Crypto for Expats in Georgia: A First-Year Money Guide

Georgia attracts a lot of people whose money sits largely in crypto: savings in USDT, a salary paid by a foreign company, freelance income. The questions in the first year are much the same for everyone. Where do you legally turn coins into lari? How do you avoid getting your card frozen? Do you owe any tax? Here are the answers to the questions expats ask most often about crypto in Georgia.

The legal status of crypto in Georgia

Any individual, foreigners included, can buy, hold, sell and exchange cryptocurrency without a permit of any kind. Crypto is not legal tender, though. Prices in shops and in contracts are quoted in lari, sometimes in dollars, so day-to-day spending still means converting your coins.

Since July 2023, companies that exchange or hold client crypto operate under the supervision of the National Bank of Georgia with VASP status. The regulator vets their owners and AML procedures, which is why a licensed crypto exchanger screens clients by the same standards a bank does.

In 2026 the requirements got tighter. Since 1 January, every VASP has to display proof of its registration on its website, in its offices and in its app, which makes the choice much easier for a newcomer. The legal market is growing and the grey one is running out of room.

Bringing your savings in as crypto

We covered this in detail in "How to use crypto to move capital during relocation." The short version: for your first days a small cash exchange through a crypto ATM or an exchanger office is enough, while the bulk of your money is easier to convert later through a licensed service, straight to an account with a Georgian bank. Crypto does not need to be declared at the border, since declarations apply to cash above 30,000 GEL.

Where to exchange crypto for lari and dollars

Pick your method by the amount involved and by whether you need paperwork for the transaction.

Checking an exchanger is simple: ask to see its National Bank registration and look the company up in the VASP register on the NBG website. If there is no registration, or if you are offered a deal "off the books", find another service. For a large amount, a legal exchanger will ask about the source of your funds, and exchange statements or a property sale contract will do.

Here is what the legal option looks like in practice: GeCrypto has worked in Tbilisi since 2022 and is listed in the National Bank of Georgia VASP register under number 0018-9404 (SMARTFINSERVICE LLC), so the registration takes a minute to verify on the regulator's site. We exchange USDT, Bitcoin, Ethereum, SOL and USDC for cash dollars at our office on Marjanishvili 5, or send dollars, euros and lari to your bank account, usually instantly with Bank of Georgia and TBC. Passport verification takes a few minutes, deals run from $100 up to millions, and every transaction leaves a receipt that shows your bank where the money came from. Our managers speak English, Russian and Georgian, so your first exchange comes with guidance.

Crypto and Georgian banks

Bank of Georgia, TBC and Credo do not ban crypto-related activity, but they do check where the money came from. Trouble almost always starts after P2P: transfers from assorted strangers land on a foreigner's account, and the monitoring system reads that as a transit scheme. A review after a freeze takes two to six weeks, and sometimes the account is simply closed.

A transfer from a licensed exchanger looks different to the bank, because the sender is identifiable and you have a confirmation of the deal. Individual bank policies and what to do if your account is frozen are covered in "Can your account be frozen for crypto transactions at Georgian banks."

Using crypto in everyday life

Direct crypto payments are accepted by a handful of services, while supermarkets, taxis and utilities run on lari and cards. Some landlords will take rent in USDT, but you will have no bank record of the payment. If you pay this way, write the amount, the wallet address, the network and the transaction hash into the lease. A car or an apartment is safer to buy through a bank, converting your crypto at a VASP beforehand.

For regular expenses it is easier to convert a larger sum once every few weeks with one operator than to change small amounts in different places. With GeCrypto that takes about ten minutes: a request on the site, the rate is fixed, then cash at the office or a transfer to your account. A consistent sender and a receipt for every operation keep the bank from questioning your incoming funds, and for large amounts it is better to message in advance so we can reserve them.

If your income arrives in crypto

For a remote worker paid in USDT, a simple chain is enough: payment to your wallet, exchange through an exchanger, credit to your account. Keep client contracts and invoices, because both the bank and the exchanger will ask for them. No work permit is required as long as you work fully remotely for foreign clients only.

An individual entrepreneur with small business status pays 1% on the income that falls under the regime. If income from economic activity passes 500,000 GEL in a calendar year, a 3% rate applies from the start of the month in which the threshold was crossed through to the end of that year. Since March 2026 the status takes effect on the day you file the application with the Revenue Service, so it is worth arranging before your first client payment. If a client pays in crypto, keep the contract, the invoice and the details of every payment, and go through how that income enters your declaration and gets converted into lari with a tax specialist who knows your case.

Crypto taxes in your first year

You become a Georgian tax resident after 183 days in the country within any 12 consecutive months. For an individual, income from crypto trading counts as foreign-sourced and is not taxed, even if you sold your coins for more than you paid. The same 0% applies to staking, airdrops and DeFi as long as this is personal investment. There is no VAT on exchanging crypto for fiat either.

The most common crypto scams in Georgia

People come to us regularly after getting burned on something. Here are the schemes that come up most often.

1. An "exchanger" on Telegram with cash delivery. An ad in an expat chat, a rate better than the market, a courier who promises to bring dollars to your door. What follows is either a request to send the USDT before the meeting, after which your contact disappears, or a courier who shows up with a bundle that comes up short. A legal service has an office and an entry in the National Bank register.
2. Counterfeit bills in a cash P2P deal. A meeting in a cafe, a stack of dollars, you send the crypto, and at home some of the notes turn out to be fake. For cash deals, choose a bank branch or an exchanger's office and count the money before releasing any coins.
3. The "triangle" scheme. A fraudster opens a deal with you while separately "selling" something to a third person. That person transfers money to your card, you send USDT to the fraudster, and a few days later the victim files a police report, leaving you to explain yourself to the bank. The giveaway is a mismatch between the name on the incoming payment and the buyer's name on the platform.
4. Fake payment confirmation. The buyer sends a screenshot of the transfer and pushes you to hurry. Only release crypto once the money has actually appeared in your banking app.
5. A grey exchanger paying from third-party accounts. The lari arrive from a stranger, and a week later your account is frozen. Technically nobody cheated you, but you are the one dealing with the bank.
6. Questionable crypto ATMs. Not every terminal in a shopping mall belongs to a licensed company. Some charge up to 15%, and outright fake machines have turned up too. Find the company named on the machine in the register before you use it.
7. "Investment platforms" and call centre job ads. Last year OCCRP journalists exposed a Tbilisi call centre that sold fictitious investments and took more than $35 million from 6,100 people. An expat risks either becoming a client of one of these "brokers" or taking a job there through a well-paid "fintech sales manager" vacancy. The second option can end in criminal charges.

Your crypto plan for year one

The bottom line

The calmest first year belongs to people who exchange their coins through a licensed service, warn the bank in advance and keep a record of every transaction.

GeCrypto has worked since 2022 and is listed in the National Bank of Georgia VASP register (number 0018-9404, SMARTFINSERVICE LLC). We exchange crypto for cash dollars and send dollars, euros and lari to bank accounts for private clients and companies, accept USDT on TRC-20 and other popular networks, and issue the documents that prove the transaction to your bank. Companies are handled by a separate OTC desk with a dedicated manager.