Bitfinex, a digital currency trading platform that’s being investigated by the US Justice Department for allegedly engaging in criminal charges including large-scale money laundering, announced that it will be supporting U2F security keys, which is described as an open authentication standard.
The U2F security keys will be used on Bitfinex Pay, a payment technology that enables online merchants to accept contactless and borderless digital token payments.
As mentioned in the announcement, Security keys are physical USB dongles from firms like YubiCo that allow users to bypass the traditional app and text message-based two-factor authentication (2FA) schemes, by providing their 6-digit codes. The codes may be provided by plugging the key into a desktop computer or laptop.
Bitfinex users may benefit from the strong 2nd factor authentication service when making payments to merchants that have the Bitfinex Pay widget. As explained in the update, U2F offers protection against potential phishing scams, session hijacking, man in the middle, and various types of malware attacks.
Additionally, users may take advantage of more privacy and control of their secure online identity, and the option to use U2F across several different devices.
Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Bitfinex, stated:
“As a trailblazer in digital payments, Bitfinex Pay has already become a popular payment tool and with the addition of U2F we are providing our users with further means of protecting themselves. These security keys make it almost impossible for a hacker to intercept both your password and the two-factor code.”
The U2F option will be given to Bitfinex clients after clicking “Pay with Bitfinex”. If a Bitfinex client does not have two-factor authentication set up, then they may be asked to add the security feature at the ‘Enable 2FA’ screen. Bitfinex users also have the option to verify their login credentials with Google Authenticator.
The Bitfinex Pay widget may be added onto a website handling digital payments. Users are able to pay with Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Lightning Network BTC (LN-BTC) and Tether tokens (USDT) via Ethereum or Tron blockchains. Payments made through Bitfinex Pay are deposited into a merchant’s exchange wallet on the Bitfinex platform.
Clients of a merchant that integrated the payment tech just have to click on the Bitfinex Pay button to be directed to the Bitfinex payment portal. Once payment has been made using a virtual currency accepted by the merchant, a client will be redirected back to the merchant’s official website, the announcement explained.