Although it’s getting easier by the day, selling bitcoin is still marginally more difficult than it is to buy. As such, we’ve put together this guide to help you navigate the process. The first step you’ll need to take is deciding upon which method you’d like to use: selling bitcoin online or selling bitcoin in person.
We’ll break down the pros and cons of both approaches.
This is hands down the most popular way of trading your bitcoin for fiat.
This is hands down the most popular way of trading your bitcoin for fiat. There are three main options for doing so online namely direct, via an exchange or peer-to-peer (P2P). This is when you trade your bitcoin for fiat directly with another person, with an online company in the middle brokering the trade. There are several ways to convert bitcoin to cash and ultimately move it to a bank account: Sell bitcoin on a cryptocurrency exchange, such as Coinbase or Kraken. This is the easiest method if you want to sell bitcoin and withdraw the resulting cash directly to a bank account. Alternatively, you could use a bitcoin debit card or a bitcoin friendly EMI to cash out small or moderate amounts of bitcoin. Conclusion Despite the crypto space’s increased awareness and recognition, banks are yet to take a soft stance on Bitcoin.
There are three main options for doing so online namely direct, via an exchange or peer-to-peer (P2P).
1. Direct
This is when you trade your bitcoin for fiat directly with another person, with an online company in the middle brokering the trade.
How Do You Cash In Your Bitcoin
- Websites that offer this service include:
- Coinbaseand LocalBitcoins in the US
- BitBargain and Bittylicious in the UK
- These sites typically require registration as a seller which involves verifying your identity with official documents like your passport/driver’s licence.
2. Exchange
If you’re not already registered with an exchange, doing so will give you another way of selling you bitcoin.
Exchanges act as the third party in transactions, holding the funds of buyers and sellers (for a small transaction commission, of course). To sell, you place a sell order, state the amount you want to sell, which currency you want to sell and how much you’re willing to let it go for.
Once the exchange matches your price with a price a buyer’s willing to pay, they transfer the money and the coins from buyer to seller and vice versa.
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After the currency is credited to your account, the next step, is withdrawing these funds to your bank account. If there’s a liquidity issue on the exchange or an issue with their banks, this process can take a worryingly long time.
Make sure you do your due diligence on exchanges to make sure they’re of high repute and don’t have a history of withdrawal problems. Google and Reddit are your friends here.
- Exchanges you can try are:
- Binance, Kraken, Gemini and GDAX
- Identity verification is still required, but they do a lot of the sales legwork for you. To move a sizeable amount of crypto or cash, you may have to do a series of higher level verification tasks
- Keep an eye out for withdrawal fees, they can differ quite substantially and if you’re transferring large enough amounts of currency can really add up!
3. Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
A fairly new advance in the space are sites like Purse, which bring people with certain needs that the other can meet, together.
This is usually people who want to use bitcoin to buy goods from sites that don’t accept cryptocurrencies yet, and people who want to buy bitcoin with a credit/debit card.
Purse brings these two groups together and allows them to sell bitcoin to one and give discounted goods to the other. Pretty cool.
A bit like eBay, the marketplace is the middleman that provides the platform, transaction escrow and a bitcoin wallet.
Example transaction:
- Aaron posts his Amazon wish list on the Purse, stating the discount he’d like (usually this goes up to 25%).
- Mindy has a credit/debit card and wants to buy bitcoin matching the value of Aaron’s purchase(s). She agrees to the trade then buys the Amazon goods for him via the marketplace. She then requests they be delivered to Aaron’s home address.
- Upon receipt of his goodies, Aaron updates his Purse account to say he got them and Mindy’s bitcoin are released from escrow and arrive in her wallet, less Aaron’s agreed discount and a transaction fee for Purse.
Withdrawal Concerns?
Like most places in the world, more or less all bitcoin markets support international wire transfers.
Another popular way to move money to your bank after a sale is with the SEPA (Single European Payments Area) system. This system was designed to speed up transfers between EU member states, and exchanges like Kraken and Coinbase support them.
Despite the goal being to speed up transfers, SEPA transfers are still painfully slow and often times expensive (a perfect example of bitcoin’s reason for existence). At the time of writing, fees can range from £4 to as much as £25 per transaction depending on the bank!
Another point worth mentioning is that some banks have “Bitcoin bias” and may flat out refuse to let you receive funds from bitcoin trading altogether. I wonder why? It’s not like cryptocurrencies might be a threat to their entire business model, or anything…
If you’re looking to trade on a regular basis or withdraw large amounts of money, you might want to try using online bank Revolut. They all free bank transfers in 26 currencies and incredible currency conversion rates – about as cheap as you can possibly find them. All of this goodness is packed into an amazingly slick little free mobile app.
Who Are You?
As mentioned earlier, some bitcoin markets require you to perform varying levels of identity verification.
In most cases they’re performing the legal stipulations of their home nation to record who their users are (KYC – Know Your Client), but many are just playing it safe and collecting identifying data ahead of a time where regulation may become standard.
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The selling process is usually the side of the transaction that requires the most proof, so we recommended that you set up your identity verification when you first register with a service so that in case you want to sell in a hurry, you’re not waiting around.
What might they ask from you?
Well, it ranges from scans of utility bills plus a photo ID (passport/driver’s license) up to some places asking for a selfie with you holding your photo ID and name of their service on a sheet of paper!
If this bothers you, then you may have a difficult time finding places to sell online
Selling Offline
4. Face to Face
Selling a digital currency in person.
While the idea seems almost counterintuitive, it’s probably one of the easiest ways to pass your bitcoin on: all it takes is scanning a QR code on the other person’s phone and collecting cash in return.
If one of your friends or family members wants to get involved with bitcoin, simply set them up with a wallet and send them your bitcoin in return for their cash.
In order to avoid arguments, it’s a good idea to decide on a rate which you both agree on ahead of time. Other things you might want to take into consideration are:
- Checking bitcoin’s current price (you can literally just Google “bitcoin price” to find out)
- If you’re selling, maybe consider adding a little buffer percentage on those rates to cover costs and as a convenience premium
- Use a mobile app like Blockfolio, Coinbase or Zeroblock to land on the current price
- Be aware of price fluctuations in your local area. The price of bitcoin in Venezuela might not be the same as the price in the UK for example, possibly because of differences in ease of obtaining bitcoin with your country’s fiat
- Bitcoin meetups are becoming more and more frequent across the world. These meetups are not just a great place to learn, build your network and have fun, but also good places to find people looking to trade cryptos.
- Stay safe! If you’re doing a large transaction, it might be a good idea to take a friend or do so in a public place
A Word on LocalBitcoins
LocalBitcoins is the leading site for facilitating peer-to-peer bitcoin trades. Here, you can advertise yourself as a seller and find a wide range of potential buyers in places near you.
While they don’t have a lengthy verification process to go through to make sure everyone is on the up and up, the beauty of this site is the user feedback rating system which provides you with a level of comfort in knowing that the other party in your transaction is legit. As your reputation builds on the site, you can sell your bitcoin for more of a premium.
You can settle the transactions either in person or via their escrow service – which obviously, is the online option.
In our current times of uncertainty, even the most avid Bitcoin believers know that being able to sell Bitcoin and have fiat liquidity is a must. So while the financial revolution is going strong, for those of you who need to momentarily hit pause, Coinmama wants you to know: we’re still with you, and we’re doing it with the lowest fees possible.
It’s our way of giving back to you in these tough times!
How To Cash Out My Bitcoin On Cash App To Cash Money
Can you sell Bitcoin for cash?
How To Get Cash For Bitcoin
Now, more than ever, your health is probably first and foremost on your mind—it is on ours too—but your finances may be a close second. With over 3 million Coronavirus cases and 200,000 deaths worldwide, we’ve entered a new reality. We’re in the midst of an unprecedented financial crisis, with mass layoffs regularly taking place, and some people predicting unemployment rates will hit 30%. We know that some of you may need fiat, even if it comes at the expense of the Bitcoin you’ve been HODLing.
Today, we’re making it easy to sell Bitcoin and access the fiat you need. So if you are wondering “Where do I sell my Bitcoin for cash,” look no further. We’re giving users the ability to sell up to 30,000 USD (or EUR equivalent) of Bitcoin a day, depending on account verification level, with payout directly to your bank account.
What’s more, as a thank you for being part of our family, we’re doing it with the lowest fees possible. Coinmama fees on sell transactions are between 0.1% and 0.9% *, depending on your Coinmama Loyalty level.
How Do I Cash Bitcoin
How to transfer Bitcoin for cash using SEPA
If you’re part of our European family, you can transfer Bitcoin for cash using a bank account that supports SEPA transfers.
- Sign up for Coinmama, or log into your verified Coinmama account
- Click the “sell” button and enter the Bitcoin amount you’d like to sell
- Choose SEPA as your payout method
- Add your bank information, including your European bank country and IBAN
- Add your personal details
- Transfer the Bitcoin amount from your own wallet to the wallet address provided
- Once the coins have been confirmed on the Blockchain, Coinmama will transfer the fiat amount to the bank account provided
How to transfer Bitcoin for cash using SWIFT
How To Cash Out Your Bitcoin
Coinmama users in the United States and the rest of the world can sell Bitcoin for cash using a SWIFT bank transfer.
- Sign up or log into your Coinmama account
- Select “sell” and enter the Bitcoin amount you’re selling
- Choose SWIFT as your payout method
- Enter your bank country, bank account number, and routing number or Bank Identifier Code
- Complete your personal details
- From your own wallet, send the Bitcoin amount to the wallet address provided
- As soon as the coins have been confirmed on the Blockchain, Coinmama will send the fiat amount to the bank account provided.
For more information on how to sell Bitcoin with Coinmama, visit our help center.
Sell now with Coinmama. Or Sign Up Now.
Coins are liquid with Coinmama; it’s our way of giving back and extending a (remote) hand during these stressful times.
* Additional charges may apply.