Want to Trade Big in Crypto? Here Are the Best OTC Brokers to Get Started
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Trading crypto isn’t rocket science — just hop on an exchange, place an order, or, if you’re ready to dive deeper, explore the many derivative exchanges for advanced trading options.
However, challenges arise when you’re dealing with large trades on typical exchanges. High fees and slippage (the difference between expected and actual trade prices) can quickly add up. Even a slight fluctuation can result in significant losses — hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
The solution? Trading through OTC brokers.
What Is a Crypto OTC Broker?
OTC stands for “Over the Counter,” meaning trades occur off traditional exchanges. OTC brokers work by connecting buyers and sellers directly, bypassing the typical order book. The trades are private, agreed upon by both parties to avoid fluctuations and slippage.
For instance, if you want to buy $1,000,000 worth of Bitcoin through an OTC broker, the broker finds a matching seller and arranges the trade. This private process is known only to the broker and the seller, not disclosed publicly.
Typically, OTC trades require substantial liquidity (usually $50,000 — $100,000), as well as completing KYC and providing additional ID information.
If you’re still unclear, here’s a quick comparison between OTC and traditional exchange trading:
Ready to trade OTC? Below is a list of some of the best OTC brokers for crypto trading.
List of Top Crypto OTC Brokers
1. Kraken OTC Exchange
Kraken is a well-established crypto exchange founded in 2012.
In 2018 they started to offer OTC trades.
To start trading in Kraken OTC, you must offer more than $100K liquidity and have to complete an onboard process providing Government ID, Proof of Residency, and Proof of Income.
For trading, they have a desk of expert traders from JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, UBS, Morgan Stanley, and Merrill Lynch; you just need to open up a line of communication, via chat, text or voice call with the trade-desk about your preferred trade.
You can trade all the cryptos and fiat currencies listed on the Kraken exchange.
Along with OTC services, Kraken also offers meticulous market analysis, fully customized 1 to 1 service, complete asset support as well as 24-hour international coverage of crypto assets and investor services, with its brokerage fee being included in the price agreed to by both buyer and seller.
2. Coinbase Prime
Coinbase is a famous crypto exchange offering many crypto services.
And in 2020 they launched OTC trading with their Prime platform, when Coinbase acquired the institutional brokerage firm Tagomi.
The platform is designed for institutions such as asset managers, hedge funds, VCs, endowments, private equity, private wealth managers, and sovereign wealth funds.
It provides investors and businessmen with access to a diversified liquidity pool that comprises Coinbase products like Coinbase and GDAX. Algorithmic orders, margin finance, and an advanced market data product.
OTC offering: Coinbase Prime. The platform inherits Coinbase’s stellar reputation to make trading services available to institutions and large traders.
The exchange also provides some features normally not supported by OTC exchanges, including safe custody of NFT assets and participation in staking and governance for supported tokens.
And one thing to remember is, Coinbase Prime membership is for the approved members only.
3. Binance OTC
Binance needs no introduction; they are the largest crypto exchange in the world operating since 2017.
With their OTC platform, there is no maximum trade limit, but minimum trade size for manual OTC trading is 200,000 USD or equivalent.
Also, they support 300+ crypto, stablecoin, and fiat pairs.
Trades are completed in a matter of minutes when the price is agreed upon.
The support team is available 24/7 via chat, email, or Telegram.
All you need to do to join Binance OTC is get verified with KYC details, even if you don’t need to set up a different wallet for OTC. They will send coins to your Binance account.
They don’t charge any direct fee for OTC trades, but there will be a spread (if you are buying, the prices will be above the market price. If you are selling, the price will be below the market price).
4. FalconX
This San Francisco-based exchange-based OTC trading desk offers its clients the best execution using data science.
FalconX is focused on providing services to institutions such as hedge funds, crypto miners, payment providers, and proprietary traders, but currently, there is no minimum order requirement for trade execution.
The platform provides clients with fast, secure, and reliable execution of cryptocurrency brokerage and digital asset trading using data science to eliminate slippage and hidden fees. It specializes in the fields of blockchain, cryptocurrency, defi, and fintech.
5. B2C2
Operating since 2015 and crowned as the Best Institutional Crypto Liquidity Provider by the readers of Profit & Loss in 2019.
The platform is also a leader in electronic OTC trading means you can connect to B2C2 via REST, WebSocket, and FIX APIs, in addition to via web interface or voice trading.
The platform facilitates OTC trading using both fiat and cryptos such as BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, XRP, EOS, DOT, UST, LNK & USDC.
The minimum requirement to do OTC trading is $50,000 with a KYC-verified account (approving KYC details takes 1–3 business days).
They charge a flat 2% annual fee for both long and short positions.
6. HitBTC OTC
Founded in 2013, HitBTC is a reputed crypto exchange.
They started to facilitate OTC trading through TrustedVolumes.com in 2019.
With this partnership, HitBTC’s OTC service allows you to execute high-volume trades without going through the public order books and also helps you facilitate deals directly with the counterparty without affecting the market price of the coin or token.
To be eligible to use the service, first, you have to submit all your details to their partner site; secondly, you should place a trade that exceeds the equivalent of $100K USDT by volume.
You can trade in 200+ cryptos including BTC, ETH, BCH, BSV, LTC, XRP, and EOS with guaranteed personal support and fast execution from highly experienced traders at the most competitive prices.
They charge a 0.1% fee for OTC trading.
7. DV Chain
DV chain is the electronic OTC trading platform affiliate of DV Trading, which is a Chicago-based proprietary trading firm operating since 2016.
Like B2C2, DV Chain also facilitates electronic OTC trading via REST API and FIX API and/or via IM, Skype, and Telegram where you can message them directly for quotes.
But before starting OTC trading with DV Chain, you should know that their electronic OTC platform via API is available 24/7. If you prefer to trade via IM, Telegram, or Skype, you can do so Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm EST. You’ll also need to complete the KYC details to get started
You can trade in more than 80 cryptos, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Tether, and USDC, and over 30 fiat currencies such as USD, CAD, GBP, EUR, and JPY.
In DV Chain, fees are always included in the price we quote; there will never be any additional fees.
8. Bitpanda Plus
Bitpanda is Europe’s popular crypto exchange operating since 2014.
They offer OTC service via the Bitpanda Plus platform.
The OTC service has been mainly for Bitpanda users since 2014 who want to trade in over € 1 million.
So if you want to trade in Bitpanda Plus, then you have to be their loyal customer since the beginning you’re earning at least €150,000 (gross) a year or have savings worth €500,000 and have to promote Bitpanda on your website also have held at least 2,500,000 PAN tokens.
Even with heavy restrictions to join, Bitpanda Plus service is highly specialized and tailored to individual customers, letting you trade BTC, ETH, DASH, LTC, BCH, XRP, and other digital assets with exclusive discounts and reduced trading premiums and payment fees upon request.
Conclusion
These are some of the top platforms for OTC trading. With a solid understanding of how OTC works, you’re now equipped to choose the best platform for your high-volume trades.
Now it’s your turn, tell me which one you pick for OTC trading or mention your previous experience with any crypto OTC platform if you used/using one.
Want to Trade Cryptos in Large Volume? Here’s a List of the Best Crypto OTC Brokers was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.