Bitget
Bitget Review 2023: An Expert's Comprehensive Analysis
3.9
4
3.75
4
4
Overview
General
Fees
Customer Service
Requirements & Accessibility
Pros
Cons
Key Takeaways
● Safe and user-friendly exchange. ● Very good for those who are new to cryptocurrencies and derivatives trading. ● A responsive 24/7 multilingual customer service support. ● Low fees.
Origins
Introduction
Founded in 2018, Bitget has quickly separated itself from the masses by focusing on social trading, climbing the ranks to become the 5th largest crypto derivatives exchange in the world by volume.
As of now, there are over 2 million users of the platform spread across 50 countries, although it holds most popularity in South Korea and China.
Some major sponsorship deals have further projected Bitget in the media spotlight of late, such as a partnership with footballing legend Lionel Messi. Two major professional football clubs, Turkey’s Galatasaray and Italy’s Juventus – both powerhouses of European football – are also sponsored by Bitget.
With a valuation of $1 billion and an average daily trading volume of $10 billion, this rising star in the crypto-domain is certainly making a name for itself.
But is the company squeaky clean, or has it hidden some skeletons in its cold storage? Find out as CoinScan rolls up its sleeves and gets stuck into all things Bitget!
History
Back in 2016, co-founder and CEO Sandra Lou was still working as a vice president for a TradFi company when she was introduced to crypto by an investor friend in Japan and got straight into investing.
Flash forward to the 2017 bull-run, and she was starting her very own exchange. By 2018 Bitget had raised around $10,000,000 from investors, chief among them being CoiNess, 8 Decimal Capital and MX Capital.
Since its inception, Bitget’s guiding principle has been to make crypto trading and digital assets procurement easier and popular among the masses. The company has sought to woo future investors with easily accessible services such as one-click copy-trading and leverage options.
$BFT (Bitget-DeFi) was Bitget’s original token, but didn’t get any traction. The company launched $BGB soon after in 2021, which soon became the platform’s standard token running on the Ethereum blockchain.
Users are encouraged to use BGB through the offering of discounts on spot and futures trading fees. In May this year, an updated version of BGB was released with the aim to further bridge different technologies in the crypto-ecosystem and make things easier and more accessible to the average user.
In the words of Sandra Lou:
The brand new and upgraded BGB represents this dynamic and innovative ecosystem at Bitget, which is ever-evolving and expanding, which explains why this update is necessary to be on par with our rapid development.
Over the last 12 months, Bitget has experienced around 300% growth in daily average trading volume and doubled its user-base.
Despite ever-looming regulatory and security concerns, investor attitude towards digital asset procurement and crypto-trading has been generally positive. This coupled with Bitget’s user-friendly attitude has catapulted the company to its current standing.
User Experience
Ease of Use and Design
One of the key highlights of the Bitget platform is its user-friendly approach to crypto trading, and its efforts to make new traders feel comfortable using the platform.
The site can be easily accessed from desktop and mobile devices and the sign-up process is fuss free, just requiring the standard KYC ID checks.
For the KYC process on this exchange, you will need to provide a government issued ID. Have this ready if you decide to sign up for an account.
The Bitget mobile app is designed for iOS as well as Android users, making the platform accessible to seasoned as well as would-be traders on the go.
The interface is simple on both desktop and mobile versions, leaning more towards the simple design of Coinbase, rather than the complex one of sites like Binance and KuCoin.
All in all, the trading experience on Bitget is very smooth and uncluttered, and easy to use for everyone, regardless of experience level.
Usage and Popularity
In just 4 years since inception, Bitget has rapidly made its presence felt. In January 2022, the exchange raced to the third position globally in terms of daily average volume in futures trading.
By February 28th the platform’s daily trading volume had shot up to $8.6 billion – a testament to investor faith in the brand on a global scale. It has 603 tokens on the site, a substantial number that provides diversity and the opportunity to trade a broad selection of digital assets.
One of the most enticing features of the Bitget platform is its low fee structure for both spot and derivatives trading, with special focus on the latter.
A derivative is a digital instrument attached to the liquidation price of a financial asset
Another feature that sets the platform apart from many of its competitors is copy-trading. Copy-trading is a form of social trading that lets users follow master traders, track their trading patterns and replicate them within their own trading choices to generate income.
This is an exceptionally popular option as it allows new users to trade without having to learn complex charting patterns, but does have obvious risk exposure, due to them relying on a third party to effectively make trade choices for them.
Another feature that puts Bitget ahead of its competition and woos investors is the leverage it offers on trading pairs. Bitget offers leverage up to a huge 125x on trading pairs like USDT/BTC, empowering users to invest more than 100 times on a trade with respect to their deposit amount.
This means that if a user is betting on the price of bitcoin going up with $100 and a leverage of 125x, their total position size (which dictates their profit and loss on the trade) would be $12,500.
The company is upfront about the huge risk to traders and forces them to become educated before granting access.
These learning tools are accessed via a separate academic section, which strives to disseminate information on various aspects of crypto-trading and market performance in simple terms that allows users to learn quickly.
The icing on the crypto cake is the discount offered to $BGB holders on future and spot trading.
Customer support
Bitget’s customer support team is available 24/7 to assist users with their queries and issues.
A big tick for the company is that the multilingual chat feature enabled in their website employs actual humans and not chatbots.
Hence, users can expect their queries to be addressed and dealt with properly, rather than being led on a closed loop doom cycle of escalating frustration.
Users can also email their queries and concerns to [email protected], although they’ll naturally have to wait longer for replies.
Of course a phone number would be the best way for customers to deal with issues, but the holy grail of support is not on offer here at this exchange (as is with most crypto exchanges).
Fees and Promotions
Fees
There is no initial deposit fee and users can start trading with as low as $5 USDT.
Spot trading fee is 0.1% for both Maker and Taker and future trading fee stands at 0.02% for Maker and 0.06% for Taker respectively.
Withdrawal fees tend to vary depending on prevailing market conditions, the coin and network.
For example, $BTC on the BTC network will attract a withdrawal fee of $0.0002 BTC with minimum withdrawal pegged at 0.008 BTC.
But on the BEP20 network withdrawal fee is pegged at $0.0000051 BTC, while minimum withdrawal is fixed at 0.001 BTC.
Since Bitget uses the ERC20 platform, the withdrawal fee is pegged at $37.24 BGB currently, with minimal withdrawal set at 50.
The withdrawal fee structure tends to be pretty elaborate for $USDT since it operates on a host of different networks. So double check before executing a transaction.
Comparison
Both Huobi and Bitget have firmly established themselves as major players in the cryptocurrency exchange realm, especially within the Asian market segment. Originating from China and Singapore respectively, these platforms cater to a vast global audience, emphasizing security, user experience, and offering a variety of trading options.
Both exchanges provide futures trading, a testament to their commitment to cater to both spot and derivative traders. Additionally, the commitment to regulatory compliance and expanding their global footprints, along with a keen focus on customer support and educational resources, are shared values between the two. While there are parallels in their services, Huobi and Bitget have distinct identities. Huobi, being one of the older cryptocurrency exchanges founded in 2013, boasts a wider array of services. Beyond futures trading, it offers spot trading, margin trading, OTC services, and even staking opportunities.
Its broader service range is complemented by its own native token, the Huobi Token (HT), which offers users various benefits within the platform.
Bitget, on the other hand, has carved a niche for itself with a pronounced emphasis on crypto derivatives trading since its establishment in 2018. One of Bitget's standout features is its copy trading service, enabling less experienced traders to emulate the strategies of seasoned professionals.
This unique offering distinguishes Bitget as a platform particularly tailored for those keen on derivatives and seeking guided trading experiences.
Safety Essentials
Security
Bitget leaves no node unchecked when it comes to security, and as such the platform has an exhaustive list of measures in place to safeguard user assets.
This has prompted the Crypto Exchange Ranks (CER) platform to award Bitget 8.72 points in Cyber Security Score (CSS).
Bitget currently ranks among the top 10 most secure exchanges in the world. According to HackenProof, Bitget possesses an ‘extraordinarily secure infrastructure’.
The exchange’s Application Level Security (APP LVL) features include: Server Security (SS) to protect information assets against potential hackers on the Web server, Captcha to protect the website and users from automatic actions such as spamming, Multi-factor authentication: an additional layer of security to safeguard user accounts from hacking, and a host of other features such as: SPF domain records, Web Application Firewall, and SSL auditing to test for vulnerabilities.
Bitget claims to protect investor assets by storing them in separate cold and hot wallets, and they also claim to have been awarded 12 A+ scores at SSL Labs. Investors can choose to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) to access their accounts and carry out transactions, and the platform is also insured against untoward incidents like employee theft, security breaches or fraudulent transfers.
Simply put, Bitget can’t be faulted in any way when it comes to security, and it seems like would-be thieves would have more luck trying to get into Fort Knox than the exchange.
Controversy
Bitget has only had one real scandal, but they really went for the top prize and deserve every slap of the wrist they received.
Back in 2021, the exchange got into serious hot water over a dispute with Hybe Corporation – the company that manages K-pop boy band BTS – due to a digital currency named Army Coin.
So the story goes, Army Coin was named after BTS Army, (the band’s official follower group), and images of the boy band members were allegedly used to promote Army coin, as well as numerous social posts made by the exchange that attempted to link the coin with the band, despite it being untrue.
Regardless, the new digital currency became an instant hit and at one point its value soared to more than 5000%.
Hybe Corporation threatened legal action against Bitget for misguiding users with this false narrative. In a public statement they declared that:
The agency has no connection with this cryptocurrency and it was listed without any discussion with us. Furthermore, photos of BTS were used to promote this cryptocurrency without the permission of Big Hit Music.
Hybe then took aim and accused the team behind Army Coin stating:
Currently, we have confirmed that the cryptocurrency has been sharing false information with traders in group chats such as, ‘This was made for BTS’ and ‘This exists to maximize BTS’ profits… We ask that everyone be careful in order to avoid falling victim. If you have been financially victimized, please immediately inform the nearby police or investigation agency.
This conflict caused the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to investigate the matter and completely suspend Bitget’s license in Singapore. The MAS logo was later removed from the platform’s website and Singapore’s would-be users were denied access to Bitget’s website and mobile App.
In this instance, the punishment totally fits the crime, as a major exchange misleading its users into buying a token that had no genuine association with the subject matter it promotes is exceptionally shady.
Proof of Reserves
 | $41,713,663 | |||
 | $39,411,947 | |||
| $27,810,124 | |||
| $21,445,622 | |||
 | $118,487,803 | |||
| $113,305,621 | |||
| $109,872,089 | |||
| $73,978,344 | |||
| $22,153,511 | |||
| $9,811,767 | |||
| $56,888,565 | |||
| $51,658,894 | |||
| $50,974,460 | |||
| $44,824,482 | |||
| $31,361,166 | |||
| $30,270,440 | |||
| $25,289,467 | |||
| $5,304,048 | |||
| $79.00 | |||
| $77.00 | |||
| $69.00 |
The world of cryptocurrency trading stands on two important pillars – investor confidence and transparency. Bitget is keen on honoring both.
Bitget seems to be on a mission to inspire investor confidence and promote trading in cryptocurrencies as a legitimate source of income, despite all the recent turmoil in the industry. They have a proof of reserves page on their website where users can monitor the status 24/7, located here.
True to their objective, the exchange has one of the highest reserve ratios we have ever seen, as most exchanges teeter close to 105-110%, while Bitget is comfortably holding more than double what it's customers are trusting the exchange with. Impressive.
It also keeps an emergency protection fund of $300 million in high liquidity cryptocurrencies such as BTC, USDT and USDC, to protect users from losing money as a consequence of actions other than their own trading habits on the platform.
With this protection fund, the bulk of the risk is transferred to the exchange itself. Users can access the details of the protection fund by following this link. Real-time statements are readily available for anyone to view.
The exchange also uses an insurance fund to iron out the possibility of Auto-Deleveraging.
All in all, Bitget’s approach seems very transparent and proactive when it comes to user funds and safety, something that can inspire other exchanges to become more accountable, transparent and vigilant towards addressing safety concerns.
Conclusion
The cryptosphere has been rocked by a seemingly endless number of scandals of late, the most recent being the FTX saga. But key players like Binance, KuCoin and Bitget have marched on, now carrying the collective weight of expectations on their shoulders.
In general the site has proven itself a reliable choice for traders, and has grand plans for the future too, such as being on the lookout for more regional hubs to increase its global footprint as well as the launch of the BitGator program in India – an initiative to nurture the Ce-Defi ecosystem in the country.
Things look sunny for the 5th largest crypto exchange thanks to its transparent business policies, strong partnerships, fantastic derivatives features, and willingness to make trading easy for newcomers.
It does thoroughly deserve its heavy slap on the wrists for the BTS Army scandal, but if it can put that hot mess behind it, then the exchange’s brilliant copy trading and ease of use for all traders can see it continuing to strengthen its foothold in the sector.