Bitfinex

Bitfinex, Inc.
Type of business Private
Available in English, Russian, Chinese
Founded 2012 (2012)
Headquarters Hong Kong
Area served 52 countries
Products

Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Ripple, OmiseGO, Monero, NEO, EOS

Fiat Currencies

USD, EUR, JPY, GBP
Services Digital currency exchange, Margin trading, Margin lending, OTC
Website www.bitfinex.com

Bitfinex is a cryptocurrency trading platform, owned and operated by iFinex Inc. which is headquartered in Hong Kong and registered in the British Virgin Islands.[1][2]

In 2015 the exchange's customers were hacked, losing about $400,000, and in 2016 about $73 million more was stolen from its customers' accounts. The exchange's access to U.S. dollar payments and withdrawals has been curtailed.

Research suggests that price manipulation of bitcoin on Bitfinex accounted for about half of the price increase for bitcoin in late 2017.[3]

History

Bitfinex was founded in December 2012 as a peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange, offering digital asset trading services to users around the world. Bitfinex initially started as a P2P margin lending platform for Bitcoin and later added support for more cryptocurrencies.

In May 2015, 1500 bitcoins were stolen during a hack.[4] In 2016, Bitfinex was the subject of the Bitfinex hack. In it, $72 million in bitcoin was stolen from the company's customer's accounts.[5] Immediately thereafter, bitcoin's trading price plunged by 20%.[6] After learning of the breach, Bitfinex halted all bitcoin withdrawals and trading.[2]

In that hack, the second-biggest breach of a Bitcoin exchange platform, 119,756 units of bitcoin,[6] which was about $72 million at the time, were stolen. Bitfinex first announced the security breach on August 2, 2016. The bitcoin was taken from users' segregated wallets and Bitfinex said it was tracking down the hack.[7]

In April 2017, Bitfinex announced that it was experiencing delays in processing USD withdrawals after Wells Fargo cut off[8] its wire transfers.

Shortly after the Wells Fargo cutoff, Bitfinex stated all international wires had been cut off by its Taiwanese bank.

Since then, Bitfinex has moved between a series of banks in other countries, without disclosing to customers where the money is kept.[9][8][10]

Noble Bank International of San Juan, Puerto Rico reportedly handles some dollar banking for the exchange now.[11]

In March 2018, British Virgin Islands-based Bitfinex confirmed the exchange’s plans to relocate its business to Zug, Switzerland.

In May 2018, Bitfinex emailed it’s certain users, asking for some tax details which firm might share with the government.[12]

As the company is registered with British Virgin Island, so pertaining to the local law, the firm has to share the data with the government.[13]

Phil Potter, Chief Strategy Officer of Bitfinex left the exchange about June 22, 2018.[14]

Tether

Tether is a cryptocurrency which Tether Limited claims is pegged to the US dollar. Tether is closely associated with Bitfinex, with whom they share common shareholders and management.[14] Critics have raised questions about the relationship between Bitfinex and Tether.[9][15][8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Company Overview of iFinex Inc. (BVI)". Bloomberg. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 Shekhtman, Lonnie (3 August 2016). "Bitcoin security breaches raise questions about digital currency's future". Archived from the original on 28 May 2017 – via Christian Science Monitor.
  3. ↑ Popper, Nathaniel (13 June 2018). "Bitcoin's Price Was Artificially Inflated Last Year, Researchers Say". New York Times. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  4. ↑ Baraniuk, Chris (8 August 2016). "Bitcoin users 'must pay' for lost coins". BBC News. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  5. ↑ "Bitfinex comes back from $69 million bitcoin heist". Archived from the original on 2017-05-22.
  6. 1 2 Tsang, Amie (3 August 2016). "Bitcoin Plunges After Hacking of Exchange in Hong Kong". Archived from the original on 18 May 2017 – via NYTimes.com.
  7. ↑ "Bitcoin Worth $72M Was Stolen in Bitfinex Exchange Hack in Hong Kong". Fortune. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 "Tether Theft Isn't the First Controversy for Cryptocurrency Firm". Bloomberg.com. 21 November 2017. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  9. 1 2 Popper, Nathaniel (21 November 2017). "Warning Signs About Another Giant Bitcoin Exchange". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  10. ↑ Nathaniel, Popper (November 21, 2017). "Warning Signs About Another Giant Bitcoin Exchange". New York Times. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  11. ↑ Katz, Lilly (May 31, 2018). "Bittrex Gets Bank Agreement to Help You Buy Bitcoin With Dollars". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Bitfinex Requires Customer Tax Info which it 'May Exchange' with Gov't, Tax Authorities". Cointelegraph. 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  13. ↑ "Bitfinex Exchange Asks for Customers' Information: Tax Regulations on the Loose - Global Coin Report". Global Coin Report. 2018-05-21. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  14. 1 2 Irrera, Anna (22 June 2018). "Bitfinex chief strategy officer departs". Reuters. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  15. ↑ "Crypto-currency company reports $31m raid". BBC News. 21 November 2017. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
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