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How to move bitcoin from an exchange to your own wallet (UK)

Seven steps to take your bitcoin off an exchange and into a wallet only you control, with the UK Travel Rule questions explained and the mistakes that cost people coins.

Before you start

• Pick a wallet you control. A phone wallet is fine for small amounts. For savings, a hardware wallet keeps the keys off your computer. Our hardware wallets guide compares them on the same tests, and Choosing a Bitcoin wallet covers phone wallets.
• Write the recovery words on paper or metal. Never in a photo, a notes app, email or cloud storage. Read Seed phrases and backups.
• Check the backup before any money goes in. Many wallets have a built-in backup check. If yours does not, set up a fresh wallet, write the words, wipe it, restore from your words, and confirm the same first receive address appears.
• Secure the exchange account. Use an authenticator app or security key for two-factor login rather than text messages, if your exchange offers it.
• Unlock anything earning interest or staked. Coins in savings or earn products usually have to go back to your normal balance before you can withdraw.

Step by step

Step 1: Get a fresh receive address

Open your wallet and tap Receive on your Bitcoin account. It shows an address, usually starting with bc1. Use a new one every time (here is why). Never copy an address from your exchange history or an old payment.

Step 2: Confirm the address on the device

With a hardware wallet, the app asks you to confirm the address on the device itself. Compare every character, not just the start and end. Malware on a computer can swap an address on screen, but it cannot change what the device shows. If the two differ, stop.

Step 3: Add the address to the exchange

Go to Withdraw, choose Bitcoin (BTC), and paste the address. Many UK exchanges let you save it to an address book or whitelist, and some hold new addresses for a day or so. That delay protects you if someone gets into your account.

Step 4: Choose the Bitcoin network

If you are offered a choice of network, pick Bitcoin. Some exchanges also list wrapped or token versions of BTC on other networks. Those will not arrive in a normal bitcoin wallet. Lightning is an option on some exchanges, but only if your wallet supports it (see Lightning basics).

Step 5: Send a small test

Withdraw a small amount first, enough to cover the exchange's minimum. Exchanges set their own withdrawal fee, so check it on the confirmation screen. Approve with your two-factor code or email link.

Step 6: Watch it arrive

The exchange gives you a transaction ID. Paste it into mempool.space to follow it. Your wallet shows it as pending, then confirmed once it is in a block, usually within an hour. See Fees and the mempool.

Step 7: Send the rest

Once the test shows as confirmed in your wallet, repeat the withdrawal for the rest. Using a fresh address again is better for privacy. Then put the exchange account back to how you like it, and keep your recovery words somewhere safe and private.

The UK Travel Rule questions

Since 1 September 2023, UK crypto firms must follow the Travel Rule. In practice your exchange may ask:

• whether the withdrawal is going to you or someone else
• whether the destination is another exchange or a wallet you control yourself (often called self-hosted or unhosted)
• sometimes the name of the wallet app, or a short declaration that you own it

These are normal. Answer them honestly. None of them ever involves your recovery words, PIN or private keys. If anyone asks for those, it is a scam. See Avoiding scams.

Mistakes that lose coins

• Typing your recovery words anywhere online. Real support never asks for them.
• Address poisoning. Scammers send tiny payments from look-alike addresses so you copy theirs from your history. Always take a fresh address from your wallet.
• Wrong network. A token version of BTC sent to a bitcoin address may be gone for good.
• Skipping the backup check. One wrong word means losing the device means losing the coins.
• Buying a used or unsealed device. Buy from the maker or an official reseller and never accept a device with words already filled in. Our hardware wallet setup checklist walks through this.

Tax and records

HMRC does not usually treat moving bitcoin between your own exchange account and your own wallet as a disposal, so it is not normally a taxable event in itself. Keep the dates, amounts and transaction IDs, because you will need your original cost if you sell later. Rules can differ for fees paid in bitcoin, so check our UK Bitcoin tax guide and HMRC's Cryptoassets Manual, or ask an adviser.

FAQ

Not financial advice. General education only. Bitcoin prices can swing hard. Never put in more than you can afford to lose, and do your own research. We will never ask for your recovery words or keys.