Real situations: getting paid, sending money, saving in dollars
Concrete cases from freelancers, families and companies in Bulgaria, with the steps and the numbers.
Sending money to family abroad from Bulgaria
To send money to family abroad, compare how much the recipient actually gets, not only the fee, and check the exchange rate against the ECB reference rate. Within the euro area, a SEPA transfer from your bank is usually simplest. For dollar accounts, xChange.bg pays out USD at 1.25%. If your relative uses a wallet, USDC arrives for the network fee, but cashing out locally has its own cost.
Coming back to xChange.bg after the old exchange
If you used the xChange.bg exchange, the same Sofia team now runs a different service: EUR and USD accounts in your own name, where money in becomes USDC in a wallet you control and money out goes to any bank. Fees are 1.5% in and 1.25% out, against a commission of about 3% on the old exchange. Support still answers in Bulgarian.
When a client pays you in USDC
When a client pays you in USDC, agree the token and network in writing, give an address from a wallet you control, check it with an address checker and ask for a small test first. Confirm the token is Circle's official USDC. Receiving costs you only the sender's network fee. With xChange.bg you pay out euros to your bank at 1.25%. Keep the invoice, transaction hash and euro values.
Keeping part of your savings in dollars as USDC
Some people in Bulgaria keep part of their savings in US dollars as USDC, a dollar stablecoin issued by Circle, to spread currency risk or because they earn or spend in dollars. The main risks are the EUR/USD rate, the issuer, short price breaks from 1.00 and losing access to your own wallet. With xChange.bg the round trip costs 1.5% in and 1.25% out. This is not investment advice.
A freelancer in Bulgaria invoicing a US client in dollars
A Bulgarian freelancer with a US client can give the client US account details in their own name, so the client pays by ACH or wire like a domestic payment. With xChange.bg the dollars arrive as USDC for 1.5%, and you pay out only what you need to your Bulgarian bank in euros for 1.25%. The rest can stay in dollars until you need it.
An online seller in Bulgaria with marketplace payouts in dollars and euros
A Bulgarian online seller paid in dollars by a marketplace can add US account details in the business's name, so payouts arrive in USD instead of being converted by the platform. With xChange.bg they land as USDC for 1.5%. From the balance you pay suppliers in USD or EUR at 1.25%, or in USDC for the network fee, and move only the euros you need to your bank.
A Bulgarian company paying contractors abroad
A Bulgarian company paying contractors abroad should split them by how they want to be paid. Euro contractors in the SEPA area can be paid from the company's own bank. Dollar contractors can be paid by ACH or wire from a USDC balance at 1.25%. Contractors who want USDC get it in their wallet for the network fee. Keep the contract, invoice and payment record together.
Cashing out USDC to your Bulgarian bank account
To cash out USDC to a Bulgarian bank, send it to a wallet or platform that pays out euros to an IBAN in your own name, keep the full history of how you got the coins, and declare the result. With xChange.bg the payout costs 1.25% (minimum EUR 2). Selling crypto-assets is taxed at 10% after a 10% deduction, declared in Annex 5 by 30 April.