The matching engine, in plain English.
When you want to buy USDT, two things have to happen: you need to find someone willing to sell at a price you'll pay, and you need a way to actually exchange MYR for USDT without one party getting ripped off.
CoinOrder's matching engine handles the first part. Sellers post offers (sell 1,000 USDT at RM 4.95 per USDT, bank transfer, minimum RM 500). Buyers browse offers and pick one. The platform shows offers ranked by rate, counterparty rating, and trade limits — you choose, you don't get matched against your will.
The second part is escrow.
How escrow works.
Escrow is the mechanism that makes P2P trading actually safe. Here's the lifecycle:
- 1
Stage 1 — Trade starts
You hit "buy" on a seller's offer. CoinOrder immediately moves the seller's USDT from their wallet into a platform-controlled escrow address. The seller can no longer touch it. You haven't sent any MYR yet.
- 2
Stage 2 — Payment window opens
You see the seller's bank account details and a payment window timer (typically 15–30 minutes). You make the bank transfer.
- 3
Stage 3 — Buyer confirms payment
You mark the trade as "paid" once you've sent the transfer. This sends a notification to the seller and triggers them to check their bank account.
- 4
Stage 4 — Seller confirms receipt
Once the seller sees the funds in their bank account, they confirm receipt in the app. Escrow releases the USDT to your CoinOrder wallet. Trade complete.
What if something goes wrong?
- Buyer doesn't pay within the window → trade auto-cancels, USDT returns to seller, no harm done
- Buyer pays but seller doesn't release → buyer raises a dispute. Support reviews the bank statement evidence and forces release if confirmed.
- Buyer claims to have paid but didn't → seller raises a dispute. Support reviews bank records, USDT returns to seller if no payment found.
Disputes are reviewed by humans, not algorithms.
KYC tiers and what they unlock.
We ask for what we actually need to verify you're a real person, not what other platforms ask "just in case."
Tier 1 — Basic verification
- • MyKad (front and back)
- • Selfie matching MyKad
Unlocks: Standard daily trading limits suitable for personal use, all retail features.
Tier 2 — Advanced verification
- • Adds: proof of address (utility bill or bank statement, last 3 months)
Unlocks: Higher daily limits, certain B2B features.
Tier 3 — Business / API
- • Required for B2B API access
- • Adds: company registration documents, beneficial ownership disclosure, AML compliance review
Unlocks: API key issuance, higher volume thresholds, dedicated support.
We don't ask for income statements, source-of-funds letters, or notarized documents at the retail tiers.
How fees work.
One fee, one number: 1 USDT per completed trade.
That's it. The fee comes off the USDT side at trade settlement. If you're buying USDT, you receive 1 USDT less than the trade amount. If you're selling USDT, you pay 1 USDT from the proceeds.
What we don't charge:
- • No percentage cut on trade volume
- • No spread markup (the seller's listed rate is the rate)
- • No deposit fee for MYR (you don't deposit MYR — bank transfer goes direct to the seller)
- • No platform withdrawal fee for crypto (network fees apply per blockchain — that's external)
How we handle security.
Custody model
USDT during a trade sits in CoinOrder-controlled multi-signature escrow addresses. Out of trades, user balances are held in segregated wallets with cold/hot custody splits per industry standards.
Account security
- • Two-factor authentication (TOTP) required for withdrawals
- • Email confirmation on first login from any new device or IP
- • Optional withdrawal address whitelisting
- • Session timeout after inactivity
Operational security
- • Independent security audits scheduled annually
- • Penetration testing on each major release
- • 24/7 monitoring for anomalous trade patterns or account behavior
P2P trading vs centralized exchanges — a comparison.
| P2P (CoinOrder) | Centralized exchange | |
|---|---|---|
| How you trade | Direct with another verified user | Against the exchange's order book |
| Settlement | Bank transfer counterparty-to-counterparty | Deposit MYR to exchange first, then trade |
| Fee structure | Flat 1 USDT per trade | Percentage of trade (typically 0.1–0.5%) |
| Counterparty | Another individual or business | The exchange itself (or its market makers) |
| Custody before trade | Your USDT stays with seller until trade starts | You hold MYR/USDT in exchange custody |
| Speed | 5–15 min typical | Near-instant once funds are deposited |
| Best for | Larger trades, predictable fees | Frequent small trades, advanced order types |
Neither model is universally better. P2P shines on cost predictability and direct bank rail settlement. Centralized exchanges shine on speed and advanced trading features. Many active traders use both for different purposes.
Glossary.
- Escrow
- A neutral third party (CoinOrder) that holds assets during a trade and releases them based on agreed conditions. Prevents either party from running off with funds.
- KYC (Know Your Customer)
- The verification process where a platform confirms a user's identity. Required by AML regulations in most jurisdictions.
- Stablecoin
- A cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value relative to a reference asset, usually the US dollar. USDT (Tether) is the largest by trading volume.
- P2P (Peer-to-Peer)
- Trading directly between two users instead of through a centralized order book.
- MyKad
- Malaysia's national identity card, used for KYC verification.
- MYR / RM
- Malaysian Ringgit, the local currency.
- USDT
- Tether, a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar.
- Spread
- The difference between buy and sell price on an exchange. CoinOrder doesn't add a spread; the seller's listed rate is the trade rate.