Regulation is getting stricter, and entering and exiting the crypto space can lead to pitfalls: risk control freezes, legal issues… Don't let the hard-earned money fall at the last step!
For retail investors with assets below 100,000, those 'Hong Kong offline exchanges', 'bulk trading', and 'MasterCard' options are simply unrealistic— the money is too little to play around with, and there's not enough energy. Based on my own experience of pitfalls + advice from experts, I'm sharing 7 practical pointers that retail friends can follow to avoid 90% of detours.
First, choosing the right merchant is the first step.
Identify sellers from Binance Shield, the longer they've been registered, the better (at least over 1 year, older merchants are more stable).
Prioritize complex users: both buying and selling U, with thousands of transactions (check historical records to avoid new accounts that are just there to scam).
Second, transactions must strictly adhere to the platform; don't trust 'off-exchange convenience'.
Even if you've traded with the merchant N times, you must never trade privately outside the platform!
Risks of off-exchange trading: If you pay but the other party doesn't release U, it's a minor issue. More hidden is— the other party transfers U using a private wallet, the source of funds is unclear, what you receive may be dirty money, and if your card is frozen, you're stuck.
Transactions within the platform have records, and issues can be traced back. This is the only safety barrier for retail investors.
Third, handling special situations when buying U.
Currently, merchants rarely use their registered real-name accounts to receive payments. Most often, they ask you to transfer to someone else's account, which is acceptable (a common phenomenon, otherwise it's hard to complete transactions).
But! Be cautious with Alipay small wallet payments— the transaction flow is too mixed, and the probability of being involved with dirty money is extremely high, so try to avoid it.
Fourth, the iron rule when selling U: only accept money from registered merchant accounts.
When selling U, you must require: the other party transfers money using a real-name account registered on Binance!
If it's a transfer from another unfamiliar account, there's a 90% chance it could be dirty money. Directly refuse the transaction; don't be tempted by that little convenience!
Fifth, specifically set up a 'niche bank card' for receiving money.
Choose small city commercial banks / rural commercial banks (the smaller the bank, the looser the risk control) specifically to receive U money. Don't use it to pay off mortgages or for daily consumption.
Benefits: Even if your card is frozen, it won't affect your life; bank cards have looser risk control compared to WeChat / Alipay, and one person can have multiple cards, so losing one isn't painful (WeChat and Alipay only have one account, and it's more troublesome if frozen).
Sixth, the amount must hit the 'safety line' precisely.
Do not exceed 50,000 in a single transaction, 30,000-40,000 is the most stable (50,000 is the critical line for bank risk control).
Do not exceed 500,000 in total within a month (this is the starting point for intense bank scrutiny).
Multiple small transactions are 10 times safer than one large transaction!
These are all practical methods that have been tested and proven effective. If you have better tips to avoid pitfalls, feel free to add them in the comments!
