How to cash out crypto: 5 ways, real fees and every step (2026)

Cashing out is selling crypto and receiving ordinary money for it.

Moving coins between your own wallets is not cashing out. Nothing is sold, so nothing becomes money.

Every real cashout has the same three moves, whatever the route:

So what makes one route better than another? Four things: what it costs, how long it takes, what you need to sign up, and where it can send the money.

There are five ways to turn crypto into money: a payout service, a crypto exchange, your wallet's sell button, a peer-to-peer (P2P) buyer or a Bitcoin ATM.

Their costs are not even close:

1. Payout service

You choose the destination first, send your coins to a one-time address, and the service pays the money out.

Use it when: you want the money in PayPal, a bank, a card, a gift card or a cash pickup, without opening an exchange account.

Watch out for: the coin list. Zilligo takes 7 coins and pays out to 22 destinations; anything else needs another route.

2. Crypto exchange

You deposit coins on an exchange, sell them, then withdraw to a bank account in your name.

Use it when: you already have a verified account, or you also want to trade.

Watch out for: three separate steps, an ID check before the first one, and withdrawal options that change by country. Compare Zilligo vs Coinbase and Zilligo vs Binance.

3. Your wallet's sell button

Many phone wallets have a "Sell" button. Behind it, a partner company buys your coins and pays your bank or card.

Use it when: your coins sit in that wallet and the partner pays out where you live.

Watch out for: the partner's own account and ID check, and a fee that is only shown at the last step. Read the quote before you confirm.

4. P2P buyer

You sell to another person on a marketplace, who pays you by bank transfer, mobile money or an app.

Use it when: you need a local method nothing else reaches.

Watch out for: fake payment screenshots and reversed payments. The best-known marketplace, Paxful, closed on 1 November 2025; see Paxful alternatives.

5. Bitcoin ATM

You send Bitcoin to a machine and it dispenses cash.

Use it when: you need paper money within the hour and a machine is close.

Watch out for: the price. With the fee and the rate markup together, ATMs often cost 10% to 20% or more. Details in Bitcoin ATM vs payment service vs OTC desk.

Here's the full process with a payout service. It's identical for every coin.

1. Step 1Pick the payout

   Choose where the money goes: PayPal, a bank, a virtual Visa, a gift card, phone credit or cash pickup. Type the amount you want to receive.

2. Step 2Add the payout details

   Only what that payout needs: a PayPal email, an IBAN, a US routing and account number, a phone number or the name of the person collecting cash.

3. Step 3Read the quote

   Your order shows our fee, the rate and the exact crypto to send. From here the rate holds for 20 minutes.

4. Step 4Send the exact amount

   Send it to the one-time address on your order, on the network your order names. XRP also needs the destination tag shown.

5. Step 5Wait for the network

   Your order page moves to "Payment received, confirming" as soon as the network sees the coins, then to "Payout on its way" once they confirm.

6. Step 6Get paid

   The payout goes out. Wallets, cards and gift cards usually land in minutes; bank transfers take longer.

Order#7K2Q9X4M1B18:42

507.50USDT on Tron (TRC-20)

Your one-time address

1. Send crypto
2. Confirming
3. Payout sent

Payout: $500.00 to your PayPal email

SendUSDT

Network

Tron (TRC-20)

Recipient address

TQn9Y2kh4uXrJbV7wL3sPq8mZcE6aRtD1f

Amount

507.50 USDT

Check the network matches your order before you send.

Send

PayPalnow

You received $500.00From Zilligo. Available in your balance.

Where your coins sit today only changes one screen: the one you send from. The rest of the steps stay the same.

From an exchange

Choose Withdraw (or Send) for the coin, not Sell. Selling on the exchange would turn it into a balance there instead of sending the coin to your order.

Exchanges often take their own withdrawal fee out of the amount you type. If yours does, add that fee so the full amount on your order arrives.

From a phone wallet

Tap Send, paste the one-time address, pick the network your order shows and type the exact amount. Your wallet adds the network fee on top.

From a hardware wallet

Start the send in the device's app, then compare the address on the device's screen with the one on your order before you approve. That screen can't be changed by malware on your computer.

Pick the payout where you'll actually spend the money. Every extra hop, like PayPal first and your bank later, adds time and sometimes another fee.

No bank account? PayPal, cards, gift cards and cash pickup all work without one. See cashing out with no bank account.

A cashout can carry three costs: the service fee, the network fee for moving your coin, and a rate markup some services hide inside the price.

Here's how a $1,000 PayPal cashout splits up:

1. The service fee

Zilligo charges a single fee of 1% to 2%, set by the payout, and adds it on top so the payout arrives in full. Western Union and MoneyGram add their own transfer cost, and a first virtual Visa a $10 issuing fee, each shown in the quote. All 22 are on the fees page.

2. The network fee

Each blockchain charges to move coins. The fee depends on the coin, not on how much you send:

3. The rate markup

Some services advertise zero fees and pay you a worse rate instead. Zilligo adds no spread, so the fee on your order is the whole price.

More ways to keep costs down: the cheapest way to cash out crypto.

Most cashouts take a few minutes to a couple of hours. US bank transfers by ACH take 1 to 2 business days.

The total is always two waits added together:

• Confirmation: how long the network takes to confirm your coins.
• Payout: how long the payout takes to land once they're confirmed.

Every way to speed it up is in the fastest way to cash out crypto.

Most delays have a simple cause, and most can be fixed. Here are the ones that come up again and again:

Every order status is explained on how it works.

For large amounts, the payout's limit matters more than the fee.

Every payout's limit is on the limits page.

Bank payouts by SEPA, ACH and Wise take the biggest single orders, at 1%. For more than one order covers, split it, or contact us first.

Unusually large or unusual orders can be reviewed by a person before they're paid, which can add time. Plan for it if a deadline matters.

OTC desks handle very large trades privately; see Bitcoin ATM vs payment service vs OTC desk and cashing out large amounts.

Safe cashouts come down to three habits: use a named company with clear fees, send only to the address on your own order page, and never share your seed phrase or passwords.

Every Zilligo order is checked by a person before it's paid. More in is cashing out crypto safe?

In most countries, yes. Selling or spending crypto is usually a taxable event, and a gain can be taxed.

Rules differ a lot by country, so treat this as general information, not tax advice.

The basics are in crypto tax when you cash out.