If you work in cryptocurrency and are a member of Linkedin, you’re probably familiar with OTC bitcoin brokers. They’ll message you, out of the blue, asking if you know any private sellers, and will offer to set up a deal for your mutual benefit. The majority of these men (for they are always men) are genuine in their intentions. This does not disguise the fact, though, that BTC brokers are little more than sharks circling the same prey.
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Brokers Outnumber Buyers and Sellers 100:1
Anyone can become a bitcoin broker: change your Linkedin title to “OTC Bitcoin Broker” and you’ve done it. Brokerage is a job that, like most cryptocurrency roles, outside of development, requires no formal qualifications. Just as anyone can call themselves an ICO advisor, anyone can assume the mantle of bitcoin broker, consigning them to start spamming Linkedin users for buyers and highly coveted sellers.
To understand the viral spread of brokers, it’s necessary to understand the conditions that led to large OTC sellers coming about. Back in the day, it was possible to acquire a lot of bitcoin for very little money. A lot of people mined it; some made it from trading shitcoins; and a few simply bought a bunch of BTC and then had the presence of mind to hodl, through thick and thin, for years.
Most brokers will take on anything from 500 BTC upwards as an OTC deal, often operating on behalf of family funds seeking to acquire bitcoin in bulk. But what brokers are really chasing is the big one – deals of 10,000 BTC or more, in which a brokerage commission of 3% is worth millions of dollars. The number of
