# Crypto Under the Hood > How crypto payment infrastructure actually works Crypto Under the Hood covers onramp, offramp, swap, corporate wallet, custody, acquiring, stablecoin payments, bitcoin payments, otc, licensing, cards, industries, exchange and nothing else. Every article is written by Ivan Kruse. Six years on the operations side of crypto payments. Explains how the plumbing works without talking down. The intended reader is operations, finance and founder-level readers choosing crypto payment and custody infrastructure. No price predictions, no investment advice and no paid placements: articles explain how something works so the reader can decide for themselves. Where a number matters, the article states where it came from and when it was measured. 45 articles, published 2026-03-14 to 2026-10-22. Every article is also served as plain Markdown: replace the trailing slash with `.md` — https://cryptounderthehood.com/where-to-buy-and-sell-crypto.md ## Exchange - [Where to Buy and Sell Crypto as a Business: Venue Selection](https://cryptounderthehood.com/where-to-buy-and-sell-crypto/): The criteria that separate venues for a company rather than an individual: entity onboarding, settlement, reporting, depth and regulatory standing. ## Industries - [Crypto in Real Estate Transactions: Where It Fits and Where It Does Not](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-payments-real-estate/): Deposits, cross-border purchases and the conversion point. What actually works in a property transaction involving crypto, and what the notary will… - [Crypto for Law Firms and Corporate Service Providers: Client Money](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-for-law-firms-and-corporate-services/): Receiving crypto for a client account, what client money rules require, and how to structure the arrangement so it survives a regulator's review. - [Crypto for Funds and Family Offices: The Operational Requirements](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-for-funds-and-family-offices/): What an institutional allocation actually requires beyond a trading account: qualified custody, administrator support, valuation policy and audit… - [Crypto Payments for High-Risk E-commerce: The Actual Economics](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-payments-high-risk-ecommerce/): What high-risk merchants pay for card acquiring once reserves and chargebacks are included, and how a crypto payment method changes the unit… - [Crypto Payment Infrastructure for Fintech: Build or Integrate](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-payments-for-fintech/): What a fintech actually needs from a crypto settlement partner, which parts are worth building in-house, and where the regulatory perimeter sits. - [Crypto Exchange Industries: Which Sectors Actually Use Crypto Rails](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-exchange-industries-overview/): An overview of the industries where crypto payment and settlement infrastructure is in genuine operational use, and what drives adoption in each. ## Cards - [Crypto Virtual Payment Card: How It Works and What It Costs](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-virtual-payment-card/): What happens between tapping a crypto-funded card and the merchant being paid, where the fees sit, and when a virtual crypto card is genuinely useful. ## Licensing - [Crypto Asset Exchange Service Provider per MiCA: What the Term Means](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-asset-service-provider-mica/): The specific permissions defined under MiCA, which one a business actually needs its provider to hold, and why the distinction decides who holds the… - [CySEC License: What It Covers and How to Check One](https://cryptounderthehood.com/cysec-license-what-it-covers/): What a CySEC authorisation permits, why Cyprus became a common jurisdiction for crypto service providers, and how to verify a licence properly. - [MiCA Compliance: What Actually Changed for Crypto Exchanges](https://cryptounderthehood.com/mica-compliance-for-exchanges/): What a MiCA-compliant framework requires of a crypto asset service provider, what it means for client assets, and how to verify a claim of compliance. ## Otc - [Crypto Liquidity Provider: What Depth Actually Means](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-liquidity-provider-depth/): Displayed depth, real depth and the depth available to you are three different numbers. How to measure what a liquidity provider can actually fill. - [Crypto OTC Trading Platform or Exchange: Choosing per Trade](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-otc-platform-vs-exchange/): A decision framework based on size relative to depth, urgency, and whether discretion matters. With the cost comparison worked through. - [OTC Crypto Desk: How a Quote Is Built and Why Desks Differ](https://cryptounderthehood.com/otc-crypto-desk-how-a-quote-is-built/): Inventory, hedging cost, volatility and relationship all go into an OTC quote. Understanding the inputs tells you when to push back and when the… - [Crypto OTC Trading: When the Order Book Stops Being the Right Venue](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-otc-trading-explained/): What an OTC desk does that an exchange cannot, how the size threshold works, and what you are actually paying for in the spread. ## Bitcoin payments - [Who Accepts Bitcoin Payments in 2026, and What Changed](https://cryptounderthehood.com/who-accepts-bitcoin-payments-2026/): Which sectors actually process Bitcoin payments today, why adoption concentrated where it did, and what the pattern says about where it goes next. - [Accept Bitcoin Payments: Pricing the Volatility Out](https://cryptounderthehood.com/accept-bitcoin-payments-business/): How a business takes Bitcoin without taking the price risk, what confirmation policy to use, and where Bitcoin still makes sense against a stablecoin. ## Stablecoin payments - [Stablecoin Payment or Bank Transfer: When Each One Is Better](https://cryptounderthehood.com/stablecoin-payment-vs-bank-transfer/): A direct comparison on cost, speed, reversibility and reach between a stablecoin payment and a conventional international transfer. - [USDT Wallet for Business: Choosing Where the Balance Sits](https://cryptounderthehood.com/usdt-wallet-for-business/): The options for holding a business stablecoin balance, the controls each one supports, and how to size the balance against issuer and operational… - [Accept Tether Payments: The Practical Setup for a Business](https://cryptounderthehood.com/accept-tether-payments-setup/): From first invoice to reconciled month end: what a company needs in place to accept USDT payments from customers without creating operational debt. - [USDT Payment Gateway: How Stablecoin Settlement Actually Works](https://cryptounderthehood.com/usdt-payment-gateway/): Why USDT is the default for business crypto payments, which network to accept it on, and what an issuer risk actually means for a merchant balance. ## Acquiring - [Crypto Payment Processor: Settlement Models and What They Cost You](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-payment-processor-settlement-models/): Instant conversion, scheduled settlement and holding a crypto balance are three different businesses. How each affects working capital, risk and… - [Best Crypto Payment Gateway: What to Actually Compare](https://cryptounderthehood.com/best-crypto-payment-gateway-criteria/): Fee percentage is the least useful comparison point. The criteria that separate crypto payment gateways in practice, ranked by how much they affect… - [Crypto Payment Processing: The Compliance Part Nobody Budgets For](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-payment-processing-compliance/): Travel rule, transaction screening, sanctions checks and what a merchant is actually responsible for when accepting crypto payments. - [Accept Crypto Payments: What the Integration Actually Involves](https://cryptounderthehood.com/accept-crypto-payments-integration/): A practical account of adding crypto payments to a checkout: the endpoints, the webhook handling, the edge cases, and the parts that take longer than… - [Crypto Payment Gateway: What Sits Between the Customer and Your Bank](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-payment-gateway-explained/): The components of a cryptocurrency payment gateway, what each one does, and which parts of the stack determine reliability and cost. - [Crypto Acquiring for Businesses: How It Works End to End](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-acquiring-for-businesses/): What happens between a customer paying in crypto and fiat arriving in your bank account, who carries the price risk, and what the whole thing costs. ## Custody - [Digital Asset Custodian: What Segregation Means When It Matters](https://cryptounderthehood.com/digital-asset-custodian-segregation/): Omnibus and individual segregation, how client assets are attributed, and what the insolvency of a custodian actually does to your holdings. - [Choosing a Crypto Custody Provider: A Diligence Checklist](https://cryptounderthehood.com/choosing-a-crypto-custody-provider/): The specific documents to request, the claims to verify independently, and the answers that should end the conversation with a custody provider. - [Crypto Custody Explained: What a Custodian Actually Holds](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-custody-explained/): Custody is a legal arrangement, not a storage product. What segregation means, how key material is actually managed, and which questions reveal the… ## Corporate wallet - [Digital Wallet for Business: The Reconciliation Problem Nobody Mentions](https://cryptounderthehood.com/digital-wallet-business-reconciliation/): Why crypto balances are hard to reconcile, which records you need per transaction, and how to set up a wallet so month end takes an hour instead of a… - [Institutional Crypto Wallet or Self-Custody: The Honest Comparison](https://cryptounderthehood.com/institutional-wallet-vs-self-custody/): What each approach actually costs in operational work and what each risk looks like when it materialises. A framework for deciding rather than a… - [Business Crypto Wallet: Designing an Approval Flow That Works](https://cryptounderthehood.com/business-crypto-wallet-approval-flows/): How to set thresholds, quorums and delays so controls catch real problems without blocking ordinary payments. With the configurations that actually… - [Corporate Crypto Wallet: What It Must Do That a Personal One Does Not](https://cryptounderthehood.com/corporate-crypto-wallet-requirements/): Approval flows, address allowlists, role separation and audit trails. The features that separate a business crypto wallet from a personal one, and… ## Swap - [How to Convert Crypto to Crypto Without Touching Fiat](https://cryptounderthehood.com/how-to-convert-crypto-to-crypto/): The three routes between two crypto assets, what each costs, and which one to use depending on whether the assets share a chain. - [Swap Crypto Instantly: What Instant Means in Practice](https://cryptounderthehood.com/swap-crypto-instantly-meaning/): Instant refers to the quote, not the settlement. What actually happens in the seconds and minutes after you accept a swap, and where the delay can… - [Crypto Swap or Exchange Order: Which Is Actually Cheaper](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-swap-vs-exchange/): A swap quotes one price for the whole trade. An order book fills against depth. Which costs less depends on size, pair and how much of your attention… ## Offramp - [Why Banks Return Crypto Settlements, and How to Stop It Happening](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-to-fiat-gateway-bank-rejections/): The specific reasons an inbound payment from a crypto to fiat gateway gets rejected by a receiving bank, and what to change so the next one clears. - [Crypto Offramp for a Business: Settling to a Company Account](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-offramp-for-business/): What changes when the fiat has to land in a corporate bank account: entity onboarding, invoicing, source of funds, and why banks return crypto… - [Crypto to Fiat Exchange: The Three Costs That Are Not the Rate](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-to-fiat-exchange-costs/): Spread, withdrawal fee and FX margin decide what a crypto to fiat conversion really costs. How to measure each one and what a reasonable number looks… - [How to Convert Crypto to Fiat Without Losing Days to Settlement](https://cryptounderthehood.com/convert-crypto-to-fiat-settlement/): What actually happens between selling crypto and money arriving in a bank account, which step causes the delay, and how to structure an offramp so it… ## Onramp - [Fiat to Crypto Payment Gateway: What a Business Actually Needs](https://cryptounderthehood.com/fiat-to-crypto-gateway-for-business/): The difference between a consumer onramp and a fiat to crypto gateway built for companies: settlement accounts, invoicing, API access and… - [Crypto On-Ramp Limits: What Triggers a Review and How Long It Takes](https://cryptounderthehood.com/crypto-onramp-limits-and-review/): Why an onramp holds a transaction, what the limit tiers actually gate, and how to get through a review without the process taking weeks. - [Convert Fiat to Crypto: Card, Transfer, and What Each Really Costs](https://cryptounderthehood.com/convert-fiat-to-crypto-methods/): A comparison of the payment methods behind a crypto on-ramp, what each costs, how long each takes to settle, and which one fails in which situation. - [Fiat to Crypto Exchange: How an On-Ramp Actually Prices Your Money](https://cryptounderthehood.com/fiat-to-crypto-onramp-pricing/): The quoted rate is not the price you pay. A breakdown of spread, processing fee and network fee, and how to read a fiat to crypto onramp before you… ## About this site - [About](https://cryptounderthehood.com/about/): what the site covers, who writes it and how articles are checked. - [Author](https://cryptounderthehood.com/author/): Ivan Kruse. Six years on the operations side of crypto payments. Explains how the plumbing works without talking down. - [Contact](https://cryptounderthehood.com/contact/): corrections and questions. - [Privacy](https://cryptounderthehood.com/privacy/): what the site does and does not collect. ## Machine-readable - [https://cryptounderthehood.com/llms-full.txt](https://cryptounderthehood.com/llms-full.txt): full text of every article in one file. - [https://cryptounderthehood.com/sitemap-index.xml](https://cryptounderthehood.com/sitemap-index.xml): every indexable URL. - [https://cryptounderthehood.com/rss.xml](https://cryptounderthehood.com/rss.xml): feed of new articles.