Most banks still treat crypto like radioactive waste. A SEPA transfer that smells of Binance is enough to get an account frozen across half of Europe, and “explain the source of these funds” emails have become a sport. Georgia’s TBC Bank is one of the rare exceptions — and at Liberation.Travel we now route the bulk of our clients’ crypto-to-fiat flows through TBC for exactly this reason.
This article explains why TBC is crypto-positive, which on/off-ramps work cleanly with a TBC account today, and — just as importantly — which routes will get your account flagged or closed.
Why Georgia (and TBC specifically) is friendly to crypto
Since 1 January 2023, Georgia has had a proper regulatory framework for crypto: the National Bank of Georgia issues a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license, and licensed exchanges operate under clear AML rules. That single fact changes everything for a Georgian bank: when fiat lands in your TBC account from a licensed Georgian exchange, the source is documented, on-shore, and supervised — not a stranger on Binance P2P.
On top of that, TBC’s own policies are pragmatic:
- Crypto is not a forbidden activity. You don’t have to hide what you’re doing. Disclose “trading digital assets” at onboarding and the bank simply expects you to use licensed channels.
- Free top-ups from foreign Visa/Mastercard cards — currently 0% (the standard rate is 1%). This alone is a powerful on-ramp for smaller amounts.
- Direct integration with Georgian licensed exchanges, including Bitnet and Cryptal. GEL/USD/EUR settles to your TBC IBAN in minutes.
- No “Wordfence-grade” friction on incoming SEPA from Georgian VASPs — the bank treats them as regulated counterparties, not random third parties.
The combination of national regulation + bank-level pragmatism is what makes the TBC Concept account so useful for crypto-aristocracy clients: you finally get a normal, premium European-style bank that doesn’t punish you for owning Bitcoin.
Three ways to actually move crypto in and out
There are three routes we recommend — listed here in order of privacy preference, from most to least private. All three settle cleanly into a TBC account; pick the one that matches your KYC tolerance and trade size.
1. Our private Signal P2P trading group — no KYC, clients only
This is the most preferred route for clients who do not want to KYC anywhere. Every client who opens a TBC account through us gets automatic, free membership in our private Signal P2P trading group. It’s a closed circle — no public sign-ups, no random counterparties — and it exists for exactly this purpose: matching trusted buyers and sellers of crypto against EUR/USD/GEL in and out of Georgian and European bank accounts.
- No KYC. You trade peer-to-peer with members who have already been vetted through our onboarding and have skin in the game (a real Georgian bank account, a real identity behind it).
- Negotiated rates. Spreads are typically tighter than any retail exchange because both sides save the exchange fee.
- OTC-friendly. Sizes that would trigger AML reviews on a CEX (or even on Bitnet) move quietly through the group.
- Clients-only. Membership is only available to people who have opened a Georgian bank account through Liberation.Travel — it’s a perk, not a public service.
If privacy is your top priority, this is the route. If you also want a fully automated, instant on/off-ramp for everyday flows, combine it with one of the licensed exchanges below.
2. Bitnet — KYC required, fastest fully-automated route
Our primary licensed-exchange recommendation is Bitnet (app.bitnet.ge — register here), a Georgian-licensed VASP. The user experience is deliberately boring — and that’s exactly what you want from a crypto-to-fiat ramp. Bitnet requires standard KYC (passport scan + selfie); once verified, the workflow is fully automated.
Our colleague Samuela Davidová sat down with Giorgi, CMO of Bitnet, to walk through how the platform works, what makes a Georgian VASP different from a foreign exchange, and how Bitnet handles AML, large trades, and TBC settlement in practice:
- 60+ supported coins. Most clients route through USDT or USDC (Tron and Solana being the cheapest rails), but BTC, ETH, and the usual majors are all there.
- Flat 0.5% fee, regardless of amount. No tiered nonsense, no “spread surprises.” For a 10,000 USDT off-ramp you pay 50 USDT — period.
- Settlement to your TBC IBAN in under 3 minutes. You convert USDT → USD or GEL on the platform, hit send, and the money is in your TBC account before the coffee finishes brewing.
- Multi-currency settlement — USD, EUR, GBP, or GEL, depending on which TBC sub-account you want it in.
For amounts above ~$50,000, complete the standard Bitnet KYC, then write to their support before sending the crypto and pre-clear the size and source. This isn’t a hurdle — it’s the difference between a 3-minute settlement and a two-week AML hold. Their support replies fast and the pre-clearance turns large transactions into routine ones.
3. Cryptal — KYC required, the alternative
If for any reason Bitnet doesn’t fit (maintenance, a coin you specifically need, or you simply prefer their UI), Cryptal.com — register here is the second Georgian-licensed VASP we use. It is also directly integrated with TBC and the workflow is essentially the same — KYC once, then crypto-to-GEL/USD into your TBC IBAN. Fees are slightly different and a couple of minor coins differ between the two, but for 95% of clients either one works.
Many of our clients keep accounts on both Bitnet and Cryptal and use whichever is offering the better rate at any given moment — and the Signal group above is where that price-comparison intel circulates in real time.
What you should NOT do
This part is the entire point of this article. If you take only one thing away, take this:
- Do not P2P from Binance, Bybit, or any international exchange to your TBC account. P2P means an unknown counterparty wires GEL/USD into your IBAN. The bank has no idea who that person is, the AML system flags it, and Georgian authorities can — and do — investigate. The end of that road is a closed account and frozen funds — this is a recurring pattern, not a hypothetical risk.
- Do not request a fiat withdrawal directly from Binance/Bybit/Kraken to your TBC IBAN. International exchange wires to Georgian banks are slow, expensive, and treated with suspicion regardless of how clean your money is. You’ll either be charged eye-watering correspondent-bank fees, or the wire will sit in a compliance queue for a week.
- Do not skip the pre-clearance for large amounts. Sending $50k+ through Bitnet without a heads-up to support is a self-inflicted AML review. Send a one-paragraph email first; they’re used to it.
The principle is simple: between your crypto wallet and your TBC bank account, put either a Georgian-licensed VASP (Bitnet / Cryptal) or our vetted Signal P2P group — never a stranger from a foreign exchange. Everything else is a footgun.
Open a TBC Concept account through us
If you don’t have a Georgian bank account yet, this is the ideal moment to open one. We do the entire process remotely via apostilled power of attorney — you never have to fly to Tbilisi.
The full TBC Concept 360 package includes the premium Visa Signature card, up to 2.1% cashback worldwide, free foreign-card top-ups, the optional elite Travel card with Turkish Airlines miles and lounge access, and — relevant to this article — automatic membership in our Signal P2P / crypto trade-support groups.
EUR 1,337 all-in (power of attorney, apostille, certified translations, account opening, card issuance, worldwide delivery, Signal groups). You can pay in any major cryptocurrency.
👉 Start your TBC Concept account here — we’ll have your account live in roughly a week.