We list the best over-the-counter OTC trading platforms
- OTC is perfect if you are about to buy or sell a large quantity of crypto
- However, it usually requires more time and trust
- Bybit, Binance, Coinbase and Kraken are some of the best OTC crypto alternatives
List: Best OTC crypto Trading Platforms
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What is Crypto OTC Trading?
Over-the-counter (OTC) trading refers to trading via agencies or people that carry out your transactions for you, isolated from regular exchanges. It’s also called block trading since it occurs in large blocks of trades.
A block trade is a large securities order executed as a single transaction.
Institutional investors, such as hedge and mutual funds, typically use block trades to avoid market volatility.
Block trades are usually made at a discounted price and can be considered a private purchase agreement, often occurring after the market has closed for the day.
Who is doing OTC crypto trading?
High-worth individuals or institutions
What are the benefits of Bitcoin OTC trading?
There are several advantages to OTC trading.
- There is no slippage.
- There is less risk in calculating the average accumulated price since the whole deal is set pre upfront.
What are the disadvantages of OTC trading?
It can take time to fill an order due to a lack of liquidity. You have to trust a third party with one single significant transaction.
Bybit OTC or Block Trading
How to do OTC Block Trading on Bybit?
1. Log in to your Bybit account and complete the KYC verification process for your company or institution.
2. Create an API Key that will allow you to perform a block trade.
3. Fill out the application form on Paradigm to request access.
4. Since Bybit is working with Paradigm, the next step will require you to register an account on Paradigm through the code sent to your email.
5. After logging in to Paradigm, you’ll be able to see all the block trading orders available on your Paradigm dashboard.
6. Once the setup is complete, You can send RFQs, receive quotes, and execute trades on the Paradigm app.
7. After you’ve executed a trade, you can go back to view your trade history on Bybit.
Read more about Bybit block trading.
Binance OTC Trading Platform
Binance OTC trading desk is a lot more than just Bitcoin OTC trading.
Binance has a wide variety of OTC services, including,
- Crypto to crypto trades on almost any coin listed on Binance.
- Deep liquidity pools, particularly in the altcoin markets (even for altcoins with a low market cap).
The OTC settlements occur within the Binance ecosystem and are generally completed within minutes.
There’s no 3rd party, no need to create a new wallet, and no need to wait for blockchain transactions. The Binance team will manually move the coins you are trading into and out of your account.
Binance confidentially conducts OTC trades without significant impact on markets. Trades details can only be found in your account’s “Distribution History” section.
You can use either an individual (personal) KYC-verified account or a corporate (entity) KYC-verified account to trade Binance OTC.
Kraken Crypto OTC Trading Platform
Kraken offers Over-the-counter (OTC) crypto trading.
The trading takes place off the open Kraken exchange. Here, you find deep liquidity and a private, more personalized service to institutions and high net-worth individuals needing to fill large orders that might be too disruptive if placed on open markets at the exchanges.
Whether you are trading blocks of $100,000, €10,000,000, or 2,000 Bitcoin, the OTC desk will provide you with execution and settlement services that are discreet, secure, and ultra-competitive.
Read more about the Kraken OTC crypto trading.
Coinbase Crypto OTC Trading Platform
Coinbase Custody is now directly integrated with Coinbase’s OTC desk. Custody clients can leverage the OTC desk to price and confirm trades before moving funds.
Coinbase Custody provides institutions and corporations with a safe and secure means to store cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase OTC and Coinbase Custody client service teams work together to provide a single point of contact throughout the process.
The process is even more straightforward for clients initiating positions: they can buy OTC and settle assets directly into Custody.
Coinbase’s OTC desk is agency-only, and all counterparties must clear the KYC and AML policies.
Coinbase, preserve anonymity for both counterparties, and guarantee settlement.
- Coinbase’s agency-only OTC desk provides anonymous access to trusted counterparties who have cleared the AML/ KYC policies.
- Coinbase Custody can make OTC trade directly from cold storage. This is a major unlock for our clients: easy and immediate liquidity on their offline funds.
Read more about Coinbase custody and OTC trading integration.
Pros and Cons OTC Trading Platform
There are some pros and cons to crypto OTC trading platforms.
Pros
- No slippage – Since you agree on a price directly with a seller, there is no order book you have to buy from. If there is no order book, there is no slippage either.
- Negotiate price – Since you might be able to get direct contact with the seller, you will probably be able to negotiate and agree on a price.
Cons
- Crypto OTC trading is only available for large transactions and high-worth individuals or institutions.
- An OTC trade takes more time than a trade in the order book.
- You need to trust an institution with large amounts of capital.
