Buy crypto in Kutaisi: three ATMs, no exchange office, and what to do instead

Kutaisi is Georgia’s third city, the capital of Imereti and the arrival point for well over a million low-cost passengers a year. Its crypto infrastructure is thin, though. Cryptomat lists three machines in the city, and the National Bank’s register shows no exchange office anywhere in Imereti. If you want crypto in Kutaisi, you’ll do most of it on your phone.

There’s one exception that makes Kutaisi stand out on the map: the West Point machine on Shartava 2 is the only Cryptomat outside Tbilisi that also buys crypto back and pays out lari. For anyone in western Georgia who wants to sell a small amount for cash, it’s the nearest option, Batumi included.

The three crypto ATMs in Kutaisi

All three handle BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH and USDT, the last on both 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.. The operator is Cryptomat LLC, NBG registration 0005-9404.

Cryptomat doesn’t publish fees or limits. A local guide puts the typical all-in cost 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., says a phone number is enough up to roughly 1,000–2,000 GEL, and reports that a passport is needed above that. Treat those figures as indicative; the rate on the screen before you confirm is what counts. Our crypto ATM guide and Cryptomat review go deeper.

Selling crypto at West Point, step by step

The process at a sell-capable machine is the reverse of buying. The exact screens can change, so follow what the machine shows.

No exchange office in Kutaisi: what that means

The NBG register dated 23.10.2026 lists 43 active providers. Their head offices and branches are in Tbilisi, Batumi, Kvemo Kartli, Sarpi and Tbilisi airport. None is in Kutaisi, and none is in Imereti. We also couldn’t find any unregistered exchange office in the city.

This has two practical consequences. First, there’s no face-to-face place to swap USDT for US dollars in cash; the nearest are Tbilisi and Batumi. Second, if someone in Kutaisi offers to exchange crypto for cash privately, they aren’t a registered VASPVASPVirtual Asset Service Provider — a crypto exchange, ATM operator or custodian. In Georgia every VASP must be registered with the National Bank (NBG).. Since 1 July 2023 providing that service without registration isn’t allowed, and you’d have no recourse if a deal goes wrong. Read our crypto scams page before agreeing to meet anyone.

Online routes that work in Kutaisi

Because there’s no office, the online options do the heavy lifting. They work exactly the same in Kutaisi as in the capital.

TBC app. Since May 2026 TBC customers can buy around 30 crypto assets from $1 in the mobile bank, with Bybit Georgia providing execution. It was commission-free during the launch phase. External wallet withdrawals we haven’t been able to confirm. More in crypto apps in Georgia.

Cryptal. A Tbilisi-based registered exchange (0002-9404) that you use online. Georgian cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay cost 2%; BOG Pay, TBC Pay and bank transfers are free. It also lets you sell to a card or bank account, which is the closest thing Kutaisi has to an exchange office. See our Cryptal review.

PayBox terminals. You can pay cash at a PayBox terminal to buy through five registered exchanges: Cryptal, Coinmania, WhiteBIT, CityPay and Bitanica. PayBox runs more than 8,000 terminals nationally. We haven’t mapped which ones in Kutaisi show the crypto category, so check the one nearest you. See buying crypto with cash.

P2P. On Binance, Bybit or OKX you pay a seller by transfer to their Bank of Georgia, TBC, Credo or Liberty account. One secondary test found a Binance P2P purchase released in about four minutes, within roughly 0.5% of the NBG rate. Read the P2P guide first.

Which route for which job

With so few physical options, it helps to match the route to the task rather than default to the nearest machine.

• Buying 50–100 GEL of Bitcoin once, to try it. Any of the three machines is fine. Accept that the convenience costs more than an app would.
• Buying every month. Set up an online route funded by bank transfer: the TBC app if you bank with TBC, or a registered exchange such as Cryptal where a GEL transfer is free. Over a year the saving against a machine adds up.
• Selling a small amount for cash. West Point on Shartava 2. Nowhere else in western Georgia pays out lari for crypto at a machine.
• Selling a larger amount. Sell on a registered online exchange to your Georgian card or account, or use P2P with a buyer from your own bank. Keep the records, since your bank may ask where the money came from; our banks and crypto guide explains source of fundsSource of fundsDocuments showing where money came from (salary, sale of property, exchange statements). Georgian banks may ask for them on large crypto-related transfers..
• Swapping USDT for US dollars in cash. Not possible in Kutaisi through a registered provider. Plan it for a trip to Tbilisi or Batumi; cashing out crypto in Georgia compares the routes.

Flying into Kutaisi

Kutaisi International Airport is the country’s low-cost hub. It handled about 1.69 million passengers in January–November 2025, and Wizz Air alone carried more than 1.8 million from Kutaisi over 2025. Many arrivals are tourists who’d like a little crypto, or who carry USDT and want lari.

Neither Cryptomat’s list nor the NBG register shows anything at the airport itself. Here’s how we’d plan it:

• Need lari from crypto right away? West Point on Shartava 2 is the only machine that pays out, and it’s in town, not at the terminal. Check its status before you go.
• Want to buy a little crypto? With a foreign card, a global platform is the simplest. CEX.IO, for example, has operated since 2013, is registered with the UK FCA as a cryptoasset business (FRN 1007192), and takes Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay. It has no GEL wallet and no P2P, and it’s not on the Georgian register.
• Carrying a large amount of USDT? Wait until Tbilisi or Batumi, where registered offices quote US dollars in cash. In Tbilisi, Alltrust.me even has a branch registered at the airport.

Our crypto for expats and tourists page covers ID, bank accounts and tax for visitors.

Kutaisi’s free zones and mining

Kutaisi has two free industrial zones: the Kutaisi FIZ, set up in 2009 on 27 hectares of a former car plant, and the Hualing Kutaisi FIZ. JAMnews has described a private miner running a farm in the Kutaisi zone. More recently, reporting based on regulator data named Texprint Corporation in the Kutaisi free zone as one of Georgia’s largest mining electricity users, at 147 million kWh in nine months.

None of that changes how you buy crypto as a resident, but it explains why Kutaisi turns up in mining news. Legal mining in Georgia is concentrated in free zones in Tbilisi and Kutaisi. See our mining guide.

Elsewhere in Imereti

Imereti had about 497,000 residents in 2019, making it one of Georgia’s most populous regions. Even so, the only crypto machines in the whole region are the three in Kutaisi. Cryptomat’s list has nothing in Zestaponi, Samtredia, Chiatura or other Imereti towns, and no provider on the register has an office there. If you live outside Kutaisi, the online routes above are your main option, and the West Point machine is the place to sell for cash.

For the bigger picture, compare Tbilisi, Batumi and the other regions, or start from how to buy crypto in Georgia.

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