Bitfinex is a digital asset trading platform offering state-of-the-art services for digital currency traders and global liquidity providers.
If you are new to Bitfinex, this article can act as an introductory guide to the various features and functions of the platform.
Core features at Bitfinex:
Exchange Trading at Bitfinex
Exchange Trading entails trading without the use of leverage. At the heart of Bitfinex are central limit order books for the spot trade of digital tokens.
Margin Trading at Bitfinex
Bitfinex enables qualified users to trade with up to 10x leverage and receive financing through its Margin Funding and peer-to-peer financing features.
You can manually input a funding order when initiating a margin position to acquire the desired amount of funds at the rate and duration of your choice. Or you can also open a margin trading position, and Bitfinex will automatically link it with peer-to-peer funding at the current market rate.
Important: Starting from 1st January 2022, Margin Trading is available to Bitfinex users with a Basic Plus or higher verification level. This is only for users that created an account after 31st December 2021, accounts created before this date will be able to continue without verifying to Basic Plus or higher.
Margin Funding at Bitfinex
The Peer-to-Peer Funding Market allows users to earn interest on their digital assets by lending their funds to other users who want to trade with leverage.
Margin Funding allows you to earn interest on your capital while avoiding the risks of trading. It’s the investment approach for you if you desire a low-risk investment strategy.
Important: Starting from 1st January 2022, Margin Funding is available to Bitfinex users with a Basic Plus or higher verification level. This is only for users that created an account after 31st December 2021, accounts created before this date will be able to continue without verifying to Basic Plus or higher.
Over the Counter (OTC) Market at Bitfinex
Bitfinex provides a private Over the Counter (OTC) Market for traders looking to conduct large deals directly with a counterparty without using public order books.
OTC Market will allow you to access significant amounts of liquidity without affecting the exchange market price.
Derivatives Trading at Bitfinex
Bitfinex customers with Intermediate Verification level and above can use the Derivatives Trading feature provided by iFinex Financial Technologies Limited.
The maximum leverage for derivatives trading is 100x. The leverage will determine the amount of allocated collateral.
Paper Trading
The Paper Trading tool allows you to test and experiment in a simulated market. Since the tokens are for testing, no actual deposits are necessary.
Note: As the tokens have no value, you can’t withdraw them either.
How to make an exchange trade
1. Firstly, log in to your Bitfinex account.
2. Make sure you have enough funds in your Exchange wallet.
3. On the main trading page that you are directed to after logging in, find the Tickers box.
Here, you will be able to search the trading pairs to find the one that you wish to trade with.
4. In our example, we will look to sell Tether USDt tokens and buy some Bitcoin.
Therefore, let’s look for the BTC/USDt pair. You can enter BTC into the tickers box and also use the drop-down menu on the left to search for the quote currency that is USDt.
5. Now, on the same trading page, find the Order Form widget.
This is where you will be entering the details of the trade you wish to make.
6. Since this is an exchange trade, be sure to select Exchange on the top left-hand corner of the order form.
7. If you select Limit order as your order type, you will need to enter the order size and the price. You can also choose from a variety of other order types from the drop-down menu and learn more about order types here.
Using the BTC/USDt example, this would mean specifying how much BTC you would like to buy for what price in USDt.
Alternatively, if you choose a Market order, your order will be executed at a current market price, and therefore there is no need to fill in a price.
8. Great! Now your order will appear in your Orders widget, showing information about your trade before it executes. You can also cancel and edit the trade or trades as you wish. For more information, please view Order Bulk Editing & Selection Options.
9. Once your trade has been executed, the funds will be credited to your Exchange wallet.
10. The executed order will then move to the Order History widget.
11. You can also track your orders on your Reports page, under either Orders or directly under Ledgers.
What are trading fees at Bitfinex
You will be charged maker or taker fees, respectively, depending on the type of order that you made and whether it added or took liquidity from the Bitfinex order books.