Bitfinex: Celebrating Over a Decade of Supporting and Constructing on Bitcoin

For Bitfinex, as one of many earliest Bitcoin platforms, based simply three years after the primary Bitcoin transaction, the now world enthusiasm we’re seeing for Bitcoin represents a vindication of the imaginative and prescient we shared in these early days of Bitcoin’s promise and potential, that goes past simply the worth.

Our long-held view is that Bitcoin represents a know-how that’s distinctive as a result of, resulting from its decentralised construction it’s just about indestructible, utterly immutable and borderless. The idea {that a} type of cash and an interconnected system can’t be managed is what makes Bitcoin so enticing to traders who need to escape a monetary system that may be manipulated. Therefore, the each day data being seen in its value as extra traders flock to Bitcoin, now made a lot simpler within the type of regulated ETFs. However maybe equally vital is the power of Bitcoin to be a retailer of worth for people who wouldn’t have entry to monetary providers – both as a result of they’re costly or unavailable – and might present a haven for financial savings or funding that can not be taken away.

We name this Monetary Freedom and it’s on the core of our identification as an organization to proceed spreading the phrase and proselytising in regards to the significance of Bitcoin; innovating and constructing open, peer-to-peer methods which might be accessible and uncensorable; supporting the Lightning Community and different comparable applied sciences to additional the scalability and utility of Bitcoin; and investing within the Bitcoin group, together with builders and white hat hackers to make sure the power and the resilience of the Bitcoin community.

This identification is on the coronary heart of our imaginative and prescient as an organization to be the main world advocate of freedom by accelerating a transition to a extra open and truthful world.

As we glance ahead, we at the moment are weeks away from the fourth Bitcoin halving in April, a basic underpinning of Bitcoin that ensures its shortage, and is a basic financial recalibration that influences every part from mining methods to world market dynamics. We invite you to hitch us for a particular Bitfinex Talks session on March 15, 2024, at 3.15pm UTC. Throughout this occasion, Paolo Ardoino, Bitfinex Chief Know-how Officer, will present his view on what the worth appreciation will do for Bitcoin and its adoption and its utility, in addition to how the halving will assist form a path to a brand new chapter within the quest for monetary liberation.

Eleven Years in Bitcoin Can Appear Like a Lifetime

On November sixth, 2023, Bitfinex celebrated its eleventh anniversary, marking over a decade of steady innovation and management in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and P2P know-how. Since our founding in 2012, we’ve been on the forefront of advancing digital currencies, contributing to each the technological underpinnings of the ecosystem and stimulating group improvement. Leveraging the transformative capabilities of Bitcoin, Bitfinex goals to determine a parallel peer-to-peer monetary system that prioritises freedom and accessibility for people throughout the globe, whereas appearing as a substitute for legacy finance.

The title “Bitfinex” is a portmanteau of three pivotal ideas, Bitcoin, Finance, and Trade, that encapsulates our platform’s major perform as a high-volume buying and selling trade for Bitcoin and different digital property, and emphasises our broader function within the ever-evolving panorama of monetary providers.

As we have a good time the Bitcoin value, we replicate on our journey thus far and sit up for the subsequent 11 years.

A Stroll Down Reminiscence Lane: A Have a look at Some Vital Milestones in Our Journey

November 2012 – Our Founding

Bitfinex emerged as one of many pioneering platforms particularly engineered for cryptocurrency buying and selling, born November sixth, 2012. Based by Raphael Nicolle, an IT technician from France who had beforehand labored on a venture known as Bitcoinica, Bitfinex initially launched as a peer-to-peer (P2P) margin lending platform solely for Bitcoin. We shortly diversified resulting from buyer demand, including help for a number of cryptocurrencies and increasing our suite of providers. We started providing an array of buying and selling choices together with high-volume spot buying and selling, margin buying and selling, peer-to-peer lending (margin funding), over-the-counter (OTC) markets, and derivatives buying and selling. From the outset, Bitfinex has positioned itself as an institutional-grade hub for digital asset buying and selling, designed to cater to a big selection of buying and selling wants for customers globally.

Might 2013 – Litecoin is Added to the Platform

Within the early days of Bitcoin, we started to see the emergence of the very first technology of altcoins. Bitfinex made a discerning selection by including Litecoin to our buying and selling platform, as one of many first non-Bitcoin digital property. Recognizing Litecoin’s enduring potential and stability in distinction to different risky altcoins of the time, Bitfinex supplied its prospects a possibility to commerce a cryptocurrency with confirmed endurance. This addition not solely broadened the portfolio choices for Bitfinex’s buyer base, but additionally underscored our dedication to facilitating commerce in property with long-term viability and credibility.

January 2015 – Tether is Added to the Platform, Paving the Method for Stablecoins

In January 2015, Bitfinex took a strategic step by including USD Tether (USDt) to our platform, recognizing the rising demand for stablecoins within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. This history-making transfer supplied merchants with a much-needed secure haven throughout market volatility, permitting them to simply transition from risky property like Bitcoin to a steady foreign money pegged to the US greenback. It additionally allowed exchanges to settle trades denominated in USD at a time when banks weren’t providing monetary providers to the trade as a complete. The mixing of Tether not solely underscored Bitfinex’s forward-thinking method but additionally served as a catalyst for the broader adoption of stablecoins as a brand new kind of asset class within the crypto buying and selling group. Tether was the primary stablecoin, which paved the way in which for numerous others, launched within the ensuing years.

March 2016 – Ether is added to the Platform, and bringing with it ERC-20 Tokens

In March 2016, Bitfinex determined so as to add Ether, a transfer that had far-reaching implications for its buyer base and the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem. Ether is the principle token of Ethereum, which presents modern capabilities for sensible contracts and decentralised functions (DApps), presenting a brand-new frontier for blockchain know-how. By incorporating Ether into our numerous set of choices, Bitfinex not solely catered to rising buyer demand but additionally demonstrated our dedication to staying on the forefront of blockchain innovation.

The mixing of Ether was significantly noteworthy as a result of it opened the doorways for the buying and selling and funding of numerous ERC-20 tokens. The ERC-20 normal has been the muse for a lot of tokens that went on to considerably affect the world of Decentralised Finance (DeFi). These tokens have develop into pivotal in every part from decentralised exchanges (DEXs) to lending platforms and stablecoins. By providing Ether, Bitfinex successfully gave its prospects a gateway to this burgeoning world of prospects, reinforcing its function as a frontrunner in digital asset buying and selling. The transfer additional solidified Bitfinex’s status for embracing promising applied sciences and providing numerous, strong buying and selling alternatives to its world group.

August 2016 – The Notorious Bitfinex Hack: How we Survived Certainly one of Our Hardest Challenges

In August 2016, Bitfinex suffered a major cybersecurity breach that led to the theft of virtually 120,000 bitcoins, an occasion that might have simply spelt doom for a lot of digital asset buying and selling platforms. Whereas the crypto-community watched with bated breath, Bitfinex took speedy motion. In an unprecedented and modern manoeuvre, we issued BFX tokens to all affected prospects at a ratio of 1 BFX token for each greenback stolen. We supplied prospects a selection: they may redeem every BFX token for $1 per token or trade every BFX token, valued at $1 per token, for frequent shares of iFinex capital inventory. Remarkably, by April 3, 2017—simply eight months following the safety incident—Bitfinex efficiently redeemed these tokens, totally compensating prospects and thereby restoring confidence within the trade.

This resilience stood in sharp distinction to the destiny of many modern exchanges that had been obliterated by hacks, fraud, or mismanagement. Authorities ultimately captured the hackers chargeable for the Bitfinex breach and recovered part of the stolen property, an vital chapter in our firm’s historical past. By not simply surviving, however thriving, after such a serious setback, Bitfinex showcased its dedication to buyer safety and operational integrity, setting itself aside as an organization with an moral administration workforce that actually cares about its prospects. It additionally served as a case examine in efficient disaster administration throughout the risky panorama of cryptocurrency buying and selling.

October 2017 – Buying and selling the Fork Wars with the B2X “Chain Break up” Token

In the course of the turbulent interval of Bitcoin’s block measurement debates and subsequent forks, Bitfinex adopted a impartial stance, guaranteeing that our platform wouldn’t develop into a battleground for competing ideologies. Whereas not taking sides, Bitfinex did introduce the B2X token to present our merchants the liberty to commerce the occasion of the Bitcoin SegWit2x fork.

By providing the “chain cut up” tokens, we supplied a mechanism for purchasers to hedge in opposition to the potential dangers and likewise speculate on the end result of the fork. The B2X token allowed prospects to separate their Bitcoin holdings into distinct property that might be traded individually, thus capturing the market’s evaluation of the relative worth of the forked chains. This method enabled Bitfinex to keep up our dedication to buyer selection and market integrity whereas steering away from the contentious politics that enveloped the Bitcoin group on the time.

Might 2019 – UNUS SED LEO (LEO) Token Launched

Bitfinex launched UNUS SED LEO, our personal utility token, in 2019. The token was met with appreciable curiosity and swiftly offered out throughout its preliminary personal sale, demonstrating each the arrogance prospects have in Bitfinex and the perceived utility of the token itself. UNUS SED LEO serves a number of features throughout the Bitfinex ecosystem, together with providing buying and selling charge reductions and serving as a key element in a spread of functions and providers. Along with this, the token acts as a pivotal factor in a wide range of Bitfinex functions and providers, which vary from enhancing liquidity to collaborating in token gross sales hosted on the platform.

July 2019 – Algorithmic Buying and selling Platform Honey Framework Launches

The launch of Bitfinex’s Honey Framework was a major leap ahead in offering superior buying and selling instruments to the cryptocurrency group. This algorithmic buying and selling framework permits merchants to construct customised buying and selling methods with a excessive diploma of sophistication, thereby enabling them to maximise their buying and selling effectivity. The Honey Framework seamlessly integrates with Bitfinex’s current platform, offering a sturdy set of options for market evaluation, order execution, and danger administration. By providing such an intricate toolset, Bitfinex is actively levelling the taking part in subject between retail and institutional merchants.

April 2020 – Bitfinex Gentle Staking Service Launches

Bitfinex entered the staking area with its comfortable staking service, permitting Bitfinex prospects to earn rewards by merely holding and staking sure sorts of cryptocurrencies immediately by their Bitfinex accounts. This service brings one other layer of monetary incentive for the platform’s prospects, enhancing the utility and yield-generating capabilities of supported digital property.

By taking the complexity out of staking procedures, Bitfinex makes it accessible even for purchasers who might not be technologically savvy. The service aligns with Bitfinex’s broader mission to supply a complete and customer-friendly ecosystem for digital property, starting from buying and selling to facilitating peripheral use-cases. This provides one other aspect to the platform’s already strong suite of monetary instruments and providers, reinforcing its standing as probably the most versatile platforms within the trade

In an effort to foster group interplay and real-time info sharing amongst our customers, Bitfinex launched Bitfinex Pulse, an in-house social media community designed particularly for merchants. Pulse gives an area the place merchants can focus on market tendencies, share insights, and preserve an ear to the bottom for rising alternatives or dangers.

Bitfinex Pulse comes as a pure extension of our overarching technique to offer an all-in-one ecosystem for crypto fanatics and professionals alike. By including a social layer to our current array of buying and selling and monetary providers, Bitfinex not solely deepens our stage of buyer engagement however we additionally improve the standard of decision-making by collective intelligence. This modern characteristic helps solidify Bitfinex’s place as a complete and cutting-edge answer within the digital asset market.

July 2020 – Lending Professional Revolutionises P2P Margin Lending through Automation

In July 2020, Bitfinex launched Lending Professional, a extremely automated, customizable, and superior lending software aimed toward elevating the expertise of its prospects within the margin funding market. Designed to cater to each particular person and institutional lenders, Lending Professional presents a set of options that automate lending primarily based on predefined standards, thereby optimising the returns on lent property. Lending Professional not solely streamlines the lending course of but additionally brings a stage of sophistication sometimes related to conventional monetary markets, additional bridging the hole between the crypto economic system and mainstream finance.

September 2020 – Bitfinex Borrow Presents Liquidity Options for HODLRs and Buyers

Bitfinex launched “Bitfinex Borrow,” a peer-to-peer digital token mortgage portal designed to fulfill the rising demand for cryptocurrency-backed lending. This P2P digital token mortgage portal is greater than only a lending service; it’s an modern answer tailor-made to the precise calls for of the fashionable crypto investor.

By means of permitting customers to leverage their current cryptocurrency holdings as collateral, Bitfinex Borrow makes it doable to safe loans in varied digital and fiat currencies with out liquidating worthwhile property. One of many standout options of Bitfinex Borrow is its flexibility. Customers have the choice to select from completely different mortgage phrases and rates of interest, offering an added layer of customisation that many conventional monetary establishments fail to supply. This adaptability is particularly essential within the fast-paced, risky world of cryptocurrency markets, the place person wants can change quickly.

March 2021 – Bitfinex Pay Launches Offering Infrastructure for Retailers That Wish to Settle for Crypto Funds

Bitfinex launched “Bitfinex Pay” as a service provider fee answer designed to streamline and simplify cryptocurrency transactions for companies. This providing permits retailers to just accept digital property as fee for items and providers, additional bridging the hole between conventional finance and the Bitcoin and crypto economic system. By offering a seamless and safe fee gateway that helps varied cryptocurrencies, Bitfinex Pay not solely presents companies an opportunity to faucet right into a rising buyer base of crypto fanatics but additionally underscores Bitfinex’s broader purpose to facilitate the mass adoption of digital property. With this transfer, Bitfinex extends its attain past trade providers to play a pivotal function in how transactions are literally carried out within the fashionable digital economic system.

September 2021 – Bitfinex Securities Launches to Disrupt the Securities Issuance Business

The launch of Bitfinex Securities signifies a groundbreaking second within the realm of monetary providers, with the potential to disrupt the standard securities trade basically. Working on the intersection of blockchain know-how and conventional finance, this new platform goals to democratise funding by offering a extra accessible, environment friendly, and clear avenue for buying and selling a variety of monetary devices. In doing so, Bitfinex Securities challenges the longstanding norms and inefficiencies of legacy methods by leveraging the inherent advantages of decentralised applied sciences, comparable to real-time settlement and decrease transaction prices.

This pioneering initiative displays Bitfinex’s dedication to innovation and its quest to repeatedly supply transformative monetary options to underserved entities and markets. By tapping into the huge, but underexploited, potential of tokenisation for securities buying and selling, Bitfinex Securities might function a catalyst for a seismic shift in how investments are made and managed, thereby redefining the contours of the worldwide monetary panorama.

November 2022 – Bitfinex Launches Freedom Manifesto at Adopting Bitcoin Convention in El Salvador

The revealing of the Bitfinex Freedom Manifesto on the Adopting Bitcoin 2022 convention in El Salvador marks a pivotal second within the crypto trade’s historical past. Launched in a rustic that has already made vital strides in adopting digital currencies, the manifesto serves as a philosophical and sensible information that outlines Bitfinex’s dedication to monetary freedom, decentralisation, and empowerment by know-how.

The doc gives a complete framework through a number of key pledges to help the Bitcoin ecosystem, prioritising training and a dedication to freedom, elucidating our imaginative and prescient for a extra open and equitable monetary ecosystem. Its launch in El Salvador, a nation that has boldly built-in Bitcoin into its economic system as authorized tender, amplifies the manifesto’s significance. By launching it at such a outstanding occasion, Bitfinex not solely spoke on to a like-minded viewers but additionally made a powerful assertion in regards to the very important function of cryptocurrencies in shaping a future geared in the direction of monetary inclusivity and freedom.

February 2023 – Bitfinex Securities Opens Workplace in Astana, Kazakhstan

The institution of a regional workplace for Bitfinex Securities in Astana, Kazakhstan serves as a strategic milestone for the corporate, opening the gateway to a quickly rising market hungry for monetary innovation. Kazakhstan has proven a forward-leaning stance in the direction of blockchain and cryptocurrency applied sciences, making it a great hub for Bitfinex Securities to develop its providers and affect.

The Astana workplace won’t solely facilitate localised providers but additionally lay the groundwork for partnerships with native monetary establishments and regulatory our bodies. This strategic transfer underscores Bitfinex Securities’ imaginative and prescient of democratising finance on a world scale by making inroads into markets which might be ripe for disruption and innovation. Furthermore, establishing a regional workplace in Astana can act as a springboard for getting into different Central Asian and Eurasian markets, thereby considerably broadening our attain and affect.

April 2023 – Bitfinex Securities is Granted the First Digital Asset License in El Salvador

The issuance of the first-ever Digital Asset licence in El Salvador to Bitfinex Securities represents a historic milestone for each the corporate and the broader cryptocurrency trade. This licensure not solely provides legitimacy to Bitfinex Securities but additionally underlines El Salvador’s dedication to being a pioneer within the adoption of digital property. By receiving this licence, Bitfinex Securities beneficial properties a major aggressive edge, enabling it to function inside a regulated setting in a rustic that has overtly embraced digital foreign money. It additionally permits the corporate to supply an expanded vary of monetary services tailor-made to this rising market. The licensure units the stage for additional developments within the adoption and regulatory recognition of digital property.

June 2023 – Bitfinex P2P Launches in Argentina, Colombia, and Venezuela

The introduction of Bitfinex’s Peer-to-Peer (P2P) platform represents a major milestone in our ongoing mission to democratise finance, ship monetary inclusion, improve monetary freedom and improve person expertise. Our P2P platform permits customers to immediately commerce property with each other, bypassing conventional monetary intermediaries, thus selling monetary inclusivity and lowering transaction prices. By leveraging the ideas of decentralisation and group interplay, Bitfinex P2P seeks to offer a extra equitable and clear buying and selling setting.

P2P buying and selling presents a lifeline in rising economies grappling with weak nationwide currencies and stringent capital controls. Conventional monetary methods in such nations typically fail to offer a steady medium for saving or transacting, eroding the buying energy of residents and limiting their capacity to interact in world commerce. P2P buying and selling platforms supply a approach out by facilitating direct asset exchanges between customers, giving entry to a extra steady and doubtlessly appreciating asset class, cryptocurrencies. In contrast to typical monetary methods, P2P platforms are largely resistant to native financial insurance policies, offering another channel for capital flows each inside and past nationwide borders. In doing so, they empower people to regain management over their monetary futures, bypassing restrictive controls and risky nationwide currencies.

October 2023 – Bitfinex Securities Launches First Tokenised Bond Providing

Bitfinex Securities unveiled its inaugural tokenised bond providing, ALT2611, a major milestone that guarantees to revolutionise capital markets. Issued by Mikro Kapital, a widely known participant within the microfinance sector, this 36-month bond carries a ten% coupon and is denominated in Tether (USDT). With a minimal funding quantity set at 125,000 USDT, ALT2611 is designed to democratise monetary entry, giving traders the chance to accumulate dangers linked to the debt and fairness of microfinance organisations and small monetary establishments.

Bitfinex Securities goals to reshape the way in which capital is raised by offering a deep, liquid marketplace for a wide range of monetary devices, together with blockchain-based bonds, shares, and funding funds. The ALT2611 bond will start buying and selling on the value of 100 USDT and is anticipated to begin distribution inside one week following the completion of the capital elevate.

The bond has a three-year maturity interval, and its authorized framework is ruled by the legal guidelines of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Mikro Kapital intends to problem a complete of 100,000 securitized tokens for ALT2611, aiming to boost 10 million USDT. Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino hailed the launch as “the start of a brand new period for capital raises by deep liquid markets and inventory/bond markets.”

March 2024 – Bitfinex Solidifies its Place because the Unique Bitcoin Trade

Since its inception in November 2012, Bitfinex has steadfastly adhered to its founding thesis: a Bitcoin-first crypto trade devoted to offering monetary freedom to its prospects. This dedication has not too long ago been vindicated by Bitcoin’s achievement of an all-time excessive value, underscoring the foresight and visionary management of Bitfinex, as a long-standing supporter of the Bitcoin revolution.

This milestone not solely cements Bitfinex’s status as a pioneer, but additionally heralds its ongoing journey in the direction of innovation and the growth of monetary autonomy within the digital age. Bitfinex’s unwavering dedication to its core ideas and its prospects’ monetary empowerment stands as a testomony to its path ahead, promising a future the place its foundational imaginative and prescient continues to form and drive the crypto ecosystem.

March 2024 – Bitcoin Reaches a New All Time Excessive

Bitcoin’s ascent to a brand new all-time excessive of $72,606 on Monday, March eleventh, 2024, has successfully silenced its sceptics, marking a pivotal second within the cryptocurrency’s journey in the direction of mainstream acceptance. This outstanding achievement, exemplified by an unprecedented wave of institutional adoption facilitated by the launch of US Bitcoin ETFs, signifies a major shift in notion in the direction of Bitcoin.

For years, critics doubted Bitcoin’s viability as a reputable asset class, however its rising integration into the mainstream monetary panorama has confirmed these doubts unfounded. The surge in Bitcoin’s worth not solely validates the foresight of early adopters but additionally underscores the transformative potential of digital currencies in reshaping the way forward for world finance.

Bitcoin’s upcoming halving will remodel the cryptocurrency ecosystem, making a dichotomy the place some contributors discover their positions weakened, whereas others emerge strengthened. These pivotal moments function a take a look at, distinguishing the resilient from the weak, and reshaping the panorama in favour of those that adapt and thrive amidst change.

To study extra please be part of us on Mar 15, 2024 at 3.15pm UTC for a Bitfinex Talks Particular

With Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Bitfinex who will share his imaginative and prescient about Bitcoin rally, the upcoming halving and the way that is opening the way in which to monetary freedom. Hyperlink right here

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