What is BYDFi?

Launched fairly recently in April 2020, BYDFi is a crypto exchange with the primary goal of providing its users with a better trading experience. I also found out that the name of this platform changed in 2023  from BitYard to BYDFi, an acronym for its tagline — BUIDL Your Dream Finance.

BUIDL, a widely used slang term in the cryptocurrency community, is derived from the word "build." Beyond its conventional definition, BUIDL carries a motivational connotation, urging individuals who have faith in the potential of cryptocurrency to actively pursue their aspirations. Within the BYDFi acronym, the letter "F" represents Finance, emphasizing the importance of financial empowerment, while the letter "i" symbolizes the significance of each individual's contribution and participation in this transformative journey.

Key Features & Advantages of BYDFi

While the three points mentioned above provide the gist of my experience with BYDFi, they are far from the only features that caught my attention. To be honest, BYDFi is jam-packed with attributes that make it a worthy consideration in my eyes. Unfortunately, talking about all of them is beyond the scope of this review.

With that said, the most notable of these features include:

Negatives & Disadvantages of BYDFi

There is a lot that I like about this crypto exchange, but it is — by no means — perfect. There are a few features that I would’ve liked to see implemented in BYDFi that are simply not there. Two of the biggest disadvantages of using this platform for me are:

What Services Does BYDFi Offer?

From what I’ve seen, BYDFi is a solid crypto exchange for traders of every level, from complete beginners to seasoned veterans. Its combination of low fees, reliable service, and vast support gives it the edge over many of its competitors. But, this only scratches the surface of what makes this platform a good choice.

After testing every aspect of this exchange thoroughly, I can safely say that the actual appeal for BYDFi comes from the caliber of its services. Here’s what I mean:

Efficient copy trading:  In my experience, one of the most significant issues for new crypto traders is the fear of loss. They want to experiment with their assets to get an intuitive understanding of the market, but they also don’t want to lose all of their investment. 

This is where a well-implemented copy-trading system can be a saving grace for these traders and BYDFi did not disappoint me in that department. Here’s how it works.

The copy trading section on BYDFi’s website shows the profiles of the most profitable “Master Traders” on this platform. All you have to do is copy their trades and you can experience similar profits in your portfolio.

Leveraged tokens:  BYDFi offers several popular cryptocurrencies as leveraged tokens, including BTC, ETH, XRP, DOT, LINK, ADA, AAVE, ATOM, AVA, BCH, BNB, UNI. For each leveraged token, users can choose to trade how they like, with a 3x long and 3x short option. 

Perpetual futures trading:  BYDFi stands out from the competition when it comes to futures trading. In my years of crypto trading, I have seen plenty of trading platforms with 100x and 125x leverage, but I haven’t seen as high as 200x leverage, which is what BYDFi users can access! This is perfect for experienced traders who want to maximize their profits, with higher potential returns, increased convenience, and greater flexibility.

They offer USDT-M and Coin-M perpetual futures, with plenty of cryptocurrencies supported. For the full list of USDT-M markets, click here, and for Coin-M, see here.

Useful demo account:  This goes hand-in-hand with my previous point of new traders wanting to experiment and learn while trading. Of course, doing this experimentation with your live account has the risk of a complete wipeout of your investment. This is why I find BYDFi’s demo account so useful.

In essence, by switching over to the demo account, you get 100,000 USDT worth of virtual funds. However, the trading UI and market conditions remain the same. This allows new traders to practice trading in live market conditions with zero risk. 

I also find the demo account useful as a testing ground. It allows me to check out an exchange’s capabilities before I put any actual money in my account. 

Multiple trading UI's:  I’ve seen many crypto exchanges try to adapt their trading UI for both beginners and experts and fail on both fronts. This is why I was quite surprised to learn that BYDFi avoided this issue entirely by building two separate trading UIs for spot trading.

The beginner-friendly of the two UIs is labeled as “Classic” and has a simplified design. All of the necessary information is still on the screen, it’s just organized in a more condensed way that’s less distracting.

On the other hand, the aptly named “Advanced” spot trading UI offers everything a veteran trader needs to devise and execute trading strategies. It also comes with a vast array of chart drawing options and 100+ technical indicators. 

Quick account verification:  Trust me when I say this, but the last thing you want when signing up for a new platform is a slow and frustrating verification system. A few exchanges I’ve tested took so long to verify my account that I began to wonder why I was signing up in the first place. Thankfully, that was not an issue with BYDFi. 

The signup and verification process on this exchange was one of the fastest I’ve ever experienced. Everything from first entering my email ID to completing the verification took less than 15 minutes. This is amazingly quick, considering some of the biggest exchanges in the industry can take up to multiple business days to verify your account. 

No KYC needed for most functions:  While the verification process is quick and totally worth the extra effort, it is not mandatory. You can access most of BYDFi features with no KYC verification. This includes all of the types of trading, crypto currency trading pairs, supported fiat currencies, and more. 

In my experience, the only minor restriction for the unverified users is that they can only withdraw 0.2 BTC per day. That said, 0.2 BTC is still $5,340 at the time of writing. So this restriction shouldn't cause any troubles for low to medium volume traders. 

High account security:  Due to the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency, crypto exchanges are always on the radar of hackers and scammers. I’ve seen so many large-scale hacks over the years — like the Coincheck heist which resulted in the loss of nearly 500 million USD in crypto. 

This is why I hold BYDFi’s focus on security in such high regard. 

It secures all user accounts with two-factor authentication using services like Google Authenticator. Users can also set another pin that they must enter to make withdrawals. 

When it comes to the security of the entire exchange, BYDFi uses various measures, They use Jumio KYC system for personal data protection, multi-party approvals required for authorizing transactions, and they use segregated accounts so user funds are held in cold storage separately to BYDFi’s crypto. 

Moreover, transactions from BYDFi’s cold wallets are restricted to a whitelist, which means that no unauthorized transfers can be made, even if BYDFi is hacked. BYDFi also has US and Canada MSB dual license, so you can trust they are a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange.

Convenient crypto conversion:  So, you own a bunch of ETH, but you’d like to convert it to USDT for trading with USDT pairs. In my experience, you’ll have to use a third-party service on many exchanges for this simple task which is a waste of time.

BYDFi resolves this issue by offering a crypto-swapping service right on its website. Just choose the crypto assets you have and want to convert for, enter the amount, and click the “Convert” button. It really is that simple. I tested it multiple times and it worked flawlessly on every test. 

Responsive customer support:  As I’ve mentioned above, I didn’t experience any issues when using BYDFi. However, I wanted to test their customer support as it is one of the most important aspects of any crypto exchange in my book.

Upon closer inspection, I discovered that there are two methods of contacting BYDFi’s support team; through their support email, and live chat on their website. There is no way to contact them via phone. 

I sent a verification-related query using live chat and the response from BYDFi’s support team was fairly quick. They understood my issue right away and replied with helpful instructions on how to resolve it. 

Well-designed mobile app:  Even the most dedicated traders can’t spend every waking moment in front of a computer screen to capitalize on market movements. Trust me, I’ve tried. 

Jokes aside, a functional mobile app can help traders manage their strategies and portfolio, no matter where they are. BYDFi understands this, which is why their mobile app is available on both iOS and Android. 

It worked flawlessly on all of my devices, including tablets and I was thoroughly impressed by its UI. Put simply, it didn’t feel like a stripped-down version of BYDFi’s website, but rather a feature-rich alternative that is designed with touch controls in mind. 

Welcome rewards:  If you’re just starting out as a trader, the rewards program of BYDFi might be of interest to you. 

Their site states that you can earn up to $2,888 in crypto rewards, which can be hard to achieve, but still possible. What interested me the most are the small USDT rewards for simple tasks like setting up 2FA, configuring anti-phishing codes, and joining the BYDFi community. These are essentially free funds that can get you started on your crypto trading journey. Sign up here and take advantage of this welcome offer before it expires!

What I Don't Like About BYDFi

Remember the two disadvantages of BYDFi I mentioned above? Let’s take a closer look at why they matter:

No fiat withdrawals:  While crypto might replace the world economy in the future, our world still runs on fiat at the time of writing. That’s why I would’ve liked to see a direct fiat withdrawal option. Sure, you can convert your crypto into fiat by transferring to another crypto exchange and selling it there. But it would have been a lot more convenient if BYDFi offered this service natively. 

No phone-based customer support:  As I mentioned above, BYDFi customer support through both email and live chat is excellent. From my testing, the customer support team is both responsive and accurate when assessing the issue and providing a solution. 

Despite that, I still would’ve liked to see a phone number that I can call for support. That would come in handy for explaining complex issues that are a bit difficult to describe in writing. It would also be a great accessibility option for less tech-savvy users that want to enter the world of crypto.

BYDFi Fees

Here’s what BYDFi’s fee structure looks like:

BYDFi Deposit Fees

There are no deposit fees for crypto assets. There is no option to deposit using fiat, but you can purchase crypto directly using fiat. You might have to pay fees to your bank or payment provider when doing so.

BYDFi Trading Fees

From what I’ve seen, spot trading fees on BYDFi are anywhere between 0.1% and 0.3% for both makers and takers, depending on the coin being traded. 

Futures trading fees are 0.02% for makers and 0.06% for takers.

BYDFi Withdrawal Fees

Withdrawal fees vary depending on the crypto asset and even the type of network in use. Fortunately, I found a handy table on BYDFi’s site that lists all withdrawal fees. You can access it by clicking here.

Pros and Cons of BYDFi

The Verdict

All factors considered, I highly recommend BYDFi crypto exchange for its versatility and reliability.

Many of its features and services line up perfectly with what I look for in an exchange platform. Not to mention the lack of any hiccups or glitches that made my experience with BYDFi completely hassle-free. My only gripes with this platform are minor complaints and not dealbreakers. 

While I recommend this crypto exchange to most traders, I still suggest you do your own research. Consider every aspect of BYDFi before you sign up to use it. You can also consider other options, such as any platfrom from my list of the top crypto exchanges. I have also included a quick comparison table below.