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OTC and exchange accounts for crypto businesses
Last updated October 11, 2026
We place OTC desks and exchanges, in the US and abroad, with banks that will review accounts for trading flow and settlement. FinCEN treats exchangers of convertible virtual currency as money transmitters, so expect registration and licensing questions first. We build the file. Subject to bank approval. Approval is never guaranteed.
We place payment processing, business banking and crypto rails for high-growth, complex businesses with institutions that take the industry, then watch the chargeback ratios, reserves and reviews that get accounts closed, with more than one rail so one bank's no doesn't stop the business. Approval is never guaranteed.
Who it's for
- OTC desks
- Exchanges that need settlement accounts
- Brokers whose flow a retail business account will not hold
- Market makers with fiat legs
What the bank needs
- Licenses you hold today
- Expected notionals and counterparties
- How fiat and crypto settle
- How you screen customers, payments, and trading
- Banking history, disclosed
This is the fourth crypto placement, beside operating accounts, on- and off-ramps, and stablecoin settlement.
What will the bank check for an OTC desk?
Whether you're a money transmitter and registered. FinCEN's 2019 guidance covers exchangers, including peer-to-peer exchangers doing it as a business (FIN-2019-G001). Registration: 31 CFR 1022.380. Then notionals, counterparties, and how fiat and crypto settle.
Why does trading flow need its own account?
Size and speed. Large same-day wires to many counterparties look nothing like operating account activity. A bank that hasn't underwritten that flow will question it. See wires, RTP and FedNow.
How do we help?
We're not a bank, processor, or money transmitter. We structure the deal, build the file, and place it with institutions in our network: decades of relationships with 40+ financial institutions and solution providers. The bank decides, and approval is never guaranteed.
Related
Questions
Is an OTC account the same as a business checking account?
No. An operating account for a crypto company and an account built for OTC or exchange settlement are different placements. We do both. The bank decides which, if either, it will open.