Ask a Tbilisi crypto user where they buy USDT and many will say “Binance P2P”. It has the longest list of Georgian banks of any P2P market we checked, and Binance courted Georgian users early, adding lari card purchases back in 2022. It is also not registered with the National Bank of Georgia. Both things are true at once, and this review deals with each without spin.
Is Binance legal in Georgia? The honest answer
Binance does not appear on the NBGNBGNational Bank of Georgia — the central bank. It supervises banks and, since 2023, crypto service providers (VASPs). register of virtual asset service providersVASPVirtual Asset Service Provider — a crypto exchange, ATM operator or custodian. In Georgia every VASP must be registered with the National Bank (NBG).. We checked the version dated 23.10.2026, which lists 43 active providers, under every recognisable name. The only global exchange brands on it are Bybit (through Bybit Georgia Limited, 0019-9404) and WhiteBIT (Whitebit Georgia LLC, 0007-9404).
Here is what that means, and what it doesn’t:
- It is a foreign platform. Binance serves Georgian users from abroad, through non-Georgian entities. It has no Georgian VASP number to show, so the NBG doesn’t supervise how it treats you.
- The NBG warning is aimed at providers. On 7 October 2025 the National Bank said anyone not registered by it is prohibited from providing virtual-asset services in Georgia, including in free industrial zones. The release names no exchanges and does not address foreign platforms serving Georgians from abroad.
- We found no ban on individuals. Nothing we read prohibits a Georgian resident from holding a Binance account or trading on its P2P market. Georgia also isn’t on the prohibited-country list quoted by secondary sources: Canada, the Netherlands, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria and occupied parts of Ukraine. Binance’s own terms page returned no text when we fetched it, so treat that list as unverified.
- The register matters most when something breaks. If a withdrawal is frozen or an account is closed, a registered local VASP answers to the NBG. With Binance, your recourse runs through its own support and foreign law.
A 2023 Georgia Today article said Binance was “moving into Georgia”, but it gave no licence details, and no Binance entity has appeared on the register since. For how registration works and why it matters, read is crypto legal in Georgia and our list of NBG-registered exchanges.
Where Binance is licensed, and where it isn’t
Binance is regulated in some places, just not in Georgia or the EU.
| Jurisdiction | Entity | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Georgia (NBG) | none | Not registered |
| Dubai (VARA) | Binance FZE, VL/24/04/001 | Active since 15.04.2024 |
| Abu Dhabi (ADGM) | Nest Exchange, Nest Clearing and Custody, Nest Trading | Listed by Binance |
| EU (MiCA) | none in ESMA register | Not authorised |
The VARA licence covers broker-dealer, management and investment, lending and borrowing, and exchange services including derivatives. In France, crypto media reported that Binance France SAS left the AMF register on 2 July 2026 when the MiCA transition ended, with French users able to withdraw only. We didn’t check that on the AMF register ourselves.
Binance P2P with lari: the widest bank list in Georgia
This is why most Georgians use Binance. Its 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. market lists “Georgia (საქართველო)” first for GEL and offers 11 payment methods: Bank of Georgia, TBC Bank, Liberty Bank, BasisBank, Credo Bank, Terabank, Hashbank, Denizbank, Fastoo wallet, generic bank transfer and “transfers with specific bank”. No other exchange we checked named Terabank, Hashbank or Denizbank Georgia.
In a snapshot we took, there were 112 ads selling USDT for lari and 138 ads buying it. Among the first 20 sell ads, 18 accepted Bank of Georgia, 16 TBC, 10 Fastoo and 5 Liberty. Quotes sat at about 2.587–2.590 GEL per USDT, and one merchant ad allowed orders up to 260,000 GEL. A third-party test in September 2026 bought 500 GEL of USDT via TBC; the seller released it in about 4 minutes, within about 0.5% of the NBG’s official dollar rate.
One nuance: Bybit had more ads from people buying USDT for lari (218 against 138), so when you’re selling, Bybit’s book was deeper in the same snapshot. Binance wins on bank variety. Our P2P trading guide compares the markets side by side.
Match your bank
Filter ads by your own bank. A TBC-to-TBC or BoG-to-BoG transfer usually arrives faster and is easier to check than a transfer between banks.
Read the merchant's record
Check completed orders, completion rate and the remarks. Skip ads that ask you to pay a third party or to write “crypto” or “USDT” in the transfer comment.
Pay only from your own account
Send lari from an account in your own name, for the exact amount, then press “paid”. Binance holds the seller’s USDT in escrowEscrowThe platform locks the seller's coins until the seller confirms your payment arrived, so neither side can simply walk away with the money. until they release it.
When selling, check your bank app, not a screenshot
Release USDT only after the lari is visible in your own banking app. Fake receipts and reversed transfers are the classic P2P scams.
Keep the paper trail
Save the order ID and the bank statement line. If your bank asks where the money came from, that is your proof.
Cards, GEL purchases and the Binance Card
On 19 September 2022 Binance added GEL purchases by Visa and Mastercard for Georgian users. Today its “Buy USDT with GEL” page only says methods include “bank transfer, credit/debit card, or other supported methods in your region”. It gives no card fee, beyond saying you “may incur transaction fees or payment method fees”. Whether a TBC or Bank of Georgia card goes through right now, and at what cost, is unverified.
A Binance Card for Georgia was announced as planned in a 2023 interview with Binance’s regional manager, “waiting for regulation”. We found no sign it launched. If you want a crypto card as a Georgian resident, the Bybit Card with Pave Bank is the one we could confirm; see crypto cards in Georgia.
Binance Pay was used by “at least 200 businesses” in Tbilisi according to a 2024 Cointelegraph report. Keep in mind that crypto is not legal tender in Georgia and Georgian businesses may not accept it as payment for goods or services. Merchant payments therefore have to be converted into lari or dollars.
Binance and Georgian banks: the TBC memorandum and later reports
In December 2022 TBC Bank announced a memorandum of understanding with Binance. TBC would open accounts for Binance’s Georgian operations, act as a lari on- and off-ramp, and explore a co-branded card. We found nothing confirming the arrangement is still active. When TBC launched crypto trading inside its app in May 2026, its partner was Bybit Georgia, not Binance (see the Bybit Georgia review).
In August 2026, crypto media reported that Binance restricted transfers to and from a list of third-party platforms, some described as Georgia-based or Georgia-linked, such as Rapira and Aifory Pro. The restriction applied across Binance’s user base, not to Georgian users specifically. We couldn’t confirm the list on Binance’s own pages. If you move funds between Binance and smaller exchangers, a transfer could be refused.
Fees on Binance
Binance’s spot fees for a regular VIP 0 user are 0.100% maker and takerMaker / taker feeMakers place orders that wait in the book; takers fill existing orders instantly. Takers usually pay slightly more.. Paying fees in BNB cuts both to 0.075%. On a 1,000 USDT trade into BTC that’s 1 USDT, or 0.75 USDT with BNB.
| What | Cost on Binance | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Spot, VIP 0 | 0.10% / 0.10% | Maker / taker |
| Spot, paying in BNB | 0.075% / 0.075% | Needs a BNB balance |
| P2P in GEL | Built into the ad price | Compare with NBG rate |
| Card purchase | Not published | “May incur” fees |
| Crypto withdrawal | Network fee | Varies by coin and network |
The real cost of a P2P trade is the gap between the ad price and the official rate. Compare it to the fee lines of NBG-registered local exchanges on our crypto exchange comparison.
Who Binance suits in Georgia, and who should look elsewhere
Binance fits you if:
- You bank with Terabank, BasisBank, Hashbank or Denizbank, or use Fastoo. Binance is the only P2P market we found where those appear as named methods.
- You want to buy USDT with lari quickly through P2P and accept that your counterparty is a private trader, not a licensed desk.
- You already hold BNB and trade often enough for the 0.075% rate to matter.
- You understand that Binance answers to Dubai and Abu Dhabi regulators, not the NBG, and keep only working balances there.
Look elsewhere if:
- You want an exchange that the NBG supervises, with a Tbilisi office. Bybit Georgia and WhiteBIT Georgia are the two global brands on the register.
- You want to move lari by plain bank transfer, without P2P counterparties. WhiteBIT lists direct GEL deposits and withdrawals through TBC Bank and Hashbank; see the WhiteBIT review.
- You’re about to buy property or a car and need a clean paper trail. Converting through a registered VASP makes a bank’s source-of-funds check easier; see crypto real estate in Georgia.
- You simply want to buy with a card. Binance doesn’t publish its card fee. CEX.IO has operated since 2013, holds US money-transmitter licences (NMLS 1804170) and UK FCA cryptoasset registration (FRN 1007192), and takes Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Like Binance, it isn’t on the NBG register, and it has no GEL wallet or P2P.
Rather pay by card than wait for a P2P seller?CEX.IO takes Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay. No GEL wallet and no P2P.
Start buyingWhat we could not verify
- Binance’s terms of use and prohibited-country list (the pages returned no text).
- Whether GEL card purchases with Georgian Visa or Mastercard still work, and the fee.
- Whether GEL can sit as a fiat balance, and whether you can withdraw to a Georgian Visa card directly.
- KYC levels and limits for Georgian residents.
- The status of the 2022 TBC memorandum and of the planned Binance Card.
- Third-party reports about Binance restricting Georgia-linked platforms.
We’ll revise this page if Binance registers with the NBG or publishes these details. On tax: whichever exchange you use, an individual’s income from selling crypto is not Georgian-source income and is taxed at 0% under the 2019 Ministry of Finance decision. The caveats are in crypto tax in Georgia.
