regulated in Europe?
Regulatory status of Bitfinex: Registrazione parziale EU. Licence: VASP BVI.
Does Bitfinex publish Proof of Reserves?
Bitfinex publishes Proof of Reserves. No third-party reserve audit is documented. Reserve transparency is a critical factor after the FTX collapse.
Can I send transfers to third-party IBANs from Bitfinex?
No, Bitfinex is an exchange and does not allow transfers to third-party IBANs: fiat withdrawals return to a bank account in your own name.
Does Bitfinex support derivatives and futures?
Bitfinex offers derivatives trading, with up to 10x leverage.
Sources
- Official service page Maker/taker fees · Regulatory framework · Derivatives · Third-party audit · +2 Data verified on Jun 15, 2026
- cftc.gov Data verified on Jun 15, 2026
- coingecko.com 24h volume · Volume data Data verified on Jun 15, 2026
- crunchbase.com Company type · Stock ticker · Stock listing · IPO date Data verified on Jun 15, 2026
Show 10 more sources
- lei-lookup.com Legal name Data verified on Jun 15, 2026
- organismo-am.it OAM Italy registry Data verified on Jun 15, 2026
- support.bitfinex.com Geo restrictions · Geographic availability · Deposit methods Data verified on Jun 15, 2026
- tracxn.com Valuation · Latest funding round Data verified on Jun 15, 2026
- baike.baidu.com Past incidents Data verified on Jun 13, 2026
- cryptonews.com Trustpilot reviews Data verified on Jun 13, 2026
- daytrading.com Proof-of-Reserves Data verified on Jun 13, 2026
- github.com Trading pairs · Staking & Earn Data verified on Jun 13, 2026
- rfp.wiki Bug bounty Data verified on Jun 13, 2026
- startupintros.com Founders Data verified on Jun 13, 2026