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Best OTC (Over The Counter) Brokers for Buying Large Amounts of Bitcoin
With the increasing evolution of cryptocurrency markets, traders are looking for easy and secure exchanges to trade large amounts of cryptocurrency anonymously. These types of large-scale exchanges are called Over The Counter (OTC) brokers.
In conventional financial markets, the exchange of securities not formally listed on centralized exchanges is facilitated through OTC brokers. These brokers negotiate the trade directly with sellers and buyers through the phone or on the Internet.
This article will provide a broad overview of Over The Counter Trading, how to buy large amounts of bitcoin, a list of the best Bitcoin OTC brokers, and the advantages/disadvantages of OTC exchanges.
Best OTC Brokers in Crypto Markets
OTC brokers provide service by facilitating direct Bitcoin trading and other cryptocurrencies between two parties. These trades can be fiat to crypto (exchanging fiat currencies like Euro or US dollars for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, and vice versa) or crypto to crypto (exchanging between cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin).
Here’s a list of the top OTC brokers for Bitcoin:
Kraken
Founded in 2011 in San Francisco, Kraken is one of the largest and most reputable cryptocurrency exchanges globally. Kraken officially launched its OTC services in 2018. Due to its extensive range of supported cryptocurrencies (over 45) and seamless services, it became the foremost OTC desk for buying/selling large amounts of Bitcoin.
Kraken is currently expanding its OTC BTC exchange services, and it recently acquired Bit Trade and Circle Trade (both successful OTC brokers in the market). Currently, Kraken supports over 45 different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Monero, and Ethereum, and continually expanding its supported crypto assets. Furthermore, it accepts a wide variety of fiat currencies, including US and Canadian dollars, British Pound, Yen, and Euro.
Kraken offers personal one-on-one OTC services from preliminary consultations to final transactions; these services are provided to users from all around the world on a 24/7 basis. Kraken has an intuitive and straightforward interface and a high level of security. The company charges no fees for its OTC services, and its minimum trade size starts from $100,000.
Binance OTC
As one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, Binance doesn’t need any introduction. Like Kraken, Binance also provides personalized, deep liquidity services for high net-worth individuals and institutions that want to quickly and anonymously exchange large amounts of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Binance OTC desk features Bitcoin OTC trading and offers a wide variety of crypto-to-crypto pair trading options such as Ripple/Litecoin. Currently, Binance OTC supports the trading of more than 75 different tokens and cryptocurrencies.
Binance OTC’s minimum trade size is $10,000, allowing even average retail traders to take advantage of large-scale Bitcoin trading. They offer one-on-one personalized trading support and fast settlements that are usually completed within minutes.
Coinbase
Founded in 2011 and located in San Francisco, California, Coinbase is one of the most known digital currency exchanges. Recently, they launched a dedicated subsidiary for managing the crypto assets of corporate institutions called Coinbase Prime. The platform provides access to advanced institutional trading capabilities such as OTC block trading, margin finance, execution algorithms, and much more.
In 2020, MicroStrategy chose Coinbase Prime as the primary execution partner to purchase $425 million worth of Bitcoin. And this year, the platform has consolidated its position by helping the Tesla company buy $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin.
Coinbase helps you have a straightforward and hassle-free Bitcoin OTC trading experience through a dedicated team of institutional coverage professionals. The platform is highly secure and takes advantage of the same integrated custody architecture as Coinbase.
- Beginner-friendly UI make it easy to make quick buys
- One of the oldest and most reliable exchanges
- Earn $200 in free crypto after completing sign-up process. Terms apply.
- Variety of products including exchange, staking, wallet
- Advanced Trading options for experienced traders
Satstreet
Satstreet is a large digital currency brokerage that’s based out of Toronto, Canada.
The company has impressively high standards for security and is registered with Canadian’s National Financial Transactions Agency FINTRAC as a money services business (MSB).
Despite being a relatively new company (it launched in 2020), Satstreet has already transacted over $300 million in trading volume with a stellar reputation for security and accessibility. Some of their biggest clients include high-net worth individuals, institutions and Bitcoin mining operations. Investments start at a minimum of $25,000 but it’s possible to invest millions with Satstreet. The company also has partnerships in place with crypto heavyweights like Coinbase, Ledger and Silvergate.
Satstreet wants to be thought of as a private cryptocurrency bank and they are well on their way with the early returns being incredibly positive.
- Registered with Canadian’s National Financial Transactions Agency as a money services business
- Partnerships with Coinbase, Ledger & Silvergate
- Incredibly secure and accessible platform
Bitfinex
Founded in 2012, Bitfinex is a cryptocurrency exchange registered in the British Virgin Islands and headquartered in Hong Kong. Bitfinex allows clients to privately trade Bitcoin and other crypto-assets worth $100,000 and higher through its OTC services. Users can directly engage in OTC trading with other Bitfinex clients or gain access to instant liquidity through the platform’s OTC desk.
Recently, Bitfinex launched a decentralized OTC platform for trading ERC-20 tokens named Ethfinex Trustless. This platform charges 0.02% per exchange. The clients select the volume of transactions and the tokens they want to exchange/receive. For each transaction, they have to pay a 0.02% fee. Since Ethfinex is a peer-to-peer service, it’s up to users to search for buyers or get help from third-party brokers.
Huobi OTC
Founded in 2013, Huobi OTC is one of the most popular and trusted fiat-crypto exchanges, with offices in the United States, Hong Kong, and Japan. The platform allows individuals and institutional high net-worth clients to trade digital assets.
Using the Huobi OTC desk, users can exchange high volumes of Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum and USDT, outside of an open order book exchange. Huobi OTC desk is secure and highly regulated (the platform is under DLT License, and all clients are subject to strict KYC/AML procedures).
Huobi OTC charges no extra fees on top of the quotation, and it offers outstanding one-on-one trade support to all OTC traders. Using the Huobi OTC desk, users can take advantage of robust liquidity, multi-asset support, and global execution coverage. Like most other Over The Counter brokers, Huobi OTC has a minimum size requirement of $100,000.
- Easy & quick sign-up process
- Has one of the largest lists of tradeable assets of any exchange on the market
- Very good customer service
- Offers a non-custodial wallet called the Huobi Wallet
Bitbuy
For anyone in Canada looking for an OTC broker, Bitbuy has been a long-standing Canadian favorite. The exchange was launched by Adam Goldman in 2103 as Instabit and rebranded as Bitbuy in 2016. It was then acquired by WonderFi Technologies in 2016. Their OTC options are available for trades $20,000 or more.
Known for its emphasis on safety, Bitbuy is a licensed Money Service Business (MSB) and is the only exchange in Canada regulated by the Ontario Securities Commission. The exchange uses a 95% cold storage security policy meaning that 95% of its assets are stored offline. This ensures that only 5% of their assets are vulnerable to being hacked.
Pros & Cons of Using Bitcoin OTC Brokers
You might be wondering why a person/institution wishes to forgo using the simple and straightforward services of conventional Bitcoin exchanges and instead opt to utilize the seemingly opaque and problematic OTC brokers. The answer is, of course, because of the advantages it provides. Obviously, like anything else, it has its downsides/disadvantages.
Advantages of Bitcoin OTC Trading
OTC trading is designed for exchanging large quantities of cryptocurrencies without noticeably moving the market. Your decision to buy/sell massive amounts of OTC can significantly increase/reduce its value, leading to market disequilibrium and consequently to substantial financial loss. OTC brokers reduce transaction transparency, consequently eliminating market attention/reaction.
A second advantage of using OTC transactions is the lack of restriction, which means, contrary to conventional Bitcoin exchanges, you have no maximum limit for your Bitcoin trading. A further advantage of using OTCs is the high level of liquidity and security they provide. Additionally, you can buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies directly with fiat money without first exchanging your fiat money for crypto assets.
Disadvantages of Bitcoin OTC Trading
Compared to using conventional crypto exchanges, using OTC services have their disadvantages. First, in OTC trading, there are no quick ways to sell your Bitcoins or buy your desired amount. Large transactions require the trader to wait, sometimes for an extended period, before an interested party comes across your offer.
Second, the number of coins you can trade on a large scale is limited to Bitcoin and a few other cryptocurrencies. At the same time, in conventional crypto exchanges, you can buy and sell tens and even hundreds of different digital assets.
A further disadvantage of OTC trading is the lack of complete transparency. Often, you have little or no information about your trading counterparty, either because they want to remain anonymous or due to a particular OTC policy. Finally, the OTC exchanges are not regulated to the same degree as traditional exchanges, leading to some risk and uncertainty for traders.
Conclusion
In this article, top OTC brokers for buying large-scale Bitcoin were introduced. Trading Bitcoin through OTC exchanges involves significant amounts of money and should not be taken lightly. If you are interested in using OTC services to buy/sell Bitcoin, make sure to know everything about the particular OTC broker you have selected and the ins and outs of this type of large-scale trading.
