Bitfinex 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

On Bitfinex, the crypto exchange, two-factor authentication (2FA) isn't optional. Every account needs at least one second factor, and if you skip it when you sign up, the account's features stay locked until you add it (Bitfinex, Bitfinex). You have two choices: an authenticator app, which Bitfinex's pages call Google Authenticator, or a U2F security key such as a YubiKey. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Bitfinex steps come from Bitfinex's own help center, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. The help center blocks automated page requests, so we read the articles through its public article feed on support.bitfinex.com, which serves the same text. We haven't tested the steps on a Bitfinex account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

Bitfinex asks for 2FA in two places: during sign-up, or on the Security page later if you skipped it (Bitfinex).

While creating your account:

1. Bitfinex shows a QR code and a Setup key. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code.
2. Type the code Novaz shows into Bitfinex.
3. Confirm your email address to finish creating the account.

If you skipped it at sign-up:

1. Sign in. Bitfinex sends you to the Security page, which lists FIDO Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) and Google Authenticator (2FA).
2. Under Google Authenticator (2FA), press Setup. A QR code appears.
3. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
4. Type the 6-digit code from Novaz into the box above Enable. When the code is right, Bitfinex turns it on without you pressing the button.
5. Open your email. Bitfinex sends a confirmation link. Open it in the same browser you use for Bitfinex, and you'll see a notice that the authenticator is installed on your account.

Bitfinex's general description says its codes can be six to eight digits long, while its setup steps ask for a 6-digit code. Scanning the QR code is the safer choice, since it gives Novaz the code settings. If you have to type the key instead, tap +, then Enter key manually, and paste it into Setup key. Manual entry always makes 6-digit codes that change every 30 seconds. See What is a 2FA setup key?

The account token key is your backup

Bitfinex doesn't describe backup codes. What it gives you instead is the key under the QR code, which it calls the Account token (Key). Bitfinex says this key is what gets you back in quickly if you lose your 2FA device (Bitfinex).

Its advice on where to keep it is strict. Don't save it on your devices, in email or in cloud storage. Write it down or print it, together with the QR code, keep the paper somewhere safe, and delete any digital copy once it's printed.

Unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file in Novaz, the key exists only on that iPhone. The printed key is a copy you control either way, so make it before you close the setup screen.

When Bitfinex asks for a code

You'll need a code from your app when you sign in, when you withdraw, and when you change important account settings (Bitfinex). Bitfinex also lists password changes and creating API keys among the actions it protects this way.

If Bitfinex rejects your code

Bitfinex's troubleshooting article is about losing access to the app, not about wrong codes. For any error during setup, it says to contact Bitfinex Support and describe the error in detail (Bitfinex).

Before you do, check the iPhone's clock. Open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

This only works while you still have the old phone (Bitfinex):

1. Sign in, go to the Security section, open the two-factor authentication settings and press Disable.
2. Enter a code from the old phone and press Authenticate.
3. Open the email Bitfinex sends and press Disable token 2FA now. Nothing changes until you confirm it.
4. Set up the authenticator again on the new phone, using the steps above.

Bitfinex warns that this puts a five-day hold on withdrawals. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone and skip this; without one, this is the route for a new phone. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

If you kept the printed key, add it to an authenticator app on your new phone. Otherwise, how you reset 2FA depends on your account's total equity (Bitfinex):

• Below 10,000 USD: use the self-reset at setting.bitfinex.com/reset-2fa, which is also linked from the sign-in page. Fill in your username or email, your password and the captcha if there is one, make sure Google Auth Token is selected, and press Submit. Then confirm the request from your email.
• 10,000 USD or more: contact Bitfinex Support and choose the Account Access section.

After a reset, Bitfinex holds withdrawals for 5 to 15 days, depending on your equity. If your account was verified at the Intermediate level or higher before the hold began, Support can lift it early after checking your ID (Bitfinex). The help pages don't say what proof the support route asks for in a 2FA reset. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

The Disable steps under "Changing phones" also turn the authenticator off. Bitfinex requires at least one second factor on every account, so plan to add a new one straight away.

Official Bitfinex help

• How to set up a 2FA at Bitfinex
• How to change a 2FA device at Bitfinex
• How to reset a 2FA at Bitfinex
• Lost access to Google Authenticator 2FA of a Bitfinex account
• Google Authenticator 2FA Troubleshooting
• Why do I have a withdrawal hold at Bitfinex
• How to set up Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) 2FA
• Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) Troubleshooting on Bitfinex