- Binance is finally offering the chance for EU and UK users to cash out direct to their bank accounts
- The only other alternatives involve sending your tokens to another exchange first and can be expensive
- How does Binance’s fiat withdrawal mechanism compare to the others?
Cashing out a fat stack crypto at the end of a cryptocurrency bull run is something that all of us dream of, but when the time comes we can find that a lack of planning means that we have trouble actually getting it into our bank account. Some exchanges offer this facility, but in the years since its inception in August 2017, Binance, the biggest exchange by volume by some distance, has not done so. However, Binance recently extended the ability to withdraw to a bank account to European residents and, more recently, UK residents, potentially making the withdrawal process much less painful. I decided to give it a try to see if it can streamline the cashing out process.
Existing Options Are Unattractive
For all the money sloshing around in the crypto ecosystem and for all the talk of the advent of DeFi and adoption by big banks, trying to get your crypto into your bank account can actually be surprisingly troublesome. For UK users the options aren’t exactly plentiful – you can send your crypto to Uphold or Coinbase, convert to GBP and withdraw to your bank, but the fees associated with this can be prohibitive, up to 10x a Binance transaction fee in some cases.
Revolut is another option, but there lie another couple of sticking points – there is a limit as to how much crypto you can send before having to prove source of funds and other extra information, while the exchange rate is, shall we say, less favorable than with other exchanges. Thank goodness for Binance adding the option to withdraw to UK and EU bank accounts from the platform – the question is, will it actually be any less of a headache?
Binance Process is Cheap and Easy
The first step is to make sure that you are a verified Binance user as, unsurprisingly, Binance can’t send money to your account if you haven’t proved who you are. UK users can withdraw up to £43,000 per day at VIP Level 0, the lowest level required to cash out.
Converting to your local currency on Binance is very easy and is fee-free. Simply head to your wallet, choose your currency and hit ‘convert’. You will then be asked to select which of your holdings you wish to convert, and once you’ve completed it you’ll be sitting with a nice pile of cash alongside your remaining crypto.
The process of withdrawing to your bank is pleasingly painless, involving little more than the entering of your bank account details (make sure it’s in your name) and the usual email confirmation codes and 2FA confirmations. Unlike other platforms Binance does levy a withdrawal fee, but for UK users it is only £1.50 per withdrawal to a bank account and 1.5% of the value for a debit card withdrawal. This is perfectly acceptable considering there is no conversion fee and is still massively cheaper than other platforms, plus you don’t need to send your crypto anywhere first.
The whole withdrawal process takes a couple of minutes at most and then it’s time for the big test – will it actually arrive, and if so how long? Some banks are notoriously difficult when it comes to crypto deposits, although my bank has always been fine with withdrawals from Coinbase and Uphold, which have arrived in minutes and sometimes seconds. I hit my stopwatch as soon as Binance confirmed the withdrawal and was pleased to be able to stop it at 1 minute 34 seconds – not bad for a first go. And no questions from my bank, although I can’t guarantee that yours will be as compliant.
The Ideal Solution to Cashing Out Your Crypto Gains
Overall, the advent of a workable and cheap cashing out facility on Binance is an absolute godsend. For better or worse, Binance is where the majority of the crypto world conducts its trading and the fact that users are finally able to directly withdraw their earnings in their local currency quickly and easily is something that streamlines the entire process and eliminates an area of concern come cashing out time.
