bitFlyer 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

bitFlyer is a Japanese crypto exchange, and its two-factor authentication (2FA) works a little differently from most. You don't decide whether to use it. bitFlyer always asks for a second check when you register an external address, withdraw yen, or send crypto (including through bitWire). What you decide is the method, and whether sign-in is protected too, which is the one optional part (bitFlyer).

There are three methods: email, text message (SMS), or an authenticator app. bitFlyer recommends SMS or an app over email, and its security tips name the app as the stronger choice (bitFlyer). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the bitFlyer steps come from bitFlyer's own English FAQ for its Japan site, linked below. bitflyer.com refused our automated requests, so we read archived copies of those pages on web.archive.org on October 21, 2026, the newest from June 2026. We haven't tested them on a bitFlyer account, so a label may differ slightly. bitFlyer's US and European sites may work differently. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

bitFlyer describes these steps (bitFlyer):

1. Log in to bitFlyer and open Settings, then Security Settings.
2. Under Two-Factor Authentication, select Update.
3. Choose the authentication app as your method. It names apps such as Google Authenticator, but any will do.
4. bitFlyer shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If you're doing this on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. If you'd rather type it, bitFlyer also shows an account key. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, enter bitFlyer as the Service, and paste the key into Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
6. Type the 6-digit code from Novaz and press Enable Two-Factor Authentication.

While you're on that screen, consider turning it on for logging in. bitFlyer recommends using 2FA for sign-in, external addresses and yen withdrawals as well as crypto withdrawals (bitFlyer). Its FAQ doesn't show what that option looks like.

What changes with an app: no 4-digit PIN

If you use email for 2FA, or never set up 2FA at all, bitFlyer makes you set a 4-digit PIN. You then type it when you send crypto to an external address, use bitWire, or change your 2FA settings. With SMS or an authenticator app, the PIN isn't needed (bitFlyer). See Authenticator app vs SMS for how the other two compare.

No backup codes

bitFlyer's FAQ doesn't mention backup or recovery codes. If that phone is lost and you have no Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), the only way back in is bitFlyer's reset process (below). Keep your phone number and email address on the account current, because the reset relies on them.

If bitFlyer rejects your code

bitFlyer's FAQ doesn't cover authenticator codes that don't work. The usual cause is the iPhone's clock. Go to 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?

If you can't change your 2FA setting at all, bitFlyer says it sometimes restricts that for a while as a security measure (bitFlyer).

New phone or lost phone

If you can still sign in, you can switch or remove your 2FA method yourself under Settings > Security Settings (bitFlyer). Do that before you give up the old phone. With Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone; without one, you'll set bitFlyer up again there. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you deleted the app or changed phones and can't get a code, bitFlyer says you have to reset your 2FA through its Reset Two Factor Authentication page (bitFlyer). On that page:

1. Under Confirmation methods, choose Receive an SMS (Recommended), or Customers who can not use SMS (may take longer to perform) if your number has changed.
2. Enter your Email Address.
3. Select Request bitFlyer to reset your two-factor authentication.

bitFlyer turns off your 2FA after it confirms your identity. Without SMS, it says it will phone you or ask for ID documents (bitFlyer, bitFlyer). Afterwards it sends confirmation codes by email, so check that mail from @bitflyer.com and @bitflyer.jp isn't blocked or in spam. bitFlyer doesn't say how long a reset takes.

If you can't finish online, bitFlyer accepts 2FA changes by phone with one ID document: a Japanese driver's license, a My Number card or a residence card. The line, 03-6434-5864, is open on weekdays from 9:30 to 17:30 Japan time and is only in Japanese (bitFlyer). More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

You can change or turn off your 2FA method under Settings > Security Settings (bitFlyer). Withdrawals still need a second check, so without the app you're back to email codes and the 4-digit PIN (bitFlyer).

Official bitFlyer help

• What is two-factor authentication?
• I would like to deactivate two-factor authentication.
• I did not receive the confirmation code required for two-factor authentication.
• Login and Password
• Reset Two Factor Authentication