💱 OTC currency and crypto exchange

Lawyer, Family Office

Concept

OTC (Over-the-Counter) is a market for direct transactions between two parties, bypassing public exchanges. OTC handles all large tranches that cannot be executed in the order book without significant market impact: conversion of $500K+ from USD to CNY, withdrawal of $1M from cryptocurrency to fiat, complex corridors through multiple correspondent banks. This is not a separate company or platform — it is a transaction format in which participants find each other and settlement occurs through the banking network directly.

For private capital and trading companies, OTC solves three tasks that exchanges cannot: size (no upper limits), speed (1–3 days instead of withdrawal queues), geography (funds can be placed directly into the required correspondent bank).

Who provides OTC services

The global OTC market operates through a narrow group of banks with appropriate licensing structures and strong correspondent relationships. Among them:

• EQIBank(Dominica) — one of the largest Caribbean-based operators, serves HNW and corporate clients, works with fiat and stablecoins.
• Nodabank(Dominica) — specializes in large transactions, has prime-broker relationships for crypto-leg.
• Sentenor Bank(Dominica) — niche player, focused on Asian corridor.

Why Dominica

The Commonwealth of Dominica is an independent Caribbean state, member of OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States). The country's banking infrastructure is built around theBanking Act of Dominicaand regulated by the Financial Services Unit (FSU). This jurisdiction has become a working hub for OTC operations for several reasons:

• Licensing regime for international banks— a bank can be established with capital from USD 1M (versus USD 25–50M in US/UK), which lowers the entry threshold for specialized OTC providers.
• No direct application of US Patriot Act— the bank falls under local AML/CFT regulation, which follows FATF standards, but without US requirements for US clients.
• Travel Rule compliance— Dominica-based banks comply with FATF Travel Rule through correspondent network, making them compatible with European and Asian financial systems.
• Stable correspondent network— key partners of Dominica-based banks includeDBS Singapore(Asian USD/CNY corridor) andJ.P. Morgan Chase(USD clearing and access to Fed system). This combination gives OTC transactions global-scale liquidity while maintaining local jurisdiction flexibility.

In practical terms this means: a client in Hong Kong or Dubai can send USDT to an EQIBank address, and within 1–3 business days receive USD into an account at DBS Singapore or EUR equivalent through J.P. Morgan to any European bank.

How an OTC transaction works

1. Request for quotation.Party indicates source currency, target currency, tranche size, desired execution timeframe.
2. Quotation from desk.OTC banker contacts liquidity providers (other banks and large trading firms), collects quotation, fixes it for client for 30–60 minutes.
3. Prepayment.Client transfers source funds to OTC provider's account (bank or crypto wallet).
4. Settlement through correspondent.Target funds are credited to recipient's account through correspondent banking (e.g., DBS Singapore for USD-to-Asia or J.P. Morgan for USD-to-Europe). Timeframe — 1–3 business days depending on currency pair.
5. Documentation.Client receives invoice, bank confirmation and — for crypto-leg — on-chain transaction hash.

Available directions

Fiat ↔ Fiat:

• USD ↔ EUR ↔ GBP — standard majors, settlement on trade date
• USD ↔ CNY — through Hong Kong and Singapore correspondent banks
• USD ↔ AED, USD ↔ BRL, USD ↔ TRY — exotics, settlement 2–3 days
• EUR ↔ RUB — through Caribbean / Asia correspondent network, with confirmed source

Crypto ↔ Fiat:

• USDT (TRC-20, ERC-20), USDC, BTC, ETH ↔ USD, EUR, GBP
• Sources accepted only from top-tier exchanges: Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Bitfinex
• On-chain analytics (Chainalysis-like) verified on every transaction

Fiat ↔ Crypto:

• USD, EUR, GBP → USDT/USDC at spot rate with fixed commission
• Settlement within minutes after fiat receipt

When OTC fits, when an account does

OTC is better than an account if:

• Transaction is one-off or less than once per month
• Tranche size exceeds $200,000 per operation
• Source of funds is crypto, not planned to be held permanently in bank account
• Non-standard currency pair or exotic corridor needed

Account is better than OTC if:

• Regular settlements several times per week
• Corporate cards and outgoing SWIFT needed
• Treasury hold required in multiple currencies simultaneously

Commission

Commission depends on currency pair, transaction size and direction and ranges0.3–3%:

• Fiat ↔ Fiat majors (USD/EUR/GBP) — 0.3–0.8% to interbank
• Fiat ↔ CNY / Fiat ↔ RUB — 0.5–1.5% depending on direction and source
• Crypto ↔ Fiat — 0.5–1.5% to Binance Spot rate
• Exotic currencies and complex corridors — by agreement, up to 3%

Documents for KYC

For first transaction:

• Passport scan of beneficiary
• Proof of residential address
• Description of source of funds (one page)
• Cryptocurrency source with verifiable parameters (if crypto-leg)

For repeat transactions KYC is not repeated — client profile is stored with OTC provider and updated once per year.

What OTC does not do

• Does not work with anonymous wallets— all crypto sources must pass on-chain analytics.
• Does not accept reversed payments— cancellation after settlement possible only in source currency with processing fee retention.
• Does not issue self-issued instruments— all settlements go through regulated banks and crypto providers.

Our role

Private.law does not maintain its own OTC desk — we arrange client access to the above providers through direct relationships with EQIBank, Nodabank, Sentenor Bank, and through correspondent partners. For the client this means: one window for inquiry, one KYC, one transaction support from quotation to confirmation. Cost of our involvement — fixed fee for support or percentage of transaction size, discussed individually.

Related services

• 🪙 EMI for cryptocurrency business— for permanent channel instead of one-off transactions
• 💼 EMI for international entrepreneur— for regular fiat settlements
• 🇭🇰 Hong Kong company— optimal wrapper for recurring OTC operations