Supported crypto exchange
Bitfinex
An advanced exchange for experienced traders, with margin and derivatives.
Overview
About Bitfinex
Bitfinex is one of the longest-established crypto exchanges, aimed at experienced traders. It offers deep order books on major pairs, peer-to-peer margin funding, and perpetual derivatives, with a comprehensive API for algorithmic trading.
AutoTrader connects to Bitfinex with an API key and secret. Your strategies trade spot pairs in your own Bitfinex account, using a key limited to trading permissions.
Supported markets
What you can trade on Bitfinex
The asset classes Bitfinex offers, and popular symbols you can automate with AutoTrader.
Asset classes offered
- Spot crypto
- Crypto margin
- Perpetual futures
Popular crypto markets
- BTC/USD
- ETH/USD
- BTC/USDT
- SOL/USD
- XRP/USD
- LEO/USD
- LTC/USD
- BTC/EUR
Symbols shown are examples. Exact availability depends on your country, account type and the broker's current listings.
Fees & accounts
Trading Bitfinex: costs and where it's available
Fees and account types
Bitfinex uses a maker-taker fee model with volume-based tiers calculated over a rolling 30-day window. Historically the base spot rates have been around 0.1% for makers and 0.2% for takers, with lower rates for higher volume and additional discounts for holders of the exchange's LEO token. Because AutoTrader places market orders, your fills will normally be charged at the taker rate, so check Bitfinex's fee page for current rates at the time of writing.
Bitfinex splits balances into separate Exchange, Margin and Funding wallets. Spot orders placed through the API draw on the Exchange wallet, so moving funds there is a required step before a strategy can trade. Identity verification levels determine which deposit methods and features are available on your account.
Availability and regulation
Bitfinex is operated by iFinex and is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. It does not serve residents of the United States, following settlements with US regulators, and it restricts a number of other jurisdictions under its terms of service. Account access depends on completing the required verification level for your country. Before opening an account, review Bitfinex's current list of restricted jurisdictions, since it can change and some features may be limited in particular regions even where the platform itself is available.
For automated trading
Automating Bitfinex: strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Bitfinex's API is mature and well documented, having supported algorithmic traders for over a decade, so order placement and balance queries behave predictably.
- Major pairs such as BTC/USD and ETH/USD have deep order books, which helps keep slippage low on the market orders AutoTrader sends.
- Fine-grained key permissions let you grant order access without any wallet transfer or withdrawal rights, keeping a compromised key from moving funds off the exchange.
- Bitfinex quotes many pairs directly against US dollars as well as stablecoins, useful for strategies that benchmark performance in fiat terms.
Limitations
- The separate Exchange, Margin and Funding wallets can confuse newcomers: a strategy will fail to trade if your balance sits in the wrong wallet.
- Bitfinex lists fewer small-cap tokens than altcoin-focused exchanges, and liquidity on less popular pairs can be thin, which increases slippage for market orders.
- The exchange's paper trading sub-account uses test pairs that differ from live ones, so it is better for learning the interface than for replicating live strategy results.
Get started
How to connect Bitfinex to AutoTrader
- 01
Log in to Bitfinex, open the account menu and go to the API Keys section, then choose to create a new key. Bitfinex requires two-factor authentication to be active before it will issue keys.
- 02
Give the key a descriptive label such as AutoTrader so you can identify and revoke it later without affecting other integrations.
- 03
In the permissions list, enable the Orders permissions (read, create and cancel) and read access to Wallets so AutoTrader can check balances. Leave margin trading, margin funding and all withdrawal permissions switched off.
- 04
Optionally restrict the key to specific IP addresses. If you do, whitelist the addresses published by AutoTrader, otherwise requests will be rejected.
- 05
Confirm the key through the email and 2FA prompts Bitfinex sends, then copy the API key and API secret immediately, because the secret is shown only once.
- 06
In AutoTrader, open the Exchanges page, select Bitfinex, paste the key and secret, and save. Make sure the funds you want to trade sit in your Exchange wallet rather than your Margin or Funding wallet.
Strategy ideas
Strategies that suit Bitfinex
Trend Following Strategy
Deep liquidity on BTC/USD and ETH/USD lets trend-following systems enter and exit sustained moves with minimal slippage.
Read the strategy guide →VWAP — Volume Weighted Average Price
Heavy two-way flow on Bitfinex's major pairs makes volume-weighted average price a meaningful reference for timing entries.
Read the strategy guide →Swing Trading Strategy
Multi-day swing trades reduce the number of taker fills, which matters given Bitfinex's maker-taker fee spread.
Read the strategy guide →FAQ
Bitfinex automation: frequently asked questions
Which Bitfinex API permissions does AutoTrader need?
AutoTrader needs permission to read, create and cancel orders, plus read access to wallets so it can check available balances. You should not enable margin trading, margin funding, wallet transfers or withdrawals. Keeping the key limited this way means AutoTrader can place spot trades for your strategy, but nobody holding the key could move funds out of your Bitfinex account.
Why is my Bitfinex strategy not placing trades?
The most common cause is that funds are held in the Margin or Funding wallet instead of the Exchange wallet. Spot orders only use the Exchange wallet balance, so transfer the amount you want to trade there first. Also confirm the API key has order permissions enabled and, if you set an IP restriction, that AutoTrader's addresses are on the whitelist.
Can US residents use AutoTrader with Bitfinex?
No. Bitfinex does not open accounts for residents of the United States, so US traders cannot connect a Bitfinex account to AutoTrader. Traders in other regions should check Bitfinex's current restricted jurisdiction list and verification requirements, because availability and certain features vary by country and the list is updated from time to time.
Do I pay maker or taker fees when AutoTrader trades on Bitfinex?
AutoTrader sends market orders, which execute immediately against resting orders in the book, so they are charged at Bitfinex's taker rate for your volume tier. Taker rates fall as your 30-day trading volume rises, and LEO token holdings can reduce them further. Check Bitfinex's fee schedule for the rates that apply to your account at the time of writing.
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