Bitfinex, a Hong Kong based cryptocurrency exchange registered in the British Virgin Islands, announced in a blog post published on Oct. 16 that it is introducing a new improved fiat deposit system for it clients. The new system will allow all Bitfinex worldwide customers verified under the know-your-customer policy to deposit fiat currencies such as EUR, GBP, JPY, and USD onto the exchange. The purpose of the upgrade is to deploy a new resilient system for fiat deposits and strengthen the exchange against attacks.
In the blog post, the exchange said:
“Today we are introducing a new, improved and increasingly resilient fiat depositing system for sending fiat currencies to Bitfinex.”
The news comes as a relief to some users who were affected by the exchange’s suspension of fiat withdrawals on Oct. 11, after Bitfinex experienced processing complications. The exchange acknowledged that although temporarily pausing fiat deposits inconvenienced some of its customers, it was necessary as it bought them time to deploy a robust fiat deposit system.
A New Deposit System
The new deposit system works in three distinct stages but constitutes a single overall transaction. The first step involves creating a deposit request to show that the user has an interest in depositing fiat currency in the exchange. The deposit request includes the amount to be deposited and the currency to be used.
The deposit request is then sent for review, which can take up to 48 hours. The account user will then receive a deposit notification with information such as bank details necessary to facilitate the deposit.
The information entered on the deposit notification will be used to initiate the deposit. The transaction will be processed within 6–10 business days.
The new system does not affect the minimum fiat deposit amount, which remains unchanged at $10,000, and the processing fee is still intact at 0.1 percent.
Bitfinex believes that the new system will help the exchange strengthen its security system. The company said:
“We believe this system to be significantly more durable in the face of sustained attacks by our competition and their supporters. Ongoing campaigns against us will only result in our company becoming stronger and better.”
Bitfinex Aware of the Dangers
Bitfinex is aware of the dangers that cryptocurrency exchanges are facing at the hands of hackers who have made off with ridiculous amounts of money in cryptocurrencies. In 2018 alone, the crypto industry has lost close to $1 billion due to criminal activities.
Bitfinex was the victim of a hack in Aug. 2016 and lost 120,000 Bitcoins worth $72 million at the time. Bitfinex is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, and constantly updating and strengthening its security system will improve its competitiveness and its ability to stay in business for long.
Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy after it lost almost $500 million in a hack in 2014. Coincheck, a Japanese exchange, was sold a few months after it suffered a record-breaking hack worth $530 million in NEM currency.
