OTC crypto desks and exchange offices in Tbilisi and Batumi: USDT for cash, safely

Walk down Chavchavadze Avenue in Vake or along Gorgiladze Street in Batumi and you’ll pass more crypto exchange signs than you might expect. Some are proper NBG-registered businesses with compliance officers and receipts. Some are, in Cointelegraph’s memorable phrase about the early days, “money changers with a Binance account”. For a few hundred dollars the difference may feel academic. For the price of a car or a flat, it’s everything.

This guide covers the cash side of crypto in Georgia: what OTCOTC deskOver-the-counter: a desk that trades directly with you at an agreed price instead of on an exchange order book. Used for large amounts and cash deals. means here, where registered offices actually are, what happens at the counter, and how to handle a large deal safely. If you just want the quickest way to get lari for your USDT, our overview of how to cash out crypto in Georgia compares offices with P2P, exchange withdrawals and ATMs.

What OTC means in Georgia

Internationally, “over-the-counter” means a large trade done privately rather than on an exchange’s public order bookOrder bookThe live list of buy and sell orders on an exchange. The deeper it is, the less the price moves when you trade., so it doesn’t move the price. In Georgia the term covers two things that overlap:

• Exchange offices — a counter where you bring USDT, BTC or another coin and leave with lari, dollars or euros (or the reverse). This is the everyday “cash crypto” desk.
• OTC desks for large tickets — the same offices, or exchange-run desks, handling five- and six-figure amounts by appointment, often for property deals.

Both are VASPVASPVirtual Asset Service Provider — a crypto exchange, ATM operator or custodian. In Georgia every VASP must be registered with the National Bank (NBG). activities in Georgian law. Anyone exchanging crypto for money as a business must be registered with the National Bank of Georgia, and registered providers are obliged to identify customers and report suspicious activity under anti-money-laundering rules.

Check the NBG register before you go

The register is public and short — 43 active providers in the version dated 23 October 2026. It lists each provider’s legal name, commercial name, registration number (in the format 0010-9404), services and the regions of its head office and branches. Under NBG rules, registered providers also have to display their registration confirmation in their offices, kiosks, websites and apps — so a missing certificate on the wall is itself a warning sign.

Search by name or city here:

Two cautions. A registered address is not proof of a walk-in cash desk — some addresses are back offices. And directory sites list several Batumi changers whose names don’t match any commercial name on the register; they may trade under a different legal name, so ask for the registration number and look it up. For a plain-English explanation of what registration means, see licensed crypto exchanges in Georgia.

Registered exchange offices in Tbilisi

Tbilisi has the large majority of registered providers. Their addresses form four clusters, which makes comparing quotes on foot realistic.

Vake’s Chavchavadze Avenue also hosts Bithold (No. 47), SPEX (I lane 6) and YXXY (No. 47), and Matio — a kiosk operator — shares the Kazbegi 41 address. Alltrust.me describes itself as an exchange in Tbilisi and Batumi; a third-party profile calls its airport point a 24/7 counter, which we could not confirm with the company. Reviews on Trustpilot mention USDT-to-dollar cash conversions at its offices taking minutes. For the wider city picture, including ATMs, see buying crypto in Tbilisi.

Batumi, Rustavi and the rest of Georgia

Batumi is Georgia’s second crypto city, and the only one with locally headquartered providers. Offices sit in two areas: the new boulevard around Orbi City, Khimshiashvili and Kaczynski streets, and Old Batumi around Gorgiladze, Chavchavadze and Rustaveli streets.

Branches of Tbilisi providers add more options: Alltrust.me at Gorgiladze 111, Werty at Merab Kostava 24, Stellex at Gamsakhurdia 6 and Bitrust at 26 May Street 23. Remember that all eleven Cryptomat machines in Batumi are buy-only, so for cash out an office is the only in-person option. Our Batumi crypto guide has more local detail.

Beyond the two big cities:

• Sarpi, at the Turkish border, has a registered Coinero branch — useful if you’re crossing by land.
• Rustavi has branches of Alltrust.me (Aleksandre Lobzhanidze 19) and Werty (Lobzhanidze 9). See crypto in Rustavi.
• Kutaisi has no registered VASP office at all; the West Point Cryptomat on Shartava Street is the only place in the city that buys crypto back for cash.

What a visit to an exchange office looks like

The process at registered offices is consistent, and a first visit is quick.

Offices are just as happy to work the other way — cash in, USDT out — which is how many people fund a wallet without a bank card. Our guide to buying crypto with cash in Georgia compares that with PayBox terminals.

Spreads and quotes: how to compare offices

Offices don’t publish fee tables. Their margin — 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. between the market price and what they pay you — is built into the quote, and it moves with the amount, the coin, the time of day and whether you want lari, dollars or euros. We could not verify typical spreads from any primary source, and we’d rather tell you that than invent a number.

What works in practice:

• Get two or three quotes from registered offices for the same amount and currency, ideally within the same hour.
• Compare each quote with the official rate. USDT tracks the dollar, so the NBG dollar rate is your benchmark. The calculator at the top of this page turns a quoted rate into the real percentage you’re paying.
• Ask about larger amounts. Rates for five-figure sums are usually negotiated separately.
• Be wary of a quote far better than everyone else’s. In cash crypto, that usually means a trick, not a bargain.

Large amounts: OTC desks and source of funds

Above a few thousand dollars the process changes. Under Georgian anti-money-laundering rules, registered providers must run 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. For larger sums they may ask for 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. documents — how you acquired the crypto and where it came from. One Tbilisi service cites USD 50,000 as the point where it asks for paperwork; there’s no official threshold.

Prepare: exchange account statements showing your purchases, wallet transaction IDs, and if the money is for a property or car, the contract. Bybit Georgia, the local arm of Bybit (NBG 0019-9404), listed OTC trading among its services when it launched its Georgian site, which is an option if you already hold your funds there. For property deals, read our guide to buying real estate in Georgia with crypto: the developer must be paid in dollars or lari, so the office or desk is where your crypto legally becomes money.

Garantex, Grinex and unregistered money changers

Some names you may meet in Russian-language chats are best avoided entirely. Garantex was sanctioned by the US Treasury’s OFAC in April 2022 and re-designated on 14 August 2025, together with its successor Grinex, three executives and six associated firms. Neither is on the NBG register, and we found no verified Georgian office. Dealing with a sanctioned platform can get your funds frozen and your bank account closed.

The NBG does enforce its rules. It fined Sher888 LLC (operating as “Sherif crypto exchange”) GEL 465,000 for anti-money-laundering breaches, including 528 transactions without proper records, and its registration now appears as cancelled. Even registered providers are fined for smaller record-keeping lapses — supervision is real.

Red flags of an unregistered changer:

• No NBG registration number on the wall, website or receipt, or a number that doesn’t match the name in the register.
• “No passport needed” or promises of anonymity — registered providers must identify you.
• Deals arranged only through Telegram, with a courier or a meeting in a car or café.
• A rate far better than every registered office.
• Pressure to send the full amount without a test transaction.

When something feels off, walk away and use a registered office instead. Our guide to crypto scams in Georgia covers more of the common tricks, and is crypto legal in Georgia explains the rules that protect you.