Bitfinex vs Binance – Brief Comparison

Bitfinex is one of the oldest trading platforms still in operation alongside Coinbase and Bitstamp. Founded in 2012, this exchange has had to contend with many problems ranging from hacks to allegations of BTC price manipulation to the Tether affair. On the other hand, Binance is one of the most prominent cryptocurrency exchanges today. It was founded in 2017. Come and see our comparison of Bitfinex vs Binance.

Bitfinex vs Binance Number of Currencies

Regarding platform offer in terms of cryptocurrencies available, Binance has greater choice than Bitfinex. But you’ll probably find almost any coin you’re searching for on either platform.

Currently, more than 150 digital currencies are available on the platforms and all are exchangeable for at least bitcoin. In addition to this wide range of cryptocurrencies available, users can also trade with five major fiat currencies: the dollar, the euro, the pound sterling, the Japanese yen and the yuan.

Bitfinex vs Binance Fees

There is probably no cryptocurrency exchange with lower commissions and fees than Binance. Binance crypto exchange charges just 0.10% per trade. Also, it cuts the fee in half in case that you pay with Binance Coin.

Bitfinex’s fee structure is quite peculiar and somewhat expensive. Trading fees are put into two categories, maker fees and taker fees. For crypto-asset orders, maker fees range from 0.1% to 0.0%, while taker fees range from 0.2% to 0.1%. LEO holders will receive a 25% reduction on the amount of their fees.

As for deposits, no fees apply for cryptos and stablecoins. However, for wire transfers, 0.1% fees are applied with a minimum charge of 60 USD or EUR per deposit. Bitfinex is, therefore, still a platform for advanced traders.

Finally, each digital asset has its own unique withdrawal fee structure. For example, a BTC withdrawal will cost you 0.0004 BTC, and a Tron 1.0 TRX withdrawal, these fees are below the average of large exchanges but remain higher than those of less greedy exchanges like Kraken or Binance.

Nevertheless, some assets do not have withdrawal fees, e.g. Stellar or EOS. Note that fiat withdrawals will also cost you at least $60.

Bitfinex vs Binance User Experience

There are two interface options on the Binance website: Basic and Advanced. The two options are comparable in complexity. But the Advanced one has more features and tools available for chart analysis. Both options include the common charts and figures you’d find on any reputable cryptocurrency exchange.

Initially, Bitfinex was an exchange aimed at professional traders – or at least with some capital – since the minimal deposit was $ 10,000. But, the exchange became available to the crowds in 2018 by lowering the minimum deposit amount to $ 20. Bitfinex has retained some of its legacy of trading for professionals: the interface is quite basic but remains intuitive for newcomers.

Before having access to both interfaces, you will need to create an account

After all, a classic procedure made tedious by the platform’s security measure. Once your account is open, you must click on an activation link sent by email. Then, you ought to do the same each time you want to connect and until you have set up two-factor authentication.

Bitfinex offers several types of orders, ranging from the most classic to the most advanced:

By scrolling through your main screen, you will have access to the order book to monitor trends and volumes on the exchange.

The interface is therefore basic for Bitfinex but perfectly functional and has been ported to IOS and Android. The mobile version of both exchanges is also nice, with a quick response time.

Bitfinex vs Binance Deposits and Withdrawals

There are no deposit limits on Binance. But the withdrawal limit is based on the level of verification of your account. Without this verification, your withdrawal limit is 2 BTC per day. Once you submit ID verification, you can withdraw 100 bitcoins per day.

On Bitfinex, there are three ways of making deposits: by credit card, by wire transfer or with cryptocurrencies.

Deposits can be made depending on the portfolios linked to your account when it is created:

• The ewallet, to buy and sell your digital currencies,
• The margin wallet, used for short transactions,
• And the funding wallet is used to lend money to actors wishing to carry out short transactions and in order to collect interests.

Full verification unlocks fiat deposits as well as some additional perks like faster transactions.

To get the full verification visa, you will have to provide the following documents, which must be analyzed and then validated by the platform. You must bring a valid identity document, proof of address dating less than 6 months, an account statement dating less than three months and complete the KYC – Know Your Customer form. – provided by the platform.

This verification process, particularly thorough for an exchange based in a tax haven, may put off those of you who value your privacy, especially since the average verification time is one to two weeks if everything goes smoothly. In addition, particularly long withdrawal times were noted by some users who had to wait seven days to more than two weeks for a withdrawal in fiat.

Bitfinex vs Binance Customer Support

Both crypto trading platforms excel in their customer support. An increase in exchanges in trading volume and new registrations on both platforms sometimes causes delays in response times. But otherwise, both teams are generally professional and helpful.

Both platforms have dedicated sections on their sites for FAQs, general questions and support tickets.

Support reports a response time of approximately 12 hours. Note, however, that after some research, it seems that the response times of Bitfinex are obviously longer than 12 hours and tend more to an average time of 24 hours. However, the FAQ section called Knowledge Base is very comprehensive and will help you in case of doubts or missing information.

Security of Websites

Binance crypto exchange platform doesn’t outline specifically security policies on its site. But there have been a couple of instances in which the team proved their dedication to security measures. Some Binance users fell victim to an API attack. When the team noticed suspicious activity, they froze the accounts, reverted the trades, and returned funds back.

The two successive hacks of the Bitfinex exchange prompted the team to improve the security. According to information leaked by the exchange, 99% of users’ funds would be kept in cold storage; the rest would be on the exchange to ensure its liquidity. Cold storaging systems are locked by a multi-signature protocol. These are also distributed among several locations.

As on most exchanges, you have access to two-factor authentication functions and can encrypt emails linked to your account using a PGP key. You can also set up an IP address filter to limit the devices that can connect. Bitfinex even offers you a tutorial to assign a static IP address to your devices.

Finally, to avoid further hacks, Bitfinex has enlisted the services of a cybersecurity firm that performs regular penetration tests to revize the security of the platform.

In Conclusion

Both Binance vs Bitfinex offer an excellent trading experience. While Binance has lower fees, the Binance.US platform is more limited, which could make Bitfinex a better choice for U.S. traders.

Bitfinex is a platform suitable for advanced users with its basic interface, but intuitive and efficient. The main downside of the platform lies in the deposit and withdrawal fees which may scare away occasional traders and smallholders. The wide range of orders and derivatives are all the more arguments that support the trade profile for professionals. If you’re not afraid of the $ 60 fee for every withdrawal and deposit and have patience for your verification, then Bitfinex is for you.