Technical Definition

ACH Transfer

A US bank-to-bank electronic transfer commonly used to fund and withdraw from exchange accounts.

By Crypto University Editorial
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✦ Key Insight

The hold period on ACH deposits determines how quickly you can actually deploy capital, and traders are regularly caught out by it.

✕ Common Misconceptions

Assuming a credited balance means settled funds. For time-sensitive deployment, wire transfers cost more and settle far faster. Weekends and bank holidays extend every ACH timeline.

Detailed Explanation

ACH is cheap or free and slow, typically settling in one to three business days. Crucially, ACH payments can be reversed for a period after settlement, which is why platforms hold newly deposited funds before allowing crypto withdrawal.

In Practice

“A trader deposits by ACH to buy a dip, finds the funds usable for trading but locked for withdrawal for several days, and cannot move the resulting crypto off-platform.”

Dig Deeper

Wallet

Software or hardware that stores your private keys and lets you sign transactions.

Token

An asset created by a smart contract on an existing blockchain rather than being that blockchain's native currency.

Blockchain

A shared, append-only record of transactions maintained by many independent computers at once.

Transaction

A blockchain transaction is a signed or authorized instruction that changes blockchain state or transfers value when accepted by the network.