Are you a retail investor or beginner from a backward or upper region of Pakistan looking for a Centralized Exchange? If so, then let us introduce you to Bitfinex exchange further in this Bitfinex review.
What is Bitfinex?
Bitfinex is among the most popular exchange, including in Pakistan. Supporting an ecosystem filled with many trading options and cryptocurrency products, the exchange has a trust score of 10/10 on Coingecko ranking in the top #10 Exchanges. The platform has premium features, such as margin accounts, spot trading, paper trading, and more, making it ideal for both expert and novice cryptocurrency investors. This is also highlighted in its vision, which is clearly outlined: to become the leading proponent of freedom by hastening the shift to a world that is fairer and more open.
Is Bitfinex safe for Pakistani users?
Bitfinex exchange utilizes many standard industry methods for maintaining the safety of users’ accounts and their funds after that tragedy for both Pakistani and global users. These include withdrawal protection features, cold storage of users’ assets, sophisticated APIs for integrating third-party services, two-factor authentication (2FA), and universal second factor (U2F). Moreover, Exchange actually makes it necessary for users to set up both 2FA and U2F prior to doing anything on their Exchange.
Only 0.5% of funds are held in hot wallets, implying that even if hackers are successful, they do not have as much to access.
According to the official documentation of the Exchange, since then, Exchange actively monitors its users’ IP addresses to look out for irregularities as well. So, in terms of safety, it is good in that aspect, and it seems like Bitfinex has learned from its past.
Pros and Cons of Bitfinex for Pakistani users
Pros 👍
Bitfinex exchange does have a few things going for it.
- Offers low trading fees for Pakistani and global traders
- The mobile application is available in Pakistan both on Play and App stores.
- Paper trading is a great tool for newer cryptocurrency traders.
- Some other Pros include:
- Its support for margin trading
- Advanced orders
- Derivatives order types
Cons 👎
As for its slips, these include:
- Its history, which has had fines and regulatory missteps
- Its questionable involvement with Tether
In Conclusion, based on the past history of Bitfinex exchange, it can be hard to make a decision to keep all of your crypto investment here. However, if we look at the current security measures and features that crypto exchange has to offer in this Bitfinex review, we believe it’s worth giving it a try!
Trading in Bitfinex from Pakistan
Bitfinex exchange allows traders from Pakistan to trade more than 160 assets, including native token, with minimal slippage. Its services are state-of-the-art, with all the markets and advanced order types, something that liquidity providers and cryptocurrency traders can delight in.
In order to do trading, click on “Trading”, available in the Navigation menu, and you will be redirected to the inner page where traders can place orders for buying and selling of any listed cryptocurrencies.
Margin trading and funding from Pakistan
Pakistani users can trade with 10x leverage through the peer-to-peer margin funding platform. They can also submit their own funding orders to borrow the amount they want at the desired rate and duration or automatically fill up orders based on market conditions.
The Margin Funding market offers a safe way to receive interest on virtual assets and fiat by offering to fund traders desiring to trade using leverage. Users can provide funding across various cryptocurrencies or assets at the duration and rate of their choice.
Paper trading
If you are a beginner learning about crypto and before starting out with actual trading, do you want to practice by doing Demo trading? If so, then this feature is worth spending time on.
The paper trading feature enables traders to test their trading strategies within a simulated environment with no need to deposit actual funds. It can work on sub-accounts that emulate the trading functionalities of the master account.
If you haven’t created a sub-account, then you have to again fill up details such as email and password and then check the Paper Trading option to enable this feature.
Pakistani users can also go for a Trading competition account which is an advanced trading feature.
Bitfinex Honey
The Bitfinex platform has made such strategies more accessible to its users via the Bitfinex Honey integration. It’s no longer just the domain of specialized algorithmic trading organizations to create customized event-driven, automated trading methods and custom order types.
The most recent development from Bitfinex exchange has made things simpler for use, as one does not require any developer know-how or coding knowledge.
Bitfinex fees and deposit methods for Pakistani users
The maker fee at Bitfinex is 0.100%, while the taker fee is 0.200%. However, these can change depending on the type of order and the amount spent. As for withdrawal fees goes, it depends on the type of cryptocurrency or method.
You can fund your account with credit or debit cards using the local currency of Pakistan, the Pakistani Rupee, cryptocurrencies, bank transfers, or even Tether tokens.
How to use Bitfinex from Pakistan
If you want to see what the Bitfinex exchange has to offer for Pakistani investors, then the first step is to Sign-up.
1. Getting onboard
Visit the Bitfinex webpage, and then select the “Sign Up” option towards the right. Choose a username, enter your email address, think of a password, accept the terms, choose the time zone you are in, and then enter the captcha prior to clicking “Open Account.” After that, check your mail and verify your account through the email that was sent.
2. Secure your account
Once an account has been confirmed, you can finally log in. However, before starting with trading, as mentioned previously, you have to secure your account by setting up U2F and 2FA.
Then, you will have to fund your account via any one of the ways that are listed, and if you desire to fund your account through a bank wire, you will need to complete the KYC process on the Platform. There are three KYC stages Basic Plus, Intermediate and Full. With the third last stage, you can access all the features of Exchange as well as increase withdrawal limits.
3. Start trading
Once you have secured your account or have done everything mentioned so far, you can start using Bitfinex and see what it has to offer.
How to buy Bitfinex token (UNUS SED LEO) from Pakistan
Although there are several cryptocurrency exchanges where you can buy Bitfinex exchange’s native token, UNUS SED LEO token, for this guide, we will be looking at Coinbase as it is a popular exchange and is available in Pakistan. As of now, This token is not accessible on its centralized exchange. However, it is still available for purchase on Coinbase Wallet. So, here is how you can do so using Coinbase Wallet.
1. Download and choose your username
Coinbase Wallet, which is a self-custody wallet, is needed to buy UNUS SED LEO. Once you have downloaded it, you will need a username, which will allow other users to easily transfer cryptocurrency to your address.
2. Safeguard your recovery phrase
You will be handed your very own recovery phrase that is composed of 12 random words. This phrase serves as the key to your cryptocurrency, so store it safely somewhere and do not share it with anyone.
3. Set some funds aside for network fees
Fees differ depending on network traffic, how complex the transaction can be, or how quickly you would like it to be completed. So, set some funds aside for any fees you might incur on Ethereum.
4. Purchase ETH and transfer
If you don’t already have a Coinbase account, you will have to create one before you can purchase Ethereum. Now, using the local currency of Pakistan (PKR) purchase any amount of ETH you are willing to invest in UNUS SED LEO.
5. Use ETH to purchase UNUS SED LEO
Once you have ETH on your wallet balance sheet, it’s time to swap it for UNUS SED LEO. If you are not familiar with the Coinbase wallet, then you can directly do the process through the Trade section on the Coinbase Exchange. First of all, search for Unus SED LEO in the “Trade” section of Coinbase.
As soon as you search, the coin will appear along with the Price and market cap in Pakistan currency if you are trading from Pakistan. Now, tap on it to open the Trading page, which will appear along with Historical Chart.
Now, click on Buy with Coinbase wallet to start buying process along with setting up the wallet directly.
Bitfinex Exchange Hack
During the mid-2010s, Bitcoin became a means for tax evaders, drug dealers, speculators, libertarians, and all sorts of bad actors to transfer funds throughout the world while eluding the notice of conventional financial institutions and Cyber Security Agencies.
Although the cryptocurrency is decentralized, its unregulated nature serves as an aspect of its appeal. It was because of traits like this that the cryptocurrency was more vulnerable to attack back then. And this is where Bitfinex’s hack comes into play.
Took place in 2016, it led to the largest financial seizure in the US Department of Justice’s history.
How did Bitfinex get hacked?
When talking about this hack, two individuals pop into mind Heather Morgan and her husband, Ilya Lichtenstein, who was arrested in Manhattan in early 2022.
According to certain court documents, after a hacker broke into Bitfinex’s servers and conducted more than 2,000 unlawful transactions, Lichtenstein and Morgan allegedly planned to launder the earnings of 119,754 bitcoin looted from the Bitfinex Platform.
Since the hack, in this timespan of five years, around 25,000 of those bitcoins were taken out of his wallet through a complex money laundering procedure that concluded with a few of the stolen bitcoins being deposited within financial accounts managed by Morgan and Lichtenstein.
How did the culprits get caught?
After the court authorized the issuance of search warrants for online accounts managed by Morgan and Lichtenstein, special agents acquired access to files inside an online account owned by the couple.
Such files had the private keys needed to access the virtual wallet that received Bitfinex’s stolen funds. This allowed the special agents to lawfully secure and recover over 94,000 stolen bitcoins.
The criminal complaint claimed that Morgan and Lichtenstein employed several sophisticated laundering methods, such as using fake identities to create online accounts, using computer programs for transactional automation, and much more.
Feds seized Bitcoin worth more than a billion dollars
The Bitfinex exchange hacker couple had initially stolen around 120,000 bitcoins, worth $4.5 billion. Fortunately, the Justice Department was able to reclaim $3.6 billion of that sum.
FAQs
Is Bitfinex exchange available in Pakistan?
Yes, Bitfinex exchange is accessible in all regions of Pakistan, including Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and associated territories. Users from Pakistan can complete the KYC process to unlock additional benefits such as margin trading, borrowing lending, future trading and more.
Where is Bitfinex located?
Founded in 2012, Bitfinex is currently based in Hong Kong. However, it also claims Taiwan and Taipei as its headquarters locations.
Who created Bitfinex exchange?
The Bitfinex exchange was founded by Giancarlo Devasini and Raphael Nicolle. And, much like Tether, it is an iFinex Inc. subsidiary, which is a British Virgin Islands-based firm.
