Margin Trading and Funding
Bitfinex users are able to borrow and trade with up to 3.3x leverage through the site's P2P (Peer to Peer) margin trading platform. Borrowing terms (amount, duration and interest) can either be determined by the user himself or automatically through Bitfinex.
On the other hand, cryptocurrency owners are able to lend their funds securely to traders in order to earn interest on it. Users can offer funding across a wide range of currencies & assets, at the rate and duration of their choice.
Warning: Margin trading amplifies both upside and downside risk and is not recommended for new traders. Margin funding locks your funds on Bitfinex for the duration of the loan.
Over The Counter Services
For those who wish to trade major amounts ($100,000+) of cryptocurrency privately, Bitfinex provides an over-the-counter trading facility. This service matches, and presumably secures major private deals.
Derivatives Trading
Bitfinex offers the trading of derivatives contracts, which give traders the ability to speculate on the price of an asset, without buying or selling it outright. Traders simply need to collateralize their derivatives account with USDT in order to trade.
Staking and Lending
Lastly, Bitfinex also offers a staking and lending service. This allows users to stake or lend their cryptocurrency holdings in an easy way, without needing to have the technical knowledge or operate staking software.
Currencies and Payment Methods
Bitfinex accepts fiat deposits in EUR, JPY, GBP, and USD. Fiat deposits can be made through a wire transfer only. Bitfinex also supports Tether (USDT), the quasi-fiat token unofficially pegged to the US dollar's price.
Free deposits and fairly cheap withdrawals are available for Bitcoin Litecoin, Ethereum, Zcash, Monero, Dash, Ripple, Iota, EOS, and an additional 80+ assets.
Bitfinex requires verification for Tether usage and expedited cryptocurrency withdrawals. However, the exchange remains perfectly usable for those who only wish to provide an email address. Bitfinex also offers direct access via a Tor hidden service.
Bitfinex Fees
Bitfinex utilizes a taker-maker fee model where people who fulfill existing orders are considered takers, while traders that place new limit orders are considered makers.
Fees start from 0.2% for takers and can drop as low as 0% for large maker orders. There is no trading fee for large orders conducted through the OTC desk.
Bank wires have a 0.1% deposit and withdrawal fee, which can reach up to 1% if you're looking for an expedited withdrawal.
Cryptocurrency deposits are generally free of charge while withdrawals include a small fee, depending on the currency withdrawn.
Making a Bitfinex Withdrawal
Withdrawing your funds from Bitfinex is as simple as making a deposit. Go to the 'Withdraw' window, select the asset you want to take out and fill all the required fields. Note that you won't be able to withdraw currencies if you haven't secured your account with 2FA and/or whitelisted addresses. Also, you must have your account verified first to withdraw fiat currencies.
A cryptocurrency withdrawal takes approx. 12 hours to process. The speed of the procedure also depends on your enabled security measures. A rule of thumb here is the more secure your account, the faster Bitfinex processes your request. Regular fiat withdrawals take 5-10 business days, while express fiat withdrawal is sent out within 24 hours.