“Holding 200 million USDT, how can I cash it out without attracting the bank's attention?” This question sparked widespread attention online recently, with as many as 7.6 million people viewing it. Opinions vary widely; some suggested finding a Swiss bank for 'under-the-table operations', while others warned, 'Never touch OTC, or your bank card might get frozen and make you question your life.' Even industry insiders shared actual experiences of 'cashing out 600,000 through mobile operations.'
After going through over 200 highly upvoted answers, I finally understood: cashing out virtual currency is far from as simple as clicking the 'withdraw' button. The ways to cash out range dramatically from tens of thousands to 200 million; if you take a wrong step, you might not only fail to get your money but could also be involved in criminal activities! Today, I will thoroughly analyze the 'cash-out secrets' from insiders, detailing them according to three types of people, and will conclude with a guide for ordinary people to avoid pitfalls.
[Important Disclaimer]: The following content is only for the purpose of industry information dissemination. In China, virtual currency trading is considered illegal financial activity! This article is strictly prohibited from being taken as actual operational guidance, and we take no responsibility for any illegal operational situations!
A big player with a fortune of 2 billion: Swiss banks combined with split transfers, steadily settling in half a year.
The actual operational case shared by '饼狮傅' on Zhihu completely subverted my understanding of 'large-scale cashing out'. He helped clients cash out 200 million USDT, and the core secret is one word - 'slow'. This is not a Buddhist approach, but an essential way to avoid regulation.
The first step is to 'get the bank sorted out', and it must be a Swiss private bank, like UBS or Credit Suisse. However, opening an account at these banks is not easy. Taking UBS Private Bank as an example, the account opening threshold is 'starting from 1 million USD and undergoing a background check', the key is to proactively confess: 'This money comes from cashing out cryptocurrency.'
He particularly emphasized: 'Never be secretive!' Swiss banks are most averse to 'unclear source of funds'. Just last year, a client concealed the source of funds, resulting in the account being frozen for 6 months. Conversely, if one proactively provides cryptocurrency transaction records (such as delivery slips from Cb), the background check can pass in 3 weeks.
After successfully opening an account, the next step is to find a 'licensed exchange', such as Cb, which has a US SEC license, or Kk, with an EU MiFID license, and complete the 'highest level of KYC certification' (which requires asset proof and tax payment records), otherwise, a single transaction exceeding 1 million USDT will be directly rejected.
The most critical step is 'splitting the transfer': divide 200 million USDT into 12 batches, transferring 16 million to the exchange each month, converting to euros or pounds, and then transferring it into a Swiss bank account. 'Transferring 200 million at once will trigger alarms in the global anti-money laundering system, while spreading it over 12 months will hardly attract regulatory attention.'
Lastly, never forget to 'declare taxes'! For example, if the client is British, they need to report 'capital gains tax' (the rate is 20%) to HMRC, and only after paying taxes can they freely dispose of these funds. The entire process takes about 6 - 8 months, but the benefit is 'stability' - funds in Swiss private banks have basically no restrictions on cross-border payments and large withdrawals.
Industry data: By 2025, among cases of large-scale cashing out (over 100 million USDT) in compliant exchanges, 62% of people chose private banks in Switzerland or Singapore, taking an average of 7.3 months, with a fund security rate of 99.2%, far higher than the 78% for direct OTC.
Players with tens of millions to hundreds of millions: Don't be obsessed with cash, exchanging for property or vehicles is much more convenient.
The answerer '芻霊姫様', who helps people process large-scale cashing out, revealed an industry hidden rule: 'For funds over ten million, cash is actually the most troublesome; converting to an equivalent asset is the practice among insiders.' He explained the operational methods of different asset holders very clearly:
1. Within 5 million: directly find OTC merchants for exchange, choose 'reputable old stores' to avoid bank card freezing.
For small funds, there’s no need for complex procedures; just find top OTC merchants certified by exchanges. For example, the 'gold medal merchants' on major platforms handle orders under 10 million promptly.
However, it should be noted the principle of 'small amounts, multiple transactions': for example, do not transfer 5 million in one go, but split it into 5 - 10 transactions, with intervals of more than 24 hours. According to data from the central bank in 2025, the freezing rate for bank cards on single OTC transactions over 1 million is as high as 8.3%, but can be reduced to 1.2% with split operations. Even if the bank card is frozen, as long as the bank is provided with transaction records, it can generally be unfrozen in 3 - 7 days.
2. From tens of millions to hundreds of millions: exchange property or vehicles to 'avoid cash', directly pay developers.
This is arguably the wisest play! '芻霊姫様' gave an example from Beijing: a client wanted to cash out 30 million USDT to buy a school district property, directly contacting an OTC dealer who could connect with developers - the dealer used USDT to pay the developer for the house, allowing the client to skip the cumbersome steps of 'USDT → RMB → buying a house', and directly received the property certificate.
In addition to buying property, large expenses can also be paid on behalf of clients: for example, a business owner wants to cash out 50 million USDT, and the dealer directly helps pay for factory equipment and raw materials, thus avoiding large cash regulation and helping the business reduce taxes. The commission for such operations is generally between 3% - 5%, saving a lot of trouble compared to directly exchanging cash.
3. Over a hundred million: become a 'market maker' to earn the spread, no need for full cashing out.
Real big players actually do not 'cash out' at all, but choose to become 'market makers' for exchanges. Simply put, this means placing orders at the exchange, buying USDT at low prices and selling at high prices, relying on the spread to make profits, with funds not needing to leave the exchange and continuously generating returns.
However, this method has a very high threshold: it requires more than 100 million in funds and must pass the exchange's 'market maker qualification review', with commissions not low - generally taking 10% of the profits, the higher the fund risk and size, the higher the commission. However, the benefit is 'safety', as the funds remain within a compliant exchange and will not be frozen by banks.
Concerns about the source of funds: losing 30,000 from phone trading is still better than freezing.
What opened my eyes the most was the personal experience of the answerer '苏里南的雨'. He runs a foreign trade website and once received 600,000 USDT with a 'suspicious source' - later finding out the payer was a fraud gang, and upon checking the transaction records, it was all 'dirty money'. If it had been directly transferred to the exchange, it would have certainly been frozen.
His 'emergency plan' was 'barter': transferring USDT to a friend in Iran, where regulation on cryptocurrency is relatively loose. The friend exchanged it for rials at a local exchange and then purchased 200 of the latest iPhones and iPads on Apple's official website, shipping them back home through foreign trade logistics.
He sold these devices to a mobile phone wholesaler, ultimately receiving 570,000, losing 30,000 (including logistics and commission fees). He stated: 'Although there was a loss, it's still better than having 600,000 completely frozen.' He reminds everyone: if the source of funds is clean (like profits from your own investments), a scale of 500,000 to 600,000 monthly can be directly handled through top OTC exchanges without such hassle.
A fatal reminder: never touch underground banks! In 2025, 38% of cases in virtual currency that the police cracked involved underground banks. These so-called 'fast cashing out' channels either run away with the money or help you launder money. Once caught, the prison term starts from 3 to 10 years!
Essential for ordinary people: 3 tips to avoid pitfalls, don't let your principal go down the drain.
Regardless of the scale of funds, these 3 red lines absolutely must not be crossed when cashing out. Based on the latest regulatory dynamics from 2025, it is advised to keep these in mind:
Pitfall avoidance points | Practical suggestions | Risk warnings
| The source of funds must be transparent | Proactively provide transaction records to banks or exchanges, such as delivery slips or holding proofs | Concealing sources can lead to freezing of funds, suspected money laundering can result in up to 10 years in prison |
| Don't be greedy with large amounts | For amounts over 1 million, split into more than 10 transactions with 24-hour intervals, choosing different bank accounts | Transferring large amounts at once triggers anti-money laundering system alarms, account freezes for 3 - 6 months |
| Don't touch 'gray channels' | Only choose exchange-certified merchants, if the source of funds is doubtful, 'try small amounts first' | Underground banks and private exchanges, 90% are fraud or money laundering traps |
Finally, I must emphasize again: compliance is always the bottom line.
After reading these insider operational methods, you will find that the key to cashing out cryptocurrency is not 'how to transfer', but 'how to reassure regulators'. However, it must be reiterated: China clearly prohibits virtual currency trading and speculation, and any related activities are considered illegal financial activities!
All the cases mentioned in this article are solely to expose the current state of the industry and are not intended to encourage anyone to operate. If you are already involved, it is advisable to cut losses as soon as possible; if you have not yet been involved, do not be deceived by 'high returns' - the premise of making money is 'legality', and once you touch the red line, no amount of money will become 'evidence of imprisonment'.
Has anyone around you experienced cashing out virtual currencies? Have you encountered issues with bank card freezing? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments (only discussing experiences, no operational discussions)!