BitForex Review

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Finding a well-rounded trading platform with low fees, a good asset selection, and no ID verification is a tall task. One exchange that meets these requirements is BitForex, but is it safe and worth using? Throughout our BitForex review, we'll compare the exchange's fees, features, ease of use, and mobile support to other popular platforms, helping our readers decide whether BitForex is right for them.

Our Take

3.5/5

HedgewithCryptoScore

Bottom line:

BitForex is a well-rounded exchange that could appeal to new crypto traders due to its competitive and simplistic fee structure. Additionally, due to BitForex offering an excellent selection of cryptocurrencies and great analysis tools, even advanced traders could derive value from the platform.

However, the company operates in a regulatory grey area, and many users have reported issues with the site. As such, we can only recommend BitForex to users looking for a no-KYC exchange who are okay with taking on additional risks compared to a more popular cryptocurrency exchange like Binance.

Visit Bitforex

Trading Fees:

0.1% / 0.1%

Currency:USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, +15 Others

Country:Global (USA not allowed)

Promotion:

None available at this time

Pros and cons

• Competitive Trading Fees
• Powered by TradingView
• No KYC Requirements

• Poor Mobile App
• Many Users are Reporting Issues

• Competitive Trading Fees. BitForex boasts a simple fee structure that can compete with even the most prominent trading platforms. Spot fees are 0.1% per transaction, and perpetual trading ranges from 0.04% to 0.06%, which puts the platform level with Binance for spot trading but slightly more costly for leverage trading.
• Powered by TradingView. Like many exchanges we've reviewed, BitForex utilizes TradingView for its charting and analysis tools. As such, you'll have plenty of access to technical indicators and drawing tools, enabling analysis without any extra software.
• No KYC Requirments. In contrast to most exchanges, BitForex does not require you to complete Know-Your-Customer verification before trading, making it a good choice if you value your privacy. However, the company can request KYC documents at any time.

• Poor Mobile App. During testing for this BitForex review, we were unimpressed with the mobile app. Charting hardly worked, there was no way to access staking or lending, and users reported logging in and trading issues. Therefore, we advise looking for an alternative if you want to trade on a mobile device.
• Many Users are Reporting Issues. Although we didn't experience many issues during our testing, many customers have reported that BitForex has frozen their funds frozen and delisted certain coins without warning. While it's true that customers are more likely to report negative experiences, this quantity of poor reviews is not a good sign for BitForex.

BitForex Compared and Alternatives

Exchange	Crypto Assets	Trading Fees	Rating	Promotion	Website	Review
Binance	385	0.1% (spot) and 0.02% / 0.04% (Futures)	Rating 4.8/5	Up to $100 welcome bonus	Visit Binance	Binance Review
ByBit	331 (608 trading pairs)	0% (spot), 0.06% / 0.01% (futures)	Rating 4.8/5	0% trading fees for 30 days (spot only)	Visit ByBit	ByBit Review
Prime XBT	39	0.05%	Rating 4.4/5	None available at this time	Visit Prime XBT	Prime XBT Review

Bitforex At A Glance

BitForex is a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017 and serves over 3 million users worldwide. However, the platform is unregulated and seemingly has no plans to seek licensing from authoritative bodies.

Review of the Top BitForex Features

BitForex offers two different types of interest-generating crypto products that support over 20 cryptocurrencies. Moreover, BitForex Earn is simple to use thanks to its no-frill interface that clearly highlights your cumulative interest, delegation duration, minimum stake amount, and estimated APY.

The available products include savings and staking. While both are very similar, the former offers higher yields on more popular assets like BTC, ETH, and USDT. Conversely, the latter lets you earn interest on lesser-known cryptos like SMR, APT, and ALGO. As such, the savings service will work better for extended delegation periods compared to the higher-risk staking assets.

BitForex USDT Staking Preview.

Compared to Bybit's 35 supported earn assets and Binance's 346, BitForex offers a much more limited selection at just 22. However, BitForex excels in flexible earn products as the estimated APY offered is far higher than other exchanges' flexible products. Therefore, while BitForex's selection is lackluster, it's an excellent alternative if you don't want to be locked into a contract.

On top of its spot trading capabilities, BitForex supports perpetual leverage trading on crypto. There are 13 assets denominated in USD, including BTC, ETH, and XRP. Compared to other exchanges we've reviewed, like OKX, the range of leveraged pairs offered by BitForex is subpar and there is no margin trading support.

Unfortunately, there is no support for multi-screen charting on BitForex, making it difficult to compare multiple assets to find the best opportunity quickly. That said, the order book interface highlights depth at various prices, helping you to place orders in line with market demand.

While the quantity of perpetual contracts needs improvement, BitForex uses charts provided by TradingView, offering excellent analysis capabilities due to the available selection of drawing tools and technical indicators. As such, BitForex could be suitable for traders looking to buy and sell a few particular assets with up to 100x leverage.

Another helpful product offered by BitForex is the company's cryptocurrency loan service. Using this tool, you can use Ethereum or Bitcoin stored in a BitForex exchange wallet as collateral to receive a USDT loan with a 65% loan-to-value ratio (LTV). As such, the service is ideal for users with holdings on BitForex needing a cash injection without triggering a taxable event.

Although more specialized crypto lending platforms like Nexo issue loans for up to one year, BitForex only offers fixed-term loans spanning 7, 14, or 30 days. While crypto loans are advanced products tailored to experienced investors, BitForex's service boasts a basic interface that is far more beginner-friendly than most other cryptocurrency exchanges.

BitForex Crypto Loan details.

You can preview key details like hourly/daily interest rate, total interest amount, and total repayment amount before committing to the loan, providing transparency. However, the lack of supported assets limits the accessibility of BitForex's crypto loans to people who have already invested significant sums into Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Ideal for anyone wishing to invest in new cryptocurrencies during the earliest point of their lifecycle, BitForex Turbo Starter is an Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) and Initial NFT Offering (INO) launchpad that has helped to propel projects like SUI to the forefront of the crypto space.

Unfortunately, the quantity of projects launched through Turbo Starter is far fewer than most other exchanges offering the service. For example, BitForex has helped to release 17 projects, while Gate.io has launched 750. Additionally, SUI is the only project launched on BitForex that has enjoyed continued success, indicating a lack of project quality compared to other platforms.

BitForex Turbo Starter SUI Details.

While researching the tool for our BitForex exchange review, we were impressed with the accessibility of Turbo Starter. While Gate.io requires you to complete KYC and have at least $500 on the site to access its IEOs, BitForex has no requirements other than a minimum purchase amount, which we found to be at the lower side of the industry average (around $100).

Although BitForex Turbo Start is one of the most widely accessible crypto launchpads, the lack of quality projects and inconsistency in when new projects become available limit the tool's potential. While it has a good foundation, far more cryptos will need to list on Turbo Starter for it to compete with the alternative IDO platforms for cryptos offered by Gate.io, Binance, and other large exchanges.

BitForex offers a zero gas fee swaps system with instant conversions. However, the tool differs significantly from similar services from crypto exchanges like Bybit and Binance. Rather than being able to swap most mainstream tokens, EazySwap only supports assets that use the ERC-20 architecture, and they must be traded against ETH.

Another difference between EazySwap and similar tools is how trades are matched. Users can register as a liquidity pool provider to receive up to 100% of trading fees generated from their liquidity. As users are paired with one another rather than transacting directly through BitForex, the service is semi-decentralized and more akin to a Peer-to-Peer trading platform rather than typical swaps.

BitForex EazySwap Preview.

Furthermore, EazySwap lets you set a slippage limit before conducting a trade, allowing you automatically cancel the transaction if the price changes unfavorably. However, while there are no gas fees, a 0.3% charge per trade is sent to the liquidity provider, making the service more pricey than typical exchange fees of 0.1% per trade.

EazySwap is a relatively expensive service, given the prevalence of zero-fee trading on mainstream crypto exchanges. Combined with the lack of support for non-ERC-20 assets and EazySwap is challenging to recommend.

BitForex Account and KYC Requirements

BitForex offers one of the fastest pathways to trading out of any exchange. As a leading No-KYC crypto exchange, there is no need to complete Know-Your-Customer (KYC) verification before trading, meaning you only need to provide and confirm an email address/password.

That said, BitForex can request you to complete KYC verification if the company determines your activities are suspicious or if you conduct more than $10,000 worth of trading volume within a day. To complete KYC verification, BitForex requests a photo ID (passport, driving license) and a selfie with a handwritten note containing the word 'BitForex' and the current date.

Supported Fiat Currencies and Deposit Methods

Unfortunately, there is no way to deposit fiat currency to the BitForex platform directly. Instead, you must purchase cryptocurrency through one of five third-party service providers: Banxa, Moonpay, Advcash, Coinify, and Mercuryo. However, going this route incurs fees ranging from 2.5% to 3.8%, which could significantly affect any investment profits.

The supported fiat currencies differ from provider to provider, but MoonPay offers the most options with 21 currencies, including USD, GBP, AUD, CAD, and EUR. Additionally, three of five payment channels offer bank account transfer and credit/debit card support, slightly improving the service's accessibility.

Supported Cryptocurrencies and Trading Pairs

While writing our BitForex review, we were impressed that the platform offers 333 cryptocurrencies you can trade against USDT, BTC, ETH, and USDT for 411 spot trading pairs. Additionally, 15 perpetual contracts can be traded, along with over 900 ERC-20 assets that can be purchased using cryptocurrency through the EazySwap tool.

BitForex Fees

BitForex offers competitive trading fees for its spot and leveraged instruments, with no discounts for high volumes or paying fees with a particular token. Compared to almost every other exchange we've looked at, BitForex boasts a very simple fee structure perfect for new traders who are unlikely to conduct thousands of dollars worth of trades.

The fee for spot trading is 0.1%, which is the industry standard, aligning with Binance, Bybit, and KuCoin. Perpetual trading fees start at 0.04% (maker) and 0.06% (taker) on BTC and ETH, while all other pairs are slightly more expensive at 0.06%.

BitForex is one of the more cost-effective exchanges on the market right now. Its spot fees match the global industry average, although the lack of volume-based discounts could lessen the value awarded to frequent traders. Below, we've included a table comparing the costs of trading on BitForex to a few other popular platforms.

BitForex offers fee-free deposits, but a small charge is levied on withdrawals to cover network fees. We found these charges are in line with most exchanges. For example, Bitcoin costs 0.0005 BTC ($13.74), and Ethereum costs 0.00494019 ETH ($9.31), which is typical.

BitForex Ease of Use

BitForex has a simple interface that will feel familiar to anyone with experience using a crypto exchange. While testing for our BitForex review, we found the platform responsive and bug-free, making using it a treat. Our only gripe was that the help center and EazyTrade were contained in an obscure drop-down menu, initially making it difficult to locate.

BitForex BTC/USDT charts.

BitForex has integrated with TradingView to offer its industry-leading charting and analysis tools. As such, you can access 70+ technical indicators, 30+ drawing tools, and several chart types while trading on BitForex, making the platform ideal for technical traders wishing to plot complex strategies without using any external crypto charting software.

Despite the platform boasting advanced analysis tools, only limit and stop-limit orders can be placed on BitForex, which makes it challenging to build a position compared to exchanges with a broader selection of order types. However, BitForex ratings each asset based on its technology, team, tokenomics, and more, helping users understand its stability.

Trading on BitForex is intuitive, and the main cryptocurrency trading tools make performing technical analysis possible, which will appeal to experienced users like day traders. However, the lack of order types and multi-screen charting could cause trouble if you value efficiency above all else. Furthermore, there is no beginner mode, which makes the interface harder for novice traders to get acquainted with.

BitForex Fullscreen Charting screenshot.

Mobile App

The BitForex mobile app is available on Android and iOS devices. However, it had less than 500 reviews on the Play Store and even fewer on the App Store, indicating that most users access the platform via a browser. Additionally, many BitForex reviews stated that users had difficulty withdrawing assets or registering for an account through the app.

During testing for this BitForex review, we could log in without issue. However, we had to enter a code sent to our email and create a pattern-based pin before accessing the exchange. While spot and perpetual trading were available on the app, EazySwap, loans, and staking were not present, limiting the BitForex app solely to a mobile trading companion.

bitforex mobile app screenshots.

In contrast to the web platform, only six technical indicators were available, and no drawing tools were present. Additionally, when we full-screened the chart, it consistently bugged out, making it near-impossible to perform meaningful analysis without an additional app. Furthermore, to exit full screen, you have to click 'Buy' or 'Sell,' which could confuse users.

While the BitForex app's analysis tools are near-nonexistent, there was at least an order book and depth chart available for each asset, providing some insight into liquidity and buyer sentiment.

Overall, the BitForex mobile app is easy to navigate but lacks the tools that make trading on the web platform pleasant. The app's functionality is limited to opening and closing trades without a way to perform meaningful analysis or access any extra tools. As such, if you're looking for an all-in-one mobile trading platform, you'll need to find another option.

BitForex Customer Support

If you're having issues using BitForex, the company has created a help center containing in-depth articles with accompanying images. Unfortunately, fewer than 15 pieces of content were available on the site, and they only covered fundamental issues, meaning you'll likely have to create a support ticket to get a response relevant to your query.

There is no way to speak to an advisor via live chat or phone, so you must create an email ticket. For our BitForex review, we tested the support and received a response close to the 24-hour mark aligned with the company's estimates. On Trustpilot, users shared stories of missing deposits, frozen assets, and support issues, signaling that BitForex is untrustworthy.

Security

To ensure the security of customer funds, BitForex holds over 98% of its funds in multi-signature cold storage wallets that require approval from at least four of the seven management team members. BitForex also states that it holds around 0.5% of its funds in a hot wallet to cover operational activities.

On the account level, BitForex offers an anti-phishing code, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), and a trading password. Furthermore, you can view authorized devices and login activity, helping you to determine whether your account has been compromised. While BitForex doesn't offer the most advanced protection, it has never been hacked, which is a good sign for users.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict and Scores

To round off our BitForex review, the exchange is well-designed and relatively feature-rich, making it an excellent alternative to more popular exchanges, at least on paper. However, in practice, we noted that many users reported issues with frozen funds and that BitForex offers little user protection because it is unregulated.

Although traders/investors seeking a no-KYC exchange could find BitForex suitable, we advise not storing large sums on the exchange due to the lack of customer trust. If you don't mind verifying your identity, a more prominent regulated exchange like Binance or Bybit would be a better option.

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