[Crypto projects](https://revain.org/projects/) › UNUS SED LEO

# UNUS SED LEO (LEO): how it works, supply and reviews

## In short

- **Type**: Exchange utility token issued by a company, not a blockchain of its own
- **Burn**: Each month iFinex buys back LEO equal to at least 27% of its consolidated gross revenues of the previous month and burns it
- **Risks and caveats**: LEO's value and benefits depend on a single company, iFinex, and its Bitfinex platforms.
- **Checked**: 31 October 2026

## Key facts

- **Ticker**: LEO
- **Official site**: [leo.bitfinex.com](https://leo.bitfinex.com/)

Key facts checked on 31 October 2026 against official sources.

## What is UNUS SED LEO

UNUS SED LEO (LEO) is the utility token of iFinex, the British Virgin Islands company that operates the Bitfinex exchange. It was sold in a May 2019 initial exchange offering, and iFinex buys back and burns LEO every month using part of its revenue.

## Network and consensus

| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Exchange utility token issued by a company, not a blockchain of its own |
| Launched | Whitepaper released 10 May 2019, followed by a private initial exchange offering (IEO) |
| Offering | A subsidiary of iFinex planned to sell up to 1 billion USDt worth of LEO |
| Chains | Issued on Ethereum (ERC-20) and Vaulta (formerly EOS); the two versions convert on Bitfinex free of charge |

## Supply and issuance

| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Burn | Each month iFinex buys back LEO equal to at least 27% of its consolidated gross revenues of the previous month and burns it |
| Burn of recovered funds | At least 80% of net funds recovered from the 2016 Bitfinex hack go to buying back and burning LEO |
| Burn of recovered funds | 95% of net funds recovered from Crypto Capital are used to redeem and burn LEO |
| Issuance | The buy-back and burn terms were unchanged when Bitfinex moved to zero trading fees in December 2025 |

## What LEO is used for

- Affiliate rebate multipliers on Bitfinex
- Discounts on deposit and withdrawal fees, where applicable
- A limited number of fee-free fiat withdrawals per month, depending on LEO held
- Trading fee discounts ended in December 2025, when Bitfinex set trading fees to zero
- Discount of up to 5% on peer-to-peer (P2P) lending fees on Bitfinex, scaled by the LEO held (help centre).
- Up to 25% off crypto deposit and withdrawal fees for holders of more than 50 million LEO (help centre).

## Who develops and governs UNUS SED LEO

- **Company**: iFinex Inc., a privately held company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, operates Bitfinex
- **Legal entity**: Issuer: Unus Sed Leo Limited, a British Virgin Islands company limited by shares
- **Governance**: No holder governance: buy-backs, burns and benefits are set by iFinex
- **Headquarters**: Road Town, British Virgin Islands (dateline of Bitfinex announcements)

## History

| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2 August 2016 | Bitfinex is hacked and loses 119,756 BTC; recovered funds were later tied to LEO burns. |
| 10 May 2019 | Bitfinex releases the UNUS SED LEO whitepaper; the private IEO raises nearly 1 billion USDt in under a week. |
| June 2019 | Bitfinex presents the UNUS SED LEO Transparency Initiative, built around a real-time token burn redemption mechanism, and launches the LEO Transparency Dashboard. |
| 14 February 2020 | LEO holder benefits are extended to LEO held across master and sub-accounts on Bitfinex. |
| 6 July 2023 | Bitfinex confirms that after Recovery Right Tokens are redeemed, up to 80% of remaining recovered hack assets go to LEO holders. |
| 18 June 2025 | LEO tokens on EOS are rebranded as tokens on Vaulta. |
| 17 December 2025 | Bitfinex moves to zero trading fees; the LEO trading-fee discount ends, other benefits and burns continue. |

## Security and audits

- The issuer describes LEO as speculative and high-risk, aimed only at buyers who understand crypto tokens.
- The token sale excluded the United States, Canada and several other jurisdictions.

## Security incidents

| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2 August 2016 | Hack: Bitfinex, the exchange of LEO issuer iFinex, suffered a hack that depleted it of 119,756 BTC; the LEO whitepaper commits at least 80% of recovered net funds to LEO buybacks and burns. Funds returned: Bitfinex has reported partial recoveries through law enforcement, for example $312,219.71 in cash and 6.917 BCH received from the US DHS (announced 6 July 2023). | [bitfinex.com](https://www.bitfinex.com/wp-2019-05.pdf) |

Further incidents are reported by third parties (press, incident databases) but are not confirmed in the company’s own channels, so they are not listed here.

## Risks and caveats

- LEO's value and benefits depend on a single company, iFinex, and its Bitfinex platforms.
- The issuer states the 2019 whitepaper is out of date and should not be relied on.
- Benefits can be changed by Bitfinex, as when trading fee discounts ended in December 2025.
- Sale was restricted for US, Canadian and other residents.
- On Bitfinex, LEO deposits, trading and withdrawals need Basic Plus or higher verification and are not available in some jurisdictions.

## Official links

- Website: [leo.bitfinex.com](https://leo.bitfinex.com/)
- Whitepaper: [www.bitfinex.com/wp-2019-05.pdf](https://www.bitfinex.com/wp-2019-05.pdf)
- Blog: [blog.bitfinex.com](https://blog.bitfinex.com/)
- Support: [support.bitfinex.com/hc/en-us/articles/360023342674-Unus-Sed-LEO-LEO](https://support.bitfinex.com/hc/en-us/articles/360023342674-Unus-Sed-LEO-LEO)

## Questions and answers

**What is UNUS SED LEO?**

LEO is the utility token of iFinex, the operator of Bitfinex, issued by Unus Sed Leo Limited (British Virgin Islands) in May 2019.

**Who created LEO?**

Bitfinex created the token and released its whitepaper on 10 May 2019; the private IEO raised nearly 1 billion USDt.

**What is the supply of LEO?**

On 31 October 2026 the official dashboard showed 919,857,851.90 LEO in supply and 80,142,148.10 LEO burned.

**How does the LEO burn work?**

Every month iFinex buys back LEO equal to at least 27% of its previous month's gross revenues and burns it; recovered hack funds also go to burns.

**Does LEO still give trading fee discounts?**

No. Since Bitfinex set trading fees to zero in December 2025, the discount no longer applies; other benefits and burns continue.

## Sources

- [iFinex — UNUS SED LEO whitepaper (May 2019)](https://www.bitfinex.com/wp-2019-05.pdf)
- [iFinex's UNUS SED LEO Token — official dashboard](https://leo.bitfinex.com/)
- [Bitfinex blog — UNUS SED LEO first BURNday](https://blog.bitfinex.com/announcements/bitfinex-celebrates-unus-sed-leos-first-burnday/)
- [Bitfinex blog — Zero fees Q&A (17 December 2025)](https://blog.bitfinex.com/products/zero-fees-qa/)
- [Bitfinex blog — Return of seized property to RRT holders (6 July 2023)](https://blog.bitfinex.com/announcements/bitfinex-announces-return-of-seized-property-to-rrt-holders/)
- [Bitfinex Help Center — Unus Sed LEO (LEO)](https://support.bitfinex.com/hc/en-us/articles/360023342674-Unus-Sed-LEO-LEO)
- [Bitfinex Help Center — UNUS SED LEO Token Holders Benefits](https://support.bitfinex.com/hc/en-us/articles/900000064023-UNUS-SED-LEO-Token-Holders-Benefits)
- [Bitfinex Help Center — Unus Sed LEO Token Conversion](https://support.bitfinex.com/hc/en-us/articles/360023617554-Unus-Sed-LEO-Token-Conversion)
- [Bitfinex blog — Bitfinex 2019: A year in review](https://blog.bitfinex.com/announcements/bitfinex-2019-a-year-in-review/)
- [Bitfinex blog — UNUS SED LEO benefits in master and sub-accounts (14 February 2020)](https://blog.bitfinex.com/education/unus-sed-leo-benefits-available-in-master-and-sub-accounts/)
- [Bitfinex blog — Bitfinex introduces zero-fee trading (17 December 2025)](https://blog.bitfinex.com/education/bitfinex-blogpost-zero-fee-trading/)

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Page updated: 2026-10-31

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Source: https://revain.org/projects/leo-token/