Buy crypto in Batumi: where to get USDT and where to turn it back into cash

Batumi works differently from Tbilisi, and the difference trips up a lot of visitors. The city has 11 Cryptomat machines, and every one of them is buy-only. You can buy crypto in Batumi at any of them, putting lari in and getting Bitcoin or USDT out, but there’s no machine in the city that takes crypto and hands back cash. For crypto exchange in Batumi in the other direction, which is what most holiday-makers and property buyers actually need, you go to an exchange office or trade P2P.

The good news is that Batumi has more registered exchange points than any Georgian city except the capital. Six providers on the National Bank’s register are headquartered here, and ten registered firms in total list a Batumi address. This page maps them, explains the USDT-to-dollars routine, and flags the names in local directories that we couldn’t find on the register.

Batumi’s 11 crypto ATMs (all buy-only)

All machines in the city belong to Cryptomat (NBG registration 0005-9404). They sit in three supermarket chains, so they’re easy to find, and handle BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH and USDT on ERC-20ERC-20Tokens on the Ethereum network. Widely supported but network fees can be several dollars per transfer. and TRC-20TRC-20USDT issued on the Tron network. Cheap and fast transfers, which is why most OTC and property deals in Georgia quote TRC-20..

A local directory also mentions a crypto ATM in the Metro City shopping centre on Lech and Maria Kaczynski St 1. It isn’t on Cryptomat’s list, and we couldn’t confirm who runs it or whether it still works, so don’t plan around it.

The operator doesn’t publish fees or limits. A local guide puts typical all-in costs at Georgian machines at 6–12% including the spreadSpreadThe gap between the buy and sell price. A desk that buys USDT at 2.57 GEL and sells at 2.62 GEL earns a 0.05 GEL spread on each coin., which makes a machine an expensive way to buy anything beyond pocket money. The crypto ATM guide explains how to read the screen rate.

Crypto exchange in Batumi: the registered offices

These are the providers whose head office or branch the NBG register places in Batumi. Remember that a registered address isn’t a promise of a cash desk with opening hours. Message or call first.

New Boulevard, Orbi City and Kaczynski Street

The newer, high-rise part of the city along Khimshiashvili and Kaczynski streets has the densest cluster, which makes sense: this is where many foreign buyers’ apartments are.

• Digital Currency (0015-9404) has its head office in Adjara and five branches. The register gives Sherif Khimshiashvili 9 and 10, Kobaladze 8a, Kaczynski 19 and 5, and Abuseridze 13. That’s six points, more than any other provider in the city.
• PLEX (0017-9404) is also headquartered in Batumi, with an office in Orbi City, block C, Sherif Khimshiashvili 7d, another on Kaczynski 18, and one on Chavchavadze 9 / 9 March 1. It also has a Tbilisi branch.

Old Batumi: Gorgiladze, Rustaveli and Chavchavadze

• Crypto Change Batumi (0027-9404): Gorgiladze 88a, plus one more branch.
• Fintrust (0043-9404): Gorgiladze 95. One of the newest firms on the register.
• Alltrust.me (0010-9404): Batumi branch at Gorgiladze 111. Its head office is in Tbilisi.
• PayBit (0033-9404): Rustaveli str. 11. PayBit is one of only four providers in Georgia licensed to exchange through kiosks, but we couldn’t confirm where, or whether, its machines operate.
• Bitrust (0028-9404): branch on 26 May St 23.

Elsewhere in the city

• SOLUNEX (0036-9404): F. Mepe / K. Gamsakhurdia 44/27.
• Werty (0021-9404, legal name Unotron LLC): branch on Merab Kostava 24.
• Stellex (0023-9404): branch on K. Gamsakhurdia 6.

Names you’ll see in directories but not on the register

Search for “crypto exchange Batumi” and you’ll find a handful of names that appear in a local business directory: BitSwap (Rustaveli 59), Conexus Crypto (Asatiani 19), WTC Exchange (Zubalashvili 37), Flash (26 May 21A) and Safe_x_crypto. None of them is on the NBG register under that name.

That doesn’t prove anything is wrong. A shop can trade under a brand that differs from the legal name on the register. But since 1 July 2023, providing virtual asset services without NBGNBGNational Bank of Georgia — the central bank. It supervises banks and, since 2023, crypto service providers (VASPs). registration is not allowed, and the National Bank has publicly warned people against using unregistered providers. Registered firms are now required to display their registration confirmation in their office, on their website and in their app.

So the rule is simple: ask for the registration number, look it up on the NBG register or our list of licensed crypto exchanges, and walk away if it doesn’t match. Our scams page lists the warning signs.

How to buy crypto in Batumi without a machine

If you live in Batumi and buy regularly, the machines are rarely the cheapest option. The online routes work the same here as in Tbilisi:

• TBC app. TBC customers can buy around 30 crypto assets from $1 inside the mobile bank, with Bybit Georgia handling execution. No separate registration is needed.
• Local exchanges. Cryptal charges 2% for Georgian cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, while bank transfers, BOG Pay and TBC Pay are free. Bybit Georgia and WhiteBIT Georgia are the only global brands on the Georgian register.
• PayBox terminals. You can pay cash at a PayBox terminal to buy through five registered exchanges: Cryptal, Coinmania, WhiteBIT, CityPay and Bitanica. Details in buying crypto with cash.
• Exchange offices sell as well as buy, which is handy for a larger one-off purchase of USDT against dollars you already hold.

For a side-by-side comparison of every method, start with how to buy crypto in Georgia.

Turning USDT into cash in Batumi

USDT is the coin most visitors arrive with, whether it’s savings, freelance income or money set aside for a flat. Here’s the usual routine at an exchange office.

An exchange aggregator, Obmify, also lists USDT (TRC-20 and ERC-20) to US dollar cash offers for Batumi. It doesn’t show whether listed exchangers are NBG-registered, so check each one the same way. If you already have a Georgian bank account, P2PP2PPeer-to-peer: you buy crypto from another person and pay them directly (e.g. by TBC or Bank of Georgia transfer) while the platform holds their coins in escrow. on Binance, Bybit or OKX is the other route: you sell USDT and a buyer pays lari into your account. The P2P guide covers the risk of frozen accounts, and how to cash out crypto compares all routes.

USDT to GEL or dollars in Batumi: how to read a quote

There’s no special Batumi rate for USDT. Offices on Gorgiladze Street and around Orbi City price it off the same anchor as everyone else in Georgia: USDT tracks the US dollar, so its fair value in lari sits close to the National Bank’s official dollar rate. Whatever an office, a P2P buyer or an aggregator offers, the gap between that benchmark and the money in your hand is what the service really costs. Our USDT guide explains how the rate is formed.

Reading the quote

Ask every office the same question: how much will I receive, and in which currency, for this amount of USDT on this network? A rate on its own tells you little, because the fee is built into it. Then do the arithmetic.

• Dollar payout. Compare the dollars with the USDT you send. If you send 1,000 USDT and receive 980 dollars, the service cost you 2%.
• Lari payout. Multiply your USDT by the NBG dollar rate, which the converter at the top of this page shows under the result. The difference between that figure and the lari on offer is your cost.
• P2P as a cross-check. When we checked, lari P2P ads on Binance, Bybit and OKX clustered around 2.58–2.60 GEL per USDT. If an office’s lari quote sits well below that range, ask the next office.

Dollars, lari or a transfer?

According to a local directory, registered offices pay out in lari, dollars or euros, in cash or to an account. The right choice depends on what the money is for.

• A property payment. Batumi flats are priced in dollars, so take dollars. Turning USDT into lari and then lari into dollars means paying two spreads. Better still, ask whether the office can pay the developer’s account directly. The contract and registration side is covered in our guide to real estate with crypto.
• Rent and daily spending. Lari saves you a second stop at a currency exchange.
• Money that will sit in a Georgian bank. A transfer leaves a cleaner trail than a stack of cash. Banks may ask where a cash deposit came from, and the office’s receipt is your answer; see banks and crypto in Georgia.

Size matters too. Registered providers must run customer due diligence on any single crypto transaction above USD 1,000, EUR 1,000 or GEL 3,000, according to Andersen’s summary of the law, so expect a full check even for mid-sized amounts. Five-figure sums are usually quoted individually, and the OTC guide covers what offices ask for on large amounts.

Tourist season and the Sarpi border

Batumi received about 2.6 million international visitors in 2025, and its airport handled 1.2 million passengers. The casinos have long drawn visitors from Turkey and Israel. If you need a large amount in high season, book a time with the office instead of just turning up.

If you’re crossing from Turkey, note that Coinero (0030-9404), headquartered on Kazbegi Avenue in Tbilisi, has a registered branch in Sarpi village right at the Turkish border in Khelvachauri municipality. It’s the only registered crypto point at a land border that we know of.

Tourists can use the machines and the exchange offices with a foreign passport. What usually doesn’t work without a Georgian bank account is P2P in lari and the TBC app. A foreign card works on global platforms instead. CEX.IO, for example, has operated since 2013, holds US state money-transmitter licences (NMLS 1804170) and accepts Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay, but has no GEL wallet and isn’t on the Georgian register. For more, see crypto for expats and tourists.

Buying a flat in Batumi with crypto money

Batumi is where most “pay in USDT” property ads point. Foreigners bought 52% of the 17,478 apartments sold in the city in 2025, according to Galt & Taggart, with Israelis and Europeans at 13% each. The average turnkey price was $1,865 per m², and gross rental yields fell to 7.4%. About 12,400 units in surveyed projects were still unsold at the end of 2025, which gives buyers some leverage.

Here’s the part the ads skip. Under article 39¹ of the Organic Law on the National Bank, payments in virtual assets are prohibited, and Georgian companies may not accept crypto for goods and services. Even agencies advertising “pay in BTC or USDT” describe the same mechanics: a registered provider receives your USDT, converts it, and the developer is paid in fiat. We found no developer’s own website saying it takes crypto directly. All such claims come from agencies and listing portals.

Ownership is then registered at the Public Registry: 150 GEL for four working days, 270 GEL next day, 350 GEL same day. If you want a residence permit through property, the market value must now be at least USD 150,000. The full walkthrough is in buying an apartment in Batumi with crypto.

What Batumi doesn’t have (yet)

Unlike Tbilisi and Kutaisi, Batumi has no free industrial zone, so there’s no mining scene to speak of. We also couldn’t find an active, verified crypto meetup or Telegram community specific to Batumi. If you know one, tell us; for now the nearest established community is in Tbilisi.

For a wider view, compare Tbilisi’s machines and offices or the rest of Georgia’s regions.