06 Nov Bitfinex Proudly Celebrates 11 Years of Innovation and Management in Bitcoin
Right this moment we’ll check out Bitfinex’s decade-plus journey shaping the way forward for a parallel Bitcoin-based monetary system, accessible to all. Bitfinex observes its eleventh yr in operation, a outstanding interval characterised by sustained innovation and authoritative affect inside the realms of Bitcoin, blockchain, and P2P applied sciences.
Eleven Years in Bitcoin Can Appear Like a Lifetime
On November sixth, 2023, Bitfinex is comfortable to have a good time our eleventh anniversary, marking over a decade of steady innovation and management within the Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and P2P areas. 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 neighborhood improvement. Leveraging the transformative capabilities of Bitcoin, Bitfinex goals to ascertain a parallel peer-to-peer monetary system that prioritises freedom and accessibility for people throughout the globe, whereas appearing as an alternative choice to legacy finance.
The title “Bitfinex” is a portmanteau of three pivotal ideas, Bitcoin, Finance, and Alternate, that function the cornerstones of our id and mission. The title not solely encapsulates our platform’s main perform as a high-volume buying and selling alternate for Bitcoin and different digital belongings but additionally emphasises our broader position within the ever-evolving panorama of economic companies.
By fusing these three ideas, Bitfinex indicators our dedication to be greater than only a cryptocurrency alternate; we purpose to be a complete parallel monetary platform that bridges conventional finance with the progressive world of Bitcoin and blockchain expertise. The title thus embodies our dedication to pushing the boundaries of what’s doable within the realm of digital finance, serving as a continuing reminder of our foundational ideas and bold goals.
Over time, Bitfinex has remained dedicated to our imaginative and prescient of selling monetary freedom and inclusion via cutting-edge companies, merchandise, and academic initiatives, documented for posterity via our Freedom Manifesto. Our eleventh anniversary affords an necessary alternative to replicate on our achievements and units the stage for continued progress and constructive impression within the ever-evolving panorama of digital belongings and P2P applied sciences created to boost private and monetary freedom.
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 undertaking known as Bitcoinica, Bitfinex initially launched as a peer-to-peer (P2P) margin lending platform completely for Bitcoin. We rapidly diversified as a consequence of buyer demand, including assist for a number of cryptocurrencies and increasing our suite of companies. 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 era of altcoins. Bitfinex made a discerning alternative by including Litecoin to our buying and selling platform, as one of many first non-Bitcoin digital belongings. Recognizing Litecoin’s enduring potential and stability in distinction to different risky altcoins of the time, Bitfinex provided its prospects a chance 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 belongings with long-term viability and credibility.
January 2015 – Tether is Added to the Platform, Paving the Means 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 protected haven throughout market volatility, permitting them to simply transition from risky belongings like Bitcoin to a steady forex pegged to the US greenback. It additionally allowed exchanges to settle trades denominated in USD at a time when banks weren’t providing monetary companies to the trade as an entire. The mixing of Tether not solely underscored Bitfinex’s forward-thinking strategy 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 neighborhood. Tether was the primary stablecoin, which paved the best way for numerous others, launched within the ensuing years.
March 2016 – Ether is added to the Platform, Paving the Means for ERC-20 Tokens
In March 2016, Bitfinex took a major step by including Ether, a transfer that had far-reaching implications for its buyer base and the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem. Ether is the primary token of Ethereum, which affords progressive capabilities for sensible contracts and decentralised purposes (DApps), presenting a brand-new frontier for blockchain expertise. 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 notably 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 inspiration for a lot of tokens that went on to considerably impression the world of Decentralised Finance (DeFi). These tokens have develop into pivotal in the whole lot from decentralised exchanges (DEXs) to lending platforms and stablecoins. By providing Ether, Bitfinex successfully gave its prospects a gateway to this burgeoning world of potentialities, reinforcing its position as a frontrunner in digital asset buying and selling. The transfer additional solidified Bitfinex’s popularity for embracing promising applied sciences and providing numerous, sturdy buying and selling alternatives to its international neighborhood.
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 would have simply spelt doom for a lot of digital asset buying and selling platforms. Whereas the crypto-community watched with bated breath, Bitfinex took fast motion. In an unprecedented and progressive manoeuvre, we issued BFX tokens to all affected prospects at a ratio of 1 BFX token for each greenback stolen. We provided prospects a alternative: they might redeem every BFX token for $1 per token or alternate every BFX token, valued at $1 per token, for widespread shares of iFinex capital inventory. Remarkably, by April 3, 2017—simply eight months following the safety incident—Bitfinex efficiently redeemed these tokens, absolutely compensating prospects and thereby restoring confidence within the alternate.
This resilience stood in sharp distinction to the destiny of many up to date exchanges that have been obliterated by hacks, fraud, or mismanagement. Authorities finally captured the hackers liable for the Bitfinex breach and recovered part of the stolen belongings, an necessary chapter in our firm’s historical past. By not simply surviving, however thriving, after such a significant 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 inside the risky panorama of cryptocurrency buying and selling.
October 2017 – Buying and selling the Fork Wars with the B2X “Chain Break up” Token
Through the turbulent interval of Bitcoin’s block dimension debates and subsequent forks, Bitfinex adopted a impartial stance, making certain that our platform wouldn’t develop into a battleground for competing ideologies. Whereas not taking sides, Bitfinex did introduce the B2X token to offer 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 belongings that might be traded individually, thus capturing the market’s evaluation of the relative worth of the forked chains. This strategy enabled Bitfinex to keep up our dedication to buyer alternative and market integrity whereas steering away from the contentious politics that enveloped the Bitcoin neighborhood 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 bought 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 capabilities inside the Bitfinex ecosystem, together with providing buying and selling payment reductions and serving as a key element in a spread of purposes and companies. Along with this, the token acts as a pivotal factor in a wide range of Bitfinex purposes and companies, 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 neighborhood. 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 strong set of options for market evaluation, order execution, and danger administration. By providing such an intricate toolset, Bitfinex is actively levelling the enjoying discipline between retail and institutional merchants.
April 2020 – Bitfinex Comfortable Staking Service Launches
Bitfinex entered the staking enviornment with its comfortable staking service, permitting Bitfinex prospects to earn rewards by merely holding and staking sure varieties of cryptocurrencies immediately via their Bitfinex accounts. This service brings one other layer of economic incentive for the platform’s prospects, enhancing the utility and yield-generating capabilities of supported digital belongings.
By taking the complexity out of staking procedures, Bitfinex makes it accessible even for purchasers who is probably not technologically savvy. The service aligns with Bitfinex’s broader mission to supply a complete and customer-friendly ecosystem for digital belongings, starting from buying and selling to facilitating peripheral use-cases. This provides one other side to the platform’s already sturdy suite of economic instruments and companies, reinforcing its standing as one of the vital versatile platforms within the trade
April 2020 – Bitfinex Pulse Launches to Present a Social Media Community for Merchants
In an effort to foster neighborhood interplay and real-time info sharing amongst our customers, Bitfinex launched Bitfinex Pulse, an in-house social media community designed particularly for merchants. Pulse supplies 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 companies, Bitfinex not solely deepens our stage of buyer engagement however we additionally improve the standard of decision-making via collective intelligence. This progressive 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 by way of Automation
In July 2020, Bitfinex launched Lending Professional, a extremely automated, customizable, and superior lending instrument geared toward elevating the expertise of its prospects within the margin funding market. Designed to cater to each particular person and institutional lenders, Lending Professional affords a set of options that automate lending based mostly on predefined standards, thereby optimising the returns on lent belongings. 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 financial system and mainstream finance.
September 2020 – Bitfinex Borrow Gives 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 progressive answer tailor-made to the particular 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 numerous digital and fiat currencies with out liquidating useful belongings. 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 very 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 cost answer designed to streamline and simplify cryptocurrency transactions for companies. This providing permits retailers to simply accept digital belongings as cost for items and companies, additional bridging the hole between conventional finance and the Bitcoin and crypto financial system. By offering a seamless and safe cost gateway that helps numerous cryptocurrencies, Bitfinex Pay not solely affords 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 belongings. With this transfer, Bitfinex extends its attain past alternate companies to play a pivotal position in how transactions are literally carried out within the trendy digital financial 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 economic companies, with the potential to disrupt the traditional securities trade essentially. Working on the intersection of blockchain expertise 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 economic devices. In doing so, Bitfinex Securities challenges the longstanding norms and inefficiencies of legacy techniques by leveraging the inherent advantages of decentralised applied sciences, akin to real-time settlement and decrease transaction prices.
This pioneering initiative displays Bitfinex’s dedication to innovation and its quest to repeatedly provide 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 may 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 disclosing 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 important 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 via expertise.
The doc supplies a complete framework by way of a number of key pledges to assist 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 financial system as authorized tender, amplifies the manifesto’s significance. By launching it at such a distinguished occasion, Bitfinex not solely spoke on to a like-minded viewers but additionally made a powerful assertion concerning the important position of cryptocurrencies in shaping a future geared in 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 direction of blockchain and cryptocurrency applied sciences, making it an excellent hub for Bitfinex Securities to broaden its companies and affect.
The Astana workplace won’t solely facilitate localised companies 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 worldwide 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 coming into different Central Asian and Eurasian markets, thereby considerably broadening our attain and impression.
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 belongings. By receiving this licence, Bitfinex Securities positive factors a major aggressive edge, enabling it to function inside a regulated surroundings in a rustic that has brazenly embraced digital forex. It additionally permits the corporate to supply an expanded vary of economic services tailor-made to this rising market. The licensure units the stage for additional developments within the adoption and regulatory recognition of digital belongings.
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 belongings with each other, bypassing conventional monetary intermediaries, thus selling monetary inclusivity and decreasing transaction prices. By leveraging the ideas of decentralisation and neighborhood interplay, Bitfinex P2P seeks to offer a extra equitable and clear buying and selling surroundings.
P2P buying and selling affords a lifeline in rising economies grappling with weak nationwide currencies and stringent capital controls. Conventional monetary techniques in such nations usually fail to offer a steady medium for saving or transacting, eroding the buying energy of residents and limiting their capability to interact in international commerce. P2P buying and selling platforms provide a method out by facilitating direct asset exchanges between customers, giving entry to a extra steady and probably appreciating asset class, cryptocurrencies. Not like typical monetary techniques, P2P platforms are largely proof against 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 well 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 buyers the chance to accumulate dangers linked to the debt and fairness of microfinance organisations and small monetary establishments.
Bitfinex Securities goals to reshape the best way 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 worth of 100 USDT and is anticipated to start distribution inside one week following the completion of the capital increase.
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 situation 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 via deep liquid markets and inventory/bond markets.”
