BitFlyer Cryptocurrency Exchange Review

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BitFlyer History

BitFlyer is among the most popular Asian exchanges. In addition, it is among the world leaders in terms of trading volumes.

BitFlyer was founded in 2014 in Japan. It should be taken into account that most of the trading on the platform is conducted against the Japanese yen (JPY). This primarily applies to a number of Bitcoin tools, including spot trading, margin trading and futures.

BitFlyer is the most popular exchange in Japan and one of the largest by volume of trading in the world. A key feature is the binding of trading instruments to the Japanese yen. The platform offers several advanced tools, including margin trading. Despite its focus on the Japanese market, BitFlyer’s low commissions attract traders from all over the world.

How BitFlyer works

BitFlyer has two interfaces that can be used to manage trading.
Namely:

• Control Panel.
• BitFlyer Lightning.

Control Panel

The Control Panel is where you manage your account and view your trading history.

On the Home tab, you can see your asset value, some current market data, and basic information about your account, such as its class.

Under Trade Report, you can find records of your trades and bank transactions. You can also easily export this data to a CSV or Excel file.

The control panel also has areas for depositing to your account and withdrawing funds (both BTC and USD).

Deposits and withdrawals of USD are done via bank transfer only. BitFlyer rejects deposits via ACH and returns transfers that go over your limit.

Finally, on the Settings tab, you can change security settings, such as creating a 4-digit PIN and setting up two-factor authentication.

These extra precautions are highly recommended regardless of the amount you trade.

The control panel also has areas for depositing to your account and withdrawing funds (both BTC and USD).

Deposits and withdrawals of USD are done via bank transfer only. BitFlyer rejects deposits via ACH and returns transfers that go over your limit.

Finally, on the Settings tab, you can change security settings, such as creating a 4-digit PIN and setting up two-factor authentication.

These extra precautions are highly recommended regardless of the amount you trade.

BitFlyer Lightning

BitFlyer Lightning is a platform on which you can make trades. It’s pretty simple, but it can seem intimidating to novice investors.

You can create simple market and limit orders directly from the interface while viewing the corresponding charts.

On these charts, you will find most of the features that more experienced traders use, such as Fibonacci lines, moving averages, Japanese candlesticks and depth charts.

If you need more advanced trading options, you can click on the “Special” tab to set additional conditions, such as stop limits and automatic trades.

Lightning Exchange also has a chat room for all traders who are on the platform. It is not quite clear what value this has for trading, but the move is quite interesting.

Trading fees

The transaction fee is 0.0008 BTC for Bitcoin withdrawals and $10 for dollar withdrawals.

The company has not announced what their trading fees will be on regular days, but they are running a promotion with free trading until the end of February.

Cryptocurrencies available

Bitcoin is currently the only cryptocurrency that can be bought and sold on bitFlyer in the United States.

In Japan, the exchange supports other currencies, but they are cautious about the choice and slow to roll out.

It has not yet been announced which coins they plan to support in the US going forward, but it is likely that they will follow the Japanese branch and add Litecoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic and Bitcoin Cash.

Deposit and withdrawal limits

Daily deposit and withdrawal limits are determined by the class of your account.

With a Trade Lite account, you can deposit and withdraw up to $2,000 daily. This limit does not depend on whether you are transferring bitcoins or US dollars.

With this account class, you will also have a maximum limit of $3,000 per transaction when trading on the platform.

To get the Trade Lite class, you need to provide your name, date of birth, phone number and home address.

If you additionally send a scan of your ID, you will receive the standard Trade account class. In this class, your daily deposit/withdrawal limit increases to $50,000.

This also applies to both bitcoins and U.S. dollars. In addition, in this class, the limit on the maximum size of a single transaction disappears. This means that there is no limit on the amount you can exchange per transaction.

Finally, if you fill out the advanced form and verify your identity, you can get Trade Pro status. In this account class, there are no restrictions on deposit, withdrawal or transaction size.

The company’s level of trust

The high volume of trading on BitFlyer shows that investors from all over the world trust this company and the people behind it.

The company has also received all the necessary licenses from the Japan Financial Services Agency (FSA), the European Union and most states in the United States.

The exchange is a platinum member of the Japanese Blockchain Association due to its strict security regulations.

Security of funds

BitFlyer treats security with the utmost thoroughness. The platform uses all standard security procedures (SSL, multi-signature, 2FA) and stores over 80% of Bitcoin in a standalone wallet.

This wallet is protected by numerous physical locks and a 24/7 surveillance system.

If you want to learn more about BitFlyer’s strict security measures, you can read publications from the developers.

Customer support

You can contact customer support via email, although it is not known how quickly you will get a response.

If you dig through the forums and reviews, you will find that people who use BitFlyer like the exchange and do not report any problems with customer service.

The website also has a well-organized FAQ section with a great set of questions and helpful answers.

Conclusion

While the BitFlyer exchange is not very intuitive for beginners, it may be the right choice for those looking for a quick way to buy Bitcoin.

It is one of the most respected exchanges in the world and takes more than enough security measures to ensure that your funds are safely stored.