BitFlyer Review 2024: BitFlyer started in Japan in 2014. They don’t offer many coins, just five, but they have really low prices for trading. By concentrating on doing a few things excellently, BitFlyer has become one of Japan’s biggest crypto exchanges. If you’re in the U.S. and want to use Japanese yen for investing, BitFlyer could work for you. But if you want more options than Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, or Litecoin, you might want to check out other exchanges.
Who Should Use BitFlyer?
bitFlyer is great for beginners in cryptocurrency who want to stick to well-known coins and avoid Dogecoin. It’s also good for experienced traders who either don’t care about alternative coins or prefer to trade them elsewhere.
In simple terms, bitFlyer offers cheaper prices compared to big names like Coinbase or Gemini, which charge higher fees. While a 0.10% fee on bitFlyer’s easy-to-use platform is great, remember fees could go up to 6%. Fees above 2% are much higher than other platforms, so make sure bitFlyer’s fees are competitive before you buy or sell.
For people who want to learn as they invest, bitFlyer’s educational materials aren’t as good as those on other top platforms. However, experienced users might like the low fees similar to Binance.US’s, especially if they’re in New York or Texas where Binance isn’t available. bitFlyer also offers strong security features like multi-sig, which makes Bitcoin wallets safer by needing multiple keys to take out funds.
Putting aside the benefits, if you’re looking to trade a variety of coins, BitFlyer has a big problem. For example, if you want to purchase ADA, you won’t be able to do so. No matter how experienced you are, it’s crucial to be cautious before investing in this or any other cryptocurrency exchange. Even the safest and most regulated platforms can’t shield you from the unpredictability of the market.
bitFlyer Features
Compliance and Security
After the big Mt. Gox hack where hackers stole over 850,000 Bitcoin, bitFlyer started. It’s serious about following rules and keeping things secure. It was the first exchange allowed to work in Japan, the U.S., and the E.U.
bitFlyer is a platinum member of the Japan Blockchain Association (JBA), which means it meets the association’s security and trade standards. bitFlyer uses top-level encryption technology to ensure your information and investments are safe.
This means using security measures such as multi-signature (multi-sig), which needs several keys to approve a cryptocurrency transaction. With multi-sig, it’s harder for hackers to steal your coins. Even if they find one of your crypto keys, they can’t take coins from your wallet unless they have all the other keys too.
Furthermore, bitFlyer says it keeps over 80% of its users’ cryptocurrency stored offline to make it harder for hackers to steal large amounts of funds. However, it was rated the worst in cybersecurity among the crypto exchanges we looked at, according to CER, an independent evaluator of crypto exchange security.
JPY Crypto Purchases in the U.S.
Most big exchanges let you buy cryptocurrency using regular money like dollars, but usually only in your own country’s currency. However, bitFlyer just started offering something called “cross-border trading,” which means people in the U.S. can now buy and sell Bitcoin using Japanese yen. This lets them tap into the Japanese Bitcoin market.
Some investors might like it, but not many people can use it yet. In the U.S., customers can’t put Japanese yen directly into their bitFlyer accounts. Instead, they have to buy Bitcoin first, then use it to buy yen… and maybe even more Bitcoin. Users might also get annoyed because they can only take money out of their accounts in Bitcoin or U.S. dollars for now, not in Japanese yen.
bitFlyer Fees
bitFlyer, a cryptocurrency exchange, doesn’t use maker/taker fees like many others do. Instead, it charges different fees based on whether you use the Lightning Exchange advanced trading platform or the instant buy platform.
The fees you pay also depend on your trading volume in the last 30 days. Here are the fees for trades made on the Lightning Exchange:
| 30-Day Volume (USD) | Fee |
|---|---|
| Less than $50,000 | 0.12% |
| $50,000 to $500,000 | 0.07% |
| $500,000 to $1 million | 0.09% |
| $1 million to $5 million | 0.10% |
| $5 million to $10 million | 0.09% |
| $10 million to $50 million | 0.08% |
| $50 million to $500 million | 0.07% |
| Over $500 million | 0.06% |
If you use bitFlyer’s instant buy platform for cryptocurrency, they say it’s free, but it’s not. They actually charge a fee of 0.1% to 6.0% on the prices shown when you buy or sell. Be careful, because this can make your trades much more expensive compared to other exchanges, including popular ones like Coinbase and Gemini.
If you decide to transfer your cryptocurrency from bitFlyer to a Bitcoin wallet that’s not connected to the internet, you’ll have to pay withdrawal fees. If you think you’ll need to move a lot of cryptocurrency from an exchange, a platform like Gemini might be better because they offer some free withdrawals each month.
| Bitcoin (BTC) Withdrawal Fee | 0.0005 BTC |
| Ethereum (ETH) Withdrawal Fee | 0.006 ETH |
| Ethereum Classic (ETC) Withdrawal Fee | 0.006 ETC |
| Litecoin (LTC) Withdrawal Fee | 0.002 LTC |
| Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Withdrawal Fee | 0.0003 BCH |
Cryptocurrencies on bitFlyer
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin are all different types of digital currencies.
Bitcoin (BTC) Ethereum (ETH) Ethereum Classics (ETC) Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Litecoin (LTC)
