Georgia attracts a steady stream of people who live partly on crypto: remote workers paid in USDT, long-stay tourists topping up from a wallet rather than a home bank, families relocating with savings in stablecoins, and buyers of apartments in Batumi and Tbilisi. The country is genuinely friendly to them. You can buy crypto with a foreign passport, there are around 150 crypto ATMs, and individuals pay no Georgian income tax when they sell. But there are also firm rules that newcomers often learn the hard way, starting with the fact that you cannot pay your landlord in USDT.
This guide is written for that crowd. It covers what changes when you are not Georgian: identification, banking, converting crypto for everyday life, tax, residence permits and the scams that target new arrivals. For the step-by-step mechanics of every buying method, our main guide on how to buy crypto in Georgia goes deeper.
Can tourists buy crypto in Georgia?
Yes, and with nothing more than a passport. Since 1 January 2023, anyone who exchanges crypto for other people in Georgia must be registered with the National Bank of GeorgiaNBGNational Bank of Georgia — the central bank. It supervises banks and, since 2023, crypto service providers (VASPs). as a VASPVASPVirtual Asset Service Provider — a crypto exchange, ATM operator or custodian. In Georgia every VASP must be registered with the National Bank (NBG)., and registered providers must run KYCKYCKnow Your Customer: identity checks (passport, selfie, sometimes proof of address) that licensed services must run before you trade. on every customer. Georgian law does not limit this to citizens. A foreign passport is a normal identity document for these checks.
In practice, exchange offices in Tbilisi, Batumi and Rustavi ask for a passport, a selfie and a short questionnaire, and a first visit takes about five minutes, according to the local directory Madloba. Larger amounts can trigger questions about where the money came from. Online exchanges follow the same logic with an app-based ID check.
Here is how the main routes look from a foreigner’s side:
| Route | What you need | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Registered exchange office | Passport, selfie, questionnaire | Cash or account payout in GEL, USD or EUR; offices cluster in Vake, Saburtalo and Batumi’s Orbi City area |
| Cryptomat ATM | Lari cash, phone number, passport above a threshold | Mostly buy-only; Batumi’s 11 machines cannot buy crypto back |
| Local online exchange | Passport KYC, home or Georgian card | Cryptal charges 2.5% on international USD/EUR card top-ups |
| Global exchange by card | Passport KYC, home card | Your bank may block or add fees; card limits vary by country |
| P2P in lari | A Georgian bank account | Not practical on a tourist budget without local banking |
Crypto ATMs for visitors
The Cryptomat network is the most visible option for a tourist. Its own site listed about 157 machines when we last checked, with 133 in Tbilisi, 11 in Batumi, 5 in Rustavi, 3 in Kutaisi and a handful in Telavi, Zugdidi and Gori. They sell BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH and USDT on the ERC-20 and TRC-20 networks. Only ten machines also buy crypto back for cash: nine in Tbilisi malls such as Galleria Tbilisi and Tbilisi Mall, and West Point in Kutaisi.
Cryptomat does not publish fees or limits. A secondary guide reports that only a phone number is needed up to roughly 1,000–2,000 GEL, with a passport above that, and fees of 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.. Treat those numbers as indicative and check the machine screen before you insert cash.
Using the card from your home bank
A card issued abroad works on most platforms, but the result depends on your own bank as much as on the exchange. Some banks block crypto merchants outright, and others charge a cash-advance fee. Among local providers, Cryptal (NBG registration 0002-9404) publishes a 2.5% fee for international cards in USD or EUR.
Global exchanges are another option. CEX.IO, which has operated since 2013, holds US state money-transmitter licences (NMLS 1804170) and a UK FCA cryptoasset registration (FRN 1007192), and accepts Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay. It has no GEL wallet and no P2P, and it is not on the Georgian NBG register, so it suits buying with a foreign card rather than cashing out into lari. Our card buying guide compares the options in detail.
Buying with a card from home? Set up your account before the trip.ID verification can take time; do it on Wi-Fi, not at the airport.
Create free accountOpening a Georgian bank account as a foreigner
Most longer-stay expats eventually want a local account, and it changes what you can do with crypto. With a Georgian account you can sell USDT through 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. markets for lari, receive transfers from registered exchanges, and use local in-app products. TBC Bank, for example, launched crypto trading inside its mobile bank in May 2026, with about 30 assets from $1, executed by Bybit Georgia. Whether every foreign customer is eligible is not published, so ask your branch.
Banks decide account openings case by case. Expect questions about why you are in Georgia, what you do for a living and, if crypto is involved, where it came from. Local guides report that Russian citizens get extra source-of-funds questions. Banks may also question or freeze incoming transfers that look like P2P payments from strangers. Our page on Georgian banks and crypto explains how to document a crypto trail so a compliance officer can follow it.
Hash Bank, a digital bank licensed by the NBG in 2023, is worth knowing about as a secondary option. A compilation of its tariffs reports remote onboarding for foreigners with a passport, in-app buying, selling and swapping of BTC, ETH and LTC, and transfers to external wallets subject to checks. That information comes from a third-party summary rather than the bank’s own pages, so confirm the current conditions with Hash Bank before you rely on it.
Turning USDT into lari for rent and daily life
This is the single most common expat question, and the answer starts with a rule. Crypto is not legal tender in Georgia, payments with virtual assets are prohibited under Article 39¹ of the NBG law, and the NBG says Georgian companies and individual entrepreneurs may not accept crypto for goods or services. That covers agencies, developers, shops and landlords who rent as a business. Rent is paid in lari or, commonly, in dollars, after you convert.
Pick the right network
Most Georgian venues handle USDT on 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., and Cryptomat supports TRC-20 and ERC-20. Check which network your exchange or office accepts before you send; our USDT page explains the differences in fees.
Choose how you want the lari
For cash, use a registered exchange office or one of the ten sell-enabled Cryptomat machines. For money in your account, sell on a registered exchange with a bank payout, or use P2P if you have a Georgian account. The cash-out guide compares the costs.
Send a small test first
Send a small amount, confirm it arrived, then send the rest. Stablecoin transfers are irreversible, and a wrong network or address is usually the end of the money.
Keep the receipt
Save the exchange receipt or the P2P order history. If your bank asks why lari arrived from a stranger or an exchange, this is your answer, and it also builds your source-of-funds record for a property purchase later.
Tax: what Georgia’s 0% really covers
Georgia’s reputation as a crypto-tax haven rests on one document: Ministry of Finance Public Decision No. 201 of 28 June 2019. It says that when an individual supplies crypto-assets, the income is not Georgian-source, because the transaction happens in virtual space with no location in Georgia. Georgian personal income tax therefore does not apply. Exchanging crypto for money is also outside VAT.
Because the 0% comes from source rules, advisers such as Andersen say it applies to residents and non-residents alike. You do not need to become a tax resident to sell crypto without Georgian tax. Residency matters for other reasons: you become a Georgian tax resident after 183 days in any continuous 12-month period ending in the tax year, and a certificate of residence is often what your home country wants to see before it accepts that you have left. Our crypto tax guide goes through the details.
The Small Business status trap
Many freelancers register as an individual entrepreneur with Small Business status, which taxes turnover at 1% up to GEL 500,000 a year (3% above that), and lose the status if they exceed the cap two years in a row. Non-residents can register, but only Georgian-source income falls under the regime, and the status excludes financial services such as currency exchange and financial intermediation, consulting and licensed activities. Crypto trading is not mentioned; a crypto exchange business would almost certainly be excluded.
The bigger issue is how clients pay you. One consultancy argues that crypto received for services can count towards 1% turnover, but that conflicts with the NBG position that individual entrepreneurs may not accept crypto as payment. The safer setup is to invoice in dollars, euros or lari and have clients pay in fiat. If a client insists on USDT, get advice before you accept it.
Residence permits through property
Georgia’s property route to residency has changed. Under Article 15(j) of the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, owning non-agricultural real estate with a market value above USD 150,000, confirmed by an accredited appraiser, qualifies for a short-term residence permit, renewable one year at a time. The threshold was USD 100,000 until 28 February 2026 and rose to USD 150,000 on 1 March 2026. People who already held a permit under the old rule can renew while they keep the property.
For larger investments, Article 15(h) provides a five-year investment residence permit for an investment or property worth more than USD 300,000. Separately, Georgia has a high-net-worth tax residency route (assets above GEL 3 million or income above GEL 200,000 in each of the last three years, plus Georgian property worth at least USD 500,000, plus a residence permit or GEL 25,000 of Georgian-source income).
If you plan to fund the purchase with crypto, the developer cannot take USDT directly. The compliant route is to sell at an NBG-registered provider and pay in dollars or lari, with a documented trail for the bank and the Public Registry. Our guides to buying property in Georgia with crypto and buying an apartment in Batumi with USDT walk through it.
Russian, Ukrainian, Israeli and Turkish newcomers
Several foreign communities shape Georgia’s crypto scene, and a few points are specific to them.
Israeli buyers were about 13% of Batumi apartment buyers in 2025 and about 10–11% of primary-market sales in Tbilisi, according to Galt & Taggart data. Europeans were also 13% in Batumi, and Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian buyers combined made up about 11%, down from 16% in 2023. Turkish buyers were 3% in Batumi. For anyone crossing at the Turkish border, the registered exchange Coinero lists a branch in Sarpi, right at the checkpoint.
Russian speakers will notice that many Tbilisi and Batumi exchanger listings and search results are in Russian. Language is not a licence: check the company name against the NBG register of licensed exchanges before you hand over money. Russian citizens should also expect extra bank questions about source of funds, and should stay away from sanctioned platforms. The US Treasury re-designated the Garantex exchange and its successor Grinex in August 2025, and in May 2026 the NBG said three Georgian companies sanctioned by the UK had operated without registration.
Scams that target newcomers
New arrivals are an easy target. You do not know which offices are registered, you are moving larger sums than usual, and you are often in Telegram chats full of strangers offering to help. Common patterns include cash meetings with self-styled “OTC traders” outside any registered office, P2P counterparties who send a fake transfer screenshot or reverse their bank payment after you release the coins, fake “Pi Network buyers” who want your passphrase, and anyone who offers an anonymous exchange with no passport check, which no registered provider is allowed to do.
The defences are simple. Use a provider from the NBG register, which since 1 January 2026 must display its registration act in its office, on kiosks, its website and its app. Meet only at a registered office, never in a car or a café. Never share a seed phraseSeed phrase12 or 24 words that restore your wallet on any device. Whoever has them owns the coins — never type them into a website or send a photo of them.. Our full guide to crypto scams in Georgia covers each trick and what to do if it happens to you.
Crypto life in Georgia is straightforward once you know where the lines are: buy and sell through registered providers with your passport, convert before you pay anyone, keep your receipts, and get tax advice for your home country rather than relying on Georgia’s 0% alone. For city-specific options, see our guides to Tbilisi and Batumi.
