OTC trading
OTC (over-the-counter) trading is buying or selling a large amount of crypto directly through a dedicated desk or broker, away from an exchange's public order book.
How it works
Market-selling 500 BTC on an exchange would eat through the order book and crash the price against you. So funds, miners, companies and very wealthy individuals use an OTC desk: they request a quote, get one price for the whole size and confirm the trade.
The desk can fill from its own inventory or build the position gradually across venues. The price is locked in advance, so the client has no slippage and the market does not see the trade in the order book. Minimums are usually high, often tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and each desk sets its own.
OTC requires full client checks: documents, source of funds, sometimes a contract. For beginners the more useful points are that big OTC flows move the market indirectly, and "OTC offers" in messengers at a discount to market are a common scam.
A fund wants 200 BTC at $60,000. Only about 80 BTC is offered within 1% of the price on the exchange, so a market order would push the average up by several percent. An OTC desk quotes $60,150 for the full size: $30,000 above market, but likely cheaper than the slippage on the exchange.
A typical mistake is answering an "OTC deal" from a stranger on Telegram: "selling USDT 5% below market, you send first." That is a classic scam or money laundering. Real OTC is an official desk at a known company with KYC and a contract, not a DM in a messenger.
Questions and answers
What is OTC in crypto in simple terms?
It is a large crypto trade done directly through a broker or an exchange's desk instead of placing an order in the public book.
Why do people use OTC trading?
To buy or sell a big amount at one price known in advance without crashing or spiking the market with their own order.
What is the minimum for an OTC trade?
It depends on the desk, but usually tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. For smaller amounts a regular exchange is simpler.
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Updated: 2026-10-19