A Transfer from a Crypto Platform Raises Questions from Your Bank: How Do You Reconstruct the Flow?
€48,730 has just appeared in your company’s bank account. The transfer came from a crypto platform. You know it relates to stablecoins converted into euros, but several transactions may have taken place between the initial receipt and the bank credit: wallet transfers, a platform deposit, conversion, fees and a fiat withdrawal.
This time, the starting point is not the invoice, wallet or blockchain. It is the amount visible to the bank. The objective is to start with that bank credit and work backwards until you reach the underlying economic transaction.
1. Start by isolating the bank transaction that needs explaining
Record the value date, exact amount, sender, payment reference and receiving account. Do not try to explain the company’s entire stablecoin activity: focus on the specific transaction the bank is asking about.
2. Find the withdrawal that generated the transfer
Open the service provider’s history and identify the fiat withdrawal that can be matched to the bank credit. Do not expect perfect equality: fees, commissions or several operations combined into one withdrawal may explain differences.
3. Work backwards from the withdrawal to the conversion
Identify how the euro balance was created. Reconcile the relevant conversion or conversions and explain execution price, spread, commissions, withdrawal fees or aggregation. The key question is not whether the figures are identical, but whether the transition from one amount to the next can be mathematically explained and documented.
4. Identify the stablecoins that funded the conversion
Document the stablecoin, network, quantity, timestamp, transaction hash and originating address. The chain now becomes CRYPTO DEPOSIT → CONVERSION → WITHDRAWAL → BANK.
5. If the originating wallet was not the first wallet, keep tracing backwards
A Wallet A → Wallet B → platform → EUR → bank path may contain an internal transfer between wallets controlled by the same company or a transaction between different parties. Determine who controls each wallet before classifying the movement and make sure there are no unexplained gaps.
6. Stop tracing backwards when you reach the economic event
The endpoint may be a customer invoice, a stablecoin purchase, financing, a reimbursement, an intragroup transfer or another documented economic transaction. At that point the bank credit has an identifiable economic origin.
7. Now trace the transaction forwards
Once the origin is identified, follow the flow in chronological order: ECONOMIC TRANSACTION → WALLET(S) → TRANSFER(S) → PLATFORM → CONVERSION → WITHDRAWAL → BANK → ACCOUNTING. Check consistency of amounts, dates, parties and accounting records.
8. Build a reconstruction table
Instead of sending a collection of screenshots, organise the investigation so another professional can follow the flow and understand how each piece of evidence connects to the next.
Step | Date | Amount / quantity | Reference | Evidence |
Economic transaction | D0 | €50,000 | Invoice X | Invoice / contract |
Stablecoin receipt | D1 | … USDC | Tx 1 | Blockchain |
Platform deposit | D3 | … USDC | Deposit ID | Platform statement |
Conversion | D3 | … EUR | Trade ID | Trade history |
Withdrawal | D4 | … EUR | Withdrawal ID | Platform |
Bank | D5 | €48,730 | Bank ref. | Bank statement |
Accounting | D5 | … EUR | Entry X | General ledger |
This table is a BECTRA documentary reconstruction method. It is not an official regulatory form.
9. A difference is not necessarily an anomaly
A difference between the stablecoins deposited and the amount credited to the bank does not automatically mean funds are missing. Reconstruct the conversion, execution price, spread, commissions, withdrawal fees and other documented costs. A difference becomes problematic when it remains unexplained, not simply because it exists.
10. Check the service provider in the chain
Identifying the provider does not establish the economic origin of the funds, but it documents the infrastructure through which the flow passed. In the EU and French context, check the regulatory status applicable to the provider and distinguish provider obligations from those of the corporate customer, including where self-hosted addresses are involved.
The method to remember
When the question starts with a bank transfer already received, trace backwards: BANK ← WITHDRAWAL ← CONVERSION ← DEPOSIT ← WALLET(S) ← ECONOMIC TRANSACTION. Then trace the same flow forwards through to accounting. The first journey identifies the origin; the second tests whether the reconstruction is internally consistent.
Go further
Sources
French Monetary and Financial Code, Article L.561-10-2; AMF information on MiCA and the end of the French transitional period; Regulation (EU) 2023/1113; EBA guidelines on transfers of funds and crypto-assets.
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