12 Mar Bitfinex: Celebrating Over a Decade of Supporting and Constructing on Bitcoin
With Bitcoin reaching new All-Time Highs this week, historical past could choose that this marked the turning level for the world’s first and largest digital asset, because it moved from a distinct segment product with a small group of fiercely loyal supporters in its early days, to vital funding for everybody’s portfolio.
For Bitfinex, as one of many earliest Bitcoin platforms, based simply three years after the primary Bitcoin transaction, the now international 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 expertise that’s distinctive as a result of, as a result of its decentralised construction it’s just about indestructible, fully immutable and borderless. The idea {that a} type of cash and an interconnected system can’t be managed is what makes Bitcoin so engaging to traders who need to escape a monetary system that may be manipulated. Therefore, the each day data being seen in its worth 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 should not have entry to monetary companies – both as a result of they’re costly or unavailable – and may 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 id 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 can be out there and uncensorable; supporting the Lightning Community and different related applied sciences to additional the scalability and utility of Bitcoin; and investing within the Bitcoin neighborhood, together with builders and white hat hackers to make sure the power and the resilience of the Bitcoin community.
This id is on the coronary heart of our imaginative and prescient as an organization to be the main international advocate of freedom by accelerating a transition to a extra open and truthful world.
As we glance ahead, we are actually weeks away from the fourth Bitcoin halving in April, a elementary underpinning of Bitcoin that ensures its shortage, and is a elementary financial recalibration that influences every little thing from mining methods to international 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 Expertise 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 expertise. 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 performing as an alternative choice to 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 alternate for Bitcoin and different digital belongings, and emphasises our broader function within the ever-evolving panorama of economic companies.
As we have a good time the Bitcoin worth, we replicate on our journey to date and sit up for the subsequent 11 years.
A Stroll Down Reminiscence Lane: A Take 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 challenge referred to as Bitcoinica, Bitfinex initially launched as a peer-to-peer (P2P) margin lending platform completely for Bitcoin. We shortly diversified as a result of buyer demand, including help 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 wide 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 selection 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 unstable altcoins of the time, Bitfinex provided its clients 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 Approach 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 offered merchants with a much-needed protected haven throughout market volatility, permitting them to simply transition from unstable 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 a complete. The combination 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 neighborhood. 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 primary token of Ethereum, which gives progressive capabilities for good contracts and decentralised purposes (DApps), presenting a brand-new frontier for blockchain expertise. By incorporating Ether into our various 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 combination 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 customary has been the inspiration for a lot of tokens that went on to considerably impression the world of Decentralised Finance (DeFi). These tokens have turn into pivotal in every little thing from decentralised exchanges (DEXs) to lending platforms and stablecoins. By providing Ether, Bitfinex successfully gave its clients a gateway to this burgeoning world of potentialities, reinforcing its function as a pacesetter in digital asset buying and selling. The transfer additional solidified Bitfinex’s fame for embracing promising applied sciences and providing various, sturdy buying and selling alternatives to its international neighborhood.
August 2016 – The Notorious Bitfinex Hack: How we Survived One in all 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 fast motion. In an unprecedented and progressive manoeuvre, we issued BFX tokens to all affected clients at a ratio of 1 BFX token for each greenback stolen. We provided clients a selection: they may redeem every BFX token for $1 per token or alternate 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 clients and thereby restoring confidence within the alternate.
This resilience stood in sharp distinction to the destiny of many modern 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 vital 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 group that really cares about its clients. It additionally served as a case research in efficient disaster administration throughout the unstable 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 turn 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 offered a mechanism for purchasers to hedge towards the potential dangers and in addition speculate on the end result of the fork. The B2X token allowed clients to separate their Bitcoin holdings into distinct belongings that may very well 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 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 offered out throughout its preliminary personal sale, demonstrating each the boldness clients 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 part in a variety of purposes and companies. Along with this, the token acts as a pivotal aspect in quite a lot 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 sturdy set of options for market evaluation, order execution, and threat administration. By providing such an intricate toolset, Bitfinex is actively levelling the enjoying discipline between retail and institutional merchants.
April 2020 – Bitfinex Tender Staking Service Launches
Bitfinex entered the staking enviornment with its mushy staking service, permitting Bitfinex clients to earn rewards by merely holding and staking sure sorts of cryptocurrencies straight via their Bitfinex accounts. This service brings one other layer of economic incentive for the platform’s clients, 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 will not be 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 offers an area the place merchants can focus on market traits, share insights, and maintain 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 lovers and professionals alike. By including a social layer to our current array of buying and selling and monetary companies, Bitfinex not solely deepens our degree 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 resolution 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 instrument geared toward elevating the expertise of its clients within the margin funding market. Designed to cater to each particular person and institutional lenders, Lending Professional gives a set of options that automate lending primarily based on predefined standards, thereby optimising the returns on lent belongings. Lending Professional not solely streamlines the lending course of but additionally brings a degree of sophistication usually related to conventional monetary markets, additional bridging the hole between the crypto economic 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 resolution tailor-made to the precise calls for of the trendy crypto investor.
By means of permitting customers to leverage their current cryptocurrency holdings as collateral, Bitfinex Borrow makes it attainable to safe loans in varied digital and fiat currencies with out liquidating helpful belongings. One of many standout options of Bitfinex Borrow is its flexibility. Customers have the choice to select from totally 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, unstable world of cryptocurrency markets, the place consumer wants can change quickly.
March 2021 – Bitfinex Pay Launches Offering Infrastructure for Retailers That Need to Settle for Crypto Funds
Bitfinex launched “Bitfinex Pay” as a service provider cost resolution designed to streamline and simplify cryptocurrency transactions for companies. This providing permits retailers to just accept digital belongings as cost for items and companies, additional bridging the hole between conventional finance and the Bitcoin and crypto economic system. By offering a seamless and safe cost gateway that helps varied cryptocurrencies, Bitfinex Pay not solely gives companies an opportunity to faucet right into a rising buyer base of crypto lovers but additionally underscores Bitfinex’s broader intention to facilitate the mass adoption of digital belongings. With this transfer, Bitfinex extends its attain past alternate companies to play a pivotal function in how transactions are literally performed within the trendy digital economic system.
September 2021 – Bitfinex Securities Launches to Disrupt the Securities Issuance Trade
The launch of Bitfinex Securities signifies a groundbreaking second within the realm of economic companies, with the potential to disrupt the standard 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 methods by leveraging the inherent advantages of decentralised applied sciences, similar 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 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 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 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 offers a complete framework through a number of key pledges to help the Bitcoin ecosystem, prioritising schooling 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 robust 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 really perfect hub for Bitfinex Securities to increase 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 can 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 beneficial properties a major aggressive edge, enabling it to function inside a regulated setting in a rustic that has overtly 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, enhance monetary freedom and improve consumer expertise. Our P2P platform permits customers to straight commerce belongings with each other, bypassing conventional monetary intermediaries, thus selling monetary inclusivity and lowering transaction prices. By leveraging the rules of decentralisation and neighborhood interplay, Bitfinex P2P seeks to offer a extra equitable and clear buying and selling setting.
P2P buying and selling gives a lifeline in rising economies grappling with weak nationwide currencies and stringent capital controls. Conventional monetary methods in such international locations typically fail to offer a steady medium for saving or transacting, eroding the buying energy of residents and limiting their means to have interaction in international commerce. P2P buying and selling platforms supply a means out by facilitating direct asset exchanges between customers, giving entry to a extra steady and probably appreciating asset class, cryptocurrencies. Not like standard monetary methods, P2P platforms are largely proof against native financial insurance policies, offering an alternate 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 unstable 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 quite a lot 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 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 challenge a complete of 100,000 securitized tokens for ALT2611, aiming to lift 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.”
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 alternate devoted to offering monetary freedom to its clients. This dedication has lately been vindicated by Bitcoin’s achievement of an all-time excessive worth, underscoring the foresight and visionary management of Bitfinex, as a long-standing supporter of the Bitcoin revolution.
This milestone not solely cements Bitfinex’s fame as a pioneer, but additionally heralds its ongoing journey in the direction of innovation and the growth of economic autonomy within the digital age. Bitfinex’s unwavering dedication to its core rules and its clients’ 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 exceptional 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 international finance.
Bitcoin’s upcoming halving will rework 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 a 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
