Compare
BF Bitfinex VS PH Phemex
Both exchanges offer Spot, Margin. The differences below come from our individual reviews of Bitfinex and Phemex.
| Bitfinex | Phemex | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 | 2019 |
| Regions | Blocked for US persons and entities since a 2021 New York Attorney General settlement. Available in most other regions, with licensed derivatives operations in El Salvador; verify local availability before signing up. | Available in most regions outside the US, UK, Canada, and a growing restricted list that has recently added Australia, Hong Kong, and South Africa; EU access continues without MiCA authorization: verify local availability before signing up. |
| Products | Spot, Margin, Peer-to-peer margin funding, Perpetual and dated futures, Securities and OTC block trades | Spot, Margin, Perpetual futures, Copy trading, Earn / lending |
| Maker fee | 0% as of a December 2025 platform-wide change; verify this remains current, since fee policy can shift again | Verify current tier: Phemex uses a volume-based maker/taker schedule (spot starts around 0.1%/0.1%; futures maker fees are among the lowest of any major exchange, around 0.01% at entry tier) |
| Taker fee | 0% as of a December 2025 platform-wide change; verify this remains current, since fee policy can shift again | Verify current tier: Phemex uses a volume-based maker/taker schedule (futures taker fees run above the industry average, around 0.06% at entry tier) |
Bitfinex pros
- Eliminated maker and taker fees across spot, margin, derivatives, and OTC trading platform-wide in December 2025, with no volume tiers or token-holding requirements
- Deep order-book liquidity and a mature peer-to-peer margin funding market that lets users lend idle assets directly to traders for yield
- One of the longest continuous operating histories in the industry, dating to 2012, and still functioning after surviving its own major hack
- A meaningful share of the bitcoin stolen in 2016 is now being returned to the exchange following a landmark US Department of Justice forfeiture case
Phemex pros
- Entry-tier futures maker fee (around 0.01%) is lower than Binance, Bybit, or OKX at equivalent volume
- Broad leverage ceiling, up to 100x on major pairs, for traders who specifically want it
- Copy trading with multiple position-sizing modes (fixed margin, multiplier, smart ratio) rather than a single one-size-fits-all follow function
- Fast recent growth in listed assets and user base, now covering 600+ tokens plus tokenized stock and metals futures
This table is generated from the same data behind our individual exchange reviews. See methodology for how it's put together. Fee figures marked "not yet verified" need confirming against live terms before this page is treated as launch-ready.