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OTC desks

OTC means a large trade arranged off the public order book. It is a meeting, a wire, and a wallet. Robberies wear this costume because the amounts are large and the setting feels private.

The costume

A broker, a hotel lobby, a WhatsApp desk, a promise of a better price. The private setting is the point of the scam as much as of the real service.

What a real desk still is

A real desk is still a company or a person who can fail, front-run you, or disappear with one side of the trade. Ask where the coins sit until both sides have paid.

Do not meet a stranger with a seed phrase, and do not send the full amount first because they said the rate expires.

Check yourself

Does a better private price mean the desk is safe?

No. The price is not the check. Who holds the coins during the trade is.

After this you can treat a private large trade as higher stakes, not as a safer club.

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