How to Send Bitcoin Between Exchanges and Wallets
How do you transfer Bitcoins between exchanges and wallets?
In this guide, we will go through step by step on how to transfer Bitcoins between exchanges and wallets. This process applies to any exchange or wallet that you decide to use, as they all follow the same principles to transfer Bitcoin.
Therefore, the process in this guide can be used to transfer Bitcoins from a wallet to an exchange, from an exchange to a wallet, or directly between two wallets or two exchanges. The core principle of copying the address and QR code from one platform and using it in another platform is universal.
How to transfer Bitcoins from exchanges to wallets
In any wallet or exchange, you will have an address and associated QR code for your Bitcoins. You will need this information to send bitcoins to your wallet. We will be using Trust Wallet mobile app as an example, but this applies to any wallet.
Click Bitcoin
Click Receive
This is your Bitcoin wallet address page
Get familiar with this format, as you will be seeing this a lot. The random text at the bottom of the QR code is your wallet address. The QR code is also the address, just encoded in a QR code format for ease of transfer.
When you want to send Bitcoins to this wallet, click the copy button to copy the address, or share the QR code image
Next up, we need to transfer Bitcoins from an exchange to this wallet. In this guide we will be using crypto.com as an example, but this process applies to all exchanges.
Click Transfer
When sending coins from exchanges to other wallets, the process is called withdraw.
Click Withdraw
Click Crypto
Click External Wallet
Select Bitcoin (BTC)
Enter the wallet address that we copied from Trust Wallet. You can also use the scanner to scan the QR code and retrieve the address that way.
Verify the address is the same as the one we copied from Trust Wallet. Typically, verifying the first few and last few characters of the text is enough.
Enter the amount that you would like to send
Confirm the withdrawal
When withdrawing from exchanges, there will typically be a flat fee of less than $10. You do not have to pay this extra fee when using your own wallets to send Bitcoins.
You will receive email updates on the status of the withdrawal.
Note that depending on the exchange, sending Bitcoins out of the exchange can take some time to process, sometimes close to an hour. However, this process is much faster when sending from your own wallet. Since there is no extra wait time for the exchange to get your Bitcoins ready, a transfer from your own wallet should only take 30 minutes maximum.
You can also check the status of the withdrawal by clicking the history button
Here you can see the status of the withdrawal
More information with time, address to send to, and amount
After a short time (less than 30 minutes), the transfer would also show up in the Trust Wallet app
Clicking on it reveals more information such as the sender, time, and amount.
Notice that we only received 0.0026 BTC of the 0.003 transferred. This is due to the 0.0004 BTC fee deducted by the exchange. This fee is flat and not a percentage.
When the status of the transfer becomes “Received” or “Confirmed”, your transfer is complete.
How to transfer Bitcoins from wallets to exchanges
The process to transfer Bitcoins from a wallet to an exchange is highly similar to its reverse. You find the address or QR code on the exchange platform, and use it in your wallet to send coins to it. We will be using Crypto.com exchange app, and Trust Wallet app as examples.
Click Transfer, then Deposit
Select Bitcoin (BTC)
Notice the highly similar address page to that in Trust Wallet
This is because exchanges also run a Bitcoin wallet for your account. The major difference is that exchanges control your private keys, whereas with wallets such as Trust Wallet, you control your own private keys. Whoever controls the private key has the absolute power to send the Bitcoins in the wallet. This is why it is much safer to use your own Bitcoin wallet and not store your Bitcoins on an exchange.
To Deposit (send) Bitcoins to the exchange, copy the wallet address or share the QR code image.
In the Wallet App, click Bitcoin, then Send
Paste in the address copied from the exchange, or use the scanner to scan the QR code and retrieve the address. Then enter the amount that you want to send.
Verify that the address matches the one we copied from the exchange. Typically, checking the first and last few characters is enough.
Notice the “Network Fee” is much lower than when we withdrew funds from the exchange. This “Network Fee” is the fee to be paid to Bitcoin miners to facilitate our transaction. It is not paid to any exchange or central entity. Thus, it is much lower and depends on the current traffic of the Bitcoin network.
When the transaction status becomes “Sent” or “Confirmed”, the transfer is complete.
The Bitcoins will now show up in your exchange account, indicating the time, sender, and amount.
Bonus: How to repeat the process of deposit and withdraw on an advanced exchange.
Under the hood, the deposit and withdraw process on an advanced crypto exchange is the same as on Crypto.com mobile app. The only difference is that the interfaces are harder to navigate. We will be using Binance as an example to demonstrate the typical deposit and withdraw flows for an advanced exchange.
Navigate to your wallet.
If the exchange has multiple wallet types, there will be only one wallet type that allows external deposit and withdrawals.
