What happens when you exchange USDT to BTC
People exchange USDT to BTC when they need to move from a stable settlement coin into Bitcoin: for storage, for transfer to another wallet, or for payment where BTC specifically is accepted. Technically these are two independent operations on two different blockchains: you send USDT in one network, and Bitcoin is sent to you in the Bitcoin network. There is no shared account between them, so a mistake in either part cannot be fixed with the press of a single button.
Three questions follow from this, and you need to answer them before the order: in which network you are sending USDT, to which Bitcoin address you will receive the coins, and what amount you will actually receive after all fees. The rest of the article is built around these three questions. The general order of actions in any exchange is described in the guide how to exchange cryptocurrency, while here the details of this particular pair are covered.
Which USDT network to choose for sending
USDT exists in several blockchains at once. BITWHITE supports three options: TRC20 (the Tron network), ERC20 (the Ethereum network) and BEP20 (the BNB Smart Chain network). The rule for you is simple: choose the network in which the tokens are already held on your wallet or exchange. If you select one network in the order but send in another, the payment will not be credited automatically.
- Open your wallet or the withdrawal section of the exchange and see in which network your USDT balance is shown.
- If the balance is available in several networks, choose by withdrawal fee and convenience.
- The network name in the order and in the send window must match letter for letter.
A detailed comparison of the networks by cost and speed is given in a separate article, which USDT network to choose. If in doubt, consult it first and only then create the order.
What you need on the wallet besides USDT itself
Sending a token on a blockchain is paid with a network fee, and it is paid not in USDT but in the main coin of that network. For TRC20 it is TRX, for ERC20 it is ETH, for BEP20 it is BNB. If your wallet holds exactly as much USDT as you want to exchange and no main coin, the transfer will either not go through or you will have to buy more of the coin to pay the fee.
A practical approach: check in advance how much of the main coin the wallet will require when sending, and keep a small reserve. Do not try to reduce the exchange amount so as to deduct the fee from it: in the order you must send the exact amount specified at creation, and the network fee is charged on top of it. For more on the difference between the service fee and the network fee, see the article service fee and network fee.
Types of Bitcoin addresses and how to tell them apart
You enter the Bitcoin receiving address yourself, and the coins will arrive at exactly that address. There are several formats, and all of them work if your wallet supports them.
- Addresses starting with 1 are the old (legacy) format.
- Addresses starting with 3 are the P2SH format, which is used, among other things, for multisig and wrapped addresses.
- Addresses starting with bc1q are the bech32 (SegWit) format. It is usually cheaper in fees for later transfers.
- Addresses starting with bc1p are the Taproot format.
The main rule: take the address from a wallet that you own and copy it with a button rather than retyping it by hand. An Ethereum, Tron or BNB address starting with 0x or with T is not suitable for Bitcoin, even if it looks similar in length. If you are not sure that your wallet supports the required format, check its help section or send yourself a small test amount in another way.
How to check the Bitcoin address before creating the order
A mistake in the receiving address is the most expensive one, because a blockchain transfer is irreversible. The check takes a minute and is done in three steps.
- Copy the address from the wallet and paste it into the order field without typing it by hand.
- Compare the first and last 5-6 characters in the field and in the wallet. Malware sometimes replaces the address in the clipboard, and checking the beginning and end reveals this.
- Make sure the format matches Bitcoin: it starts with 1, 3, bc1q or bc1p.
If you are receiving coins to an exchange, take the address specifically from the BTC deposit section and check that the Bitcoin network is selected. Additional checking techniques are collected in the article how to check a wallet address. Bitcoin does not require a memo or destination tag; these fields are needed only for some other coins.
What to look at in the USDT to BTC rate
The rate in the USDT and BTC pair is expressed as the amount of BTC per unit of USDT or the other way round, and different platforms show it differently. That is why offers cannot be compared by the rate figure alone. Look at the final amount of BTC that you will receive at your address after all deductions.
- The service shows the rate and the final amount to receive before the order is created; this is the number to compare.
- Take the exchange mode into account: in automatic mode the service fee is 1%, in manual mode 1.5%.
- The rate is fixed at the moment the order is created, not at the moment the payment arrives.
How the rate is formed and what the spread is, is explained in detail in the article how the exchange rate and spread are formed. No one here will forecast whether Bitcoin will rise or fall: for the exchange, the only thing that matters is what you see on the screen at the moment the order is created.
Step-by-step instructions: USDT to BTC
Below is a sequence of actions that suits any exchange service, including BITWHITE.
- Select USDT as the coin you give and specify the network (TRC20, ERC20 or BEP20) according to where the tokens are held.
- Select BTC as the coin you receive.
- Enter the amount and look at the final amount of BTC you will receive.
- Paste the Bitcoin address that you checked in advance.
- Choose the mode. In automatic mode you will need to specify a refund address.
- Create the order and save the BW-… number and the order link.
- Send the exact amount of USDT to the issued payment address in the selected network.
No registration is needed for this. The order number and link are needed to check the status later and to contact support, so save them right away, not after sending the payment.
How to send exactly the right amount of USDT
A payment address is issued separately for each order and is valid for up to 2 hours. Within this time you need to send the payment, and it must be the exact amount in the selected network. These are two separate conditions, and breaking either of them moves the order to manual processing.
For the amount to match, pay attention to two points. First: some exchanges deduct their own fee from the entered amount on withdrawal, and less arrives at the address. In this case you need to enter an amount with a margin so that after the deduction exactly the amount specified in the order arrives. Second: when sending from a wallet, look at the summary line that shows how much the recipient will receive. If the amount still differs, details on the consequences and on how to act are in the article underpayment and overpayment.
How many confirmations are needed and when Bitcoin arrives
First, your USDT payment must receive the required number of confirmations in the sending network. It depends on the network and is indicated in the order. Only after that does the service send you BTC. Then your payout enters the Bitcoin blockchain.
A new block appears in Bitcoin roughly once every ten minutes, but this is an average, not a guarantee: the gap between blocks can be a few minutes or noticeably more than an hour. The first block containing your transaction gives one confirmation. Many wallets show the incoming amount immediately as “pending” and advise spending it after one or more confirmations. If you need clarity on timing in different networks, see how long to wait for confirmations. The total time consists of two segments: the USDT confirmation and the BTC confirmation, and each of them can take a different amount of time.
How to track the order and find transactions
The order status is viewed by its number or by link, so there is nothing extra to remember. The order shows the transaction identifier, the txid. With it you can open a blockchain explorer and see how many confirmations the transaction has gained and to which address the coins went.
Do this in two cases: when you have sent USDT and want to make sure the transfer reached the network, and when BTC has been sent to you but nothing is visible on the wallet. For Bitcoin, paste the txid into a Bitcoin network explorer and check the recipient address and the amount. How to read such pages is explained in the article txid and blockchain explorer. If the amount and address in the explorer match what you expect, the coins are yours and the problem is only in how the wallet displays them.
What to do if the payment is not credited
The most common reasons are these: the payment arrived after the deadline, the amount differs from the one specified, or the sending was done in another network. In all three cases the service processes the payment manually through support. You should not send the payment again: that would create a second problem instead of solving the first.
Contact support through the official channels on the “Contacts” page and immediately provide the order number, the coin, the amount and the txid. The more precise the data, the faster the operator will find the payment. If the network was chosen incorrectly or the details are wrong, the result depends on the specific situation, and a refund is not guaranteed. A general review of such cases is given in the article sent to the wrong network or to an incorrect address.
Common mistakes when exchanging USDT to BTC
- Sending USDT in a different network than the one selected in the order, for example ERC20 instead of TRC20.
- Entering an Ethereum or Tron address instead of a Bitcoin address.
- Typing the address by hand instead of copying it, and not checking the beginning and end.
- No main coin for the network fee: TRX, ETH or BNB.
- Sending an amount from which the exchange deducted its fee, so less arrived at the address.
- Sending the payment again “just in case” while the order is still being processed.
- Going to a similar-looking site or to private messages with an “exchange offer”.
The last point deserves separate attention: the real signs of fakes are covered in the article signs of a fake exchanger. The only official domain of the service is bitwhite.net, and the service does not offer exchange in private messages.
Checklist before sending USDT
- The USDT network in the order matches the network on your wallet or exchange.
- The wallet has TRX, ETH or BNB for the fee, depending on the network.
- The Bitcoin address is copied from your wallet, and the beginning and end are checked.
- The final amount of BTC to receive suits you, and the rate is fixed by the order.
- The order number BW-… and the order link are saved.
- The payment amount is exact, and it is sent before the 2-hour deadline.
- A refund address is specified if automatic mode is selected.
If you are choosing between modes, compare them by their terms in the article automatic or manual exchange. Before sending a large amount for the first time, it is reasonable to test the whole procedure with a small amount.
How this relates to exchanging on BITWHITE
In the BITWHITE exchange form you choose USDT in the TRC20, ERC20 or BEP20 network as the coin you give and BTC as the coin you receive, and enter the amount and the receiving address. The rate and the final amount to receive are shown before the order is created, and the rate is fixed at the moment of creation. No registration is needed. The list of available coins and networks is shown in the form itself and may differ between modes.
Automatic mode works without an operator with a 1% fee, manual mode is checked by an operator with a 1.5% fee. The payout arrives after the required number of network confirmations, which is indicated in the order. The service never asks for a seed phrase or private keys. If you need the reverse operation, read how to exchange BTC to USDT, and to create an order open the BITWHITE exchange form.