After being founded in 2014, in Japan, bitFlyer grew from being a pioneer in cryptocurrency trading to become one of the largest and most reliable crypto exchange platforms in the world. So far, bitFlyer has powered up $250 billion USD in transactions and attracted over two million users worldwide.
Along with the original Japanese exchange, and another in Europe, bitFlyer US is designed to be a great option for anyone in the USA that wants to trade tokens.
bitFlyer USA was officially licensed back in 2016, in San Francisco. Since then, the service has expanded to 35 other states, Washington DC, with four more states (Connecticut, Hawaii, Nevada, and West Virginia) waiting to come into operation.
bitFlyer is a Very Good Platform
There are a few great crypto trading platforms for people who live in the USA, and bitFlyer is on that list. In addition to offering lots of token pairs, the exchange also has a great international track record.
Products and Services
bitFlyer USA offers an inclusive platform for trading crypto within the United States, and it is fully compliant with all the regulations at both a federal and state level.
Currently, bitFlyer USA supports trading activities for a number of the most well-known virtual currencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH)/Ethereum Classic (ETC), Litecoin (LTC).
Selling and buying are carried out in two separate platforms: bitFlyer Easy Exchange, with most basic trading functions (simply exchange between actual and cryptocurrencies) and bitFlyer Lightning Exchange, where investors can access more advanced options.
Much like trading existing markets, such as FOREX, bitFlyer Lighting allows people to trade in future/spot contracts, utilize margins to leverage their positions up to 15 times, set up limit orders, and use analysis to get a better understanding of the markets.
Like more of the leading crypto exchanges, bitFlyer USA can be accessed on different devices. Besides the desktop version, you can download and install the bitFlyer app on smartphones through the online store.
How to: Create an Account on bitFlyer USA
BitFlyer USA is only available for US citizens or legal residents who are above the age of 18. If you meet these simple conditions, you can sign up a bitFlyer account, which is totally free.
To start with, you have several options…
You can enter an email address or register with Facebook, Yahoo, or a Google account. Shortly after that, you will need to check your inbox for the confirmation email, in which you’ll find a link and a code, both of which will be used to verify your registration.
Once you’re done with the confirmation, bitFlyer will create a Standby Class account for you, which proves your new membership on the platform. You still need to do a few more things to activate advanced features, including cryptocurrency sales and purchase.
To Upgrade Your Account – You Have Two Options
By filling the required identification information (your full name, birthday, address, phone number, nationality, and ID number), you can upgrade your account to Trade Class.
A Trade Class Account will enable trading functions, including cryptocurrencies deposit/withdrawal/selling/buying, cash deposit/withdrawal (in US dollars) as well as access to Lightning Exchange.
In Trade Class, a maximum limit of $ 50,000 USD is set for both virtual currencies and USD deposit/withdrawal per day. You can get rid of these limits by providing actual paper documents for your identification and become a Trade Pro Class.
No matter what your class is, bitFlyer applies the same fee policies, which is all that really matters for most traders, unless they need to move a lot of money around on a daily basis.
Trading on bitFlyer USA
Once you have logged into your bitFlyer account, you can set it up however you like and start cryptocurrency trading.
Basically, you can deposit real or virtual money into your account, place sales/purchase orders and withdraw by cash or crypto (remember that only 5 cryptocurrencies and US dollars are valid on bitFlyer USA).
The platform provides a built-in cryptocurrency wallet for each user, or you can assign an external wallet address and bank account to carry out deposit/withdrawal orders.
Account and Trading Fees
As mentioned before, it costs nothing to open a new account and upgrade to Trade or Trade Pro Class. Users will pay an amount for each transaction they place on the exchange. On bitFlyer USA, a transaction unit is 0.00000001 BTC (equivalent to 1 satoshi), and a minimum value of each transaction is 0.001 BTC.
If you wish to deposit or withdraw cash from bitFlyer USA, doing via bank transfers is totally free. The other option for deposits is Fedwire, and there is no charge, and withdrawal will cost $10 USD per transaction.
For virtual currencies, withdrawal fees vary depending on the token. The rates for Bitcoin/Ethereum/Ethereum Classic/Litecoin/Bitcoin Cash withdrawal are 0.0004 BTC, 0.005 ETH, 0.005 ETC, 0.001 LTC, and 0.0002 BCH, respectively.
When you conduct cryptocurrency exchanges on the market, you’ll be charged trading fees.
However, since the beginning of 2020, bitFlyer USA offers a great deal to US investors: all sales and purchase transactions don’t have to pay any trading fees – and this policy is still effective until now.
For those who are running spot contracts on Lightning Exchange, the rate is determined based on the volume of past transactions done in the last 30 days.
At the time of writing, the fee will be 0.12% for under $1 million USD of past transactions; 0.07% upon the total from $1 to 10 million USD. For larger traders who are moving $10 million USD or higher, the Lightning Spot fee is 0.02%.
Instruction and Support
The bitFlyer USA website is not completely open to non-members.
You should register, open an account, and login so you have access to the full site. BitFlyer still offers a considerable amount of support through its public pages.
But an account is free, so why not sign up?
If you are looking for support into, just go to the homepage, scroll down to the bottom, and you will find a number of columns, such as Services, Information, Community, Support, and About us.
While the Services section is still limited to users only, the other 4 areas are open to anyone.
You can find every update on fees or daily price fluctuations for each currency in the Information part, and the FAQ section is another extremely helpful source, as it provides detailed guidance and answers for new investors who want to start a bitFlyer account.
In case something is not clear, you can fill in a contact form and wait for a direct response to your email.
bitFlyer security
Similar to their mother company in Japan, bitFlyer USA develops and reinforces an exhaustive self-defense system to keep the exchange secure.
For example, users can apply a couple of options to secure their log-in process, such as two-step verification via cell phone or personal devices, or auto-locking an account when a number of false passwords are entered.
Trading is also protected through multi-signature verification, which helps strengthen the procedures and quickly identify whenever an error occurs.
As proof of its reliability, bitFlyer publishes a daily bug record for its global services, including US operations. Since its founding in 2014, besides minor system or service incidents that might have delayed digital transactions a bit, there have been no big threats to the exchange.
bitFlyer US: The Takeaway
bitFlyer has proven itself to be a top-tier exchange that operates in the world’s largest markets. If you are a US citizen or resident, and you are looking for a full-service exchange that has fiat currency capability, bitFlyer is a solid choice.