After making more than 100 crypto withdrawals with a dozen exchanges and P2P platforms, the one we’d be happiest using every day for converting BTC into money in your bank account is the Coinbase. You won’t regret this easy-to-use yet professional exchange with a wallet feature, and completing the job is surprisingly easy.
However, if you are looking to cash out your digital currency to physical money or goods, you should consider selling your coins directly to a person, who wants to exchange his or her money or goods for cryptocurrency (P2P). Our choice here is LocalCoinSwap.
Coinbase
- Bank Account (ACH) and Wire Transfer payment methods are available for withdrawal your money.
- Coinbase can also be a software wallet that can help you store, buy, and sell BTC. There is also a feature where you can request money, either in USD or BTC
- The most compliant BTC exchange for U.S. account holders.
LocalCoinSwap
- LocalCoinSwap is a secure and private way to purchase and sell bitcoins both off and online. The process of creating your new account to having coins in your wallet is seamless and happens in minutes
- The site also does not impose any buying or selling limits. They charge very low fees and are transparent with the fees that they do charge.
- No KYC LocalCoinSwap does not require you to sign-up with KYC/AML allowing anyone to join from around the world.
Where to Sell Bitcoin?
As Bitcoin and cryptocurrency continue to explode in popularity, more and more services are coming online to help users get their hands on bitcoin or turn their BTC into USD or other fiat currency in a quick and effective way.
There are several methods for selling BTC, each a little different from each other. And your choice would depend on how much you’re looking to cash out, how much control you want over the eventual price you get for your cryptocurrency, and how much time you have.
1.Exchanges
One of the most common and simplest ways to sell bitcoin online and convert it into hard cash is through an exchange platform. Exchanges act as a middle-man by selling your BTC for you. The most popular platforms are Binance, CEX.IO, Coinmama, Coinbase and others.
No matter what exchange you choose, you will need to create an account and a wallet and link your bank account to it. You will probably be required to provide a photo-ID for verification before placing any orders. The verification may take a few days or even longer, so make sure you set up your account well in advance of when you plan to trade.
Then you take your deposit address from the exchange wallet and you send the Bitcoins you want to sell to it. At this moment you can place a “sell order”, so your coins will be sold at the going market rate. Some exchanges will let you set a limit on your sale, so that if Bitcoin’s price were to drop below a certain point, the sale would not proceed.
After the sale has been completed, the funds in your relevant currency will be transferred directly to your linked bank account, or to your exchange currency account. Now you can withdraw your money. It is a good idea to pay close attention to the fees charged by the exchange for using their services.
2.P2P exchanges
Peer-to-peer trading is another alternative for selling your BTC. You will probably need to create your account and get verified to confirm your identity. Once you’re set-up, you can cash out your coins in a much more ‘direct’ manner. You can set up a sell order for a specific value and when someone comes along looking to buy at the agreed upon price, the site will alert you that you can move ahead with the transaction. Once you give it the thumbs up, the buyer pays you, and you then send them the cryptocurrency in return. Sites like LocalCoinSwap or Paxful have numerous methods of conducting the payment, including MoneyGram, gift cards, cash in the mail, and even cash in person.
There is no middle-man exchange with direct trades, so you don’t need to worry about the platform itself running off with your money or being hacked and having it stolen. However, direct trades are more time consuming than automated exchanges. You have to make the trade manually and you have to be ready to do so in a timely manner.
3.Bitcoin ATM
If you don’t feel like selling BTC online, you can look into bitcoin ATM. Bitcoin kiosks are machines connected to the Internet, allowing the insertion of cash in exchange for bitcoins given as a paper receipt or by moving money to a public key on the blockchain. They look like traditional ATMs, but Bitcoin kiosks do not connect to a bank account and instead connect the user directly to a cryptocurrency exchange. And CoinATMradar is one of the most famous among bitcoin ATMs.
4.Bitcoin gift cards
Bitcoin gift card is another unique way to present coins to your family and friends. After you purchase it online on portals such as bit4coin, the gift card or voucher will be mailed to the specified address. The recipient can easily redeem the gift card against bitcoins at the exchange rate at that time. Such portals don’t just help with the redemption, they also guide on how to open your own wallet.
5.Your Retirement Account
The majority of individual retirement accounts or simply IRAs are managed by custodians or trustees for investors. However, outside of these traditional assets, there are other opportunities such as real estate, promissory notes, tax lien certificates, private placement securities, gold and even Bitcoins.
It is simple and fast to add BTC to your self-directed IRA. Firstly, you need to open a self-directed IRA through a secure e-sign application, then the new account is funded via a rollover or transfer. Finally, the investor needs to complete a Bitcoin allocation order. You can start using your coins retirement asset after you are 59 ½ years old, otherwise, you will have to face a penalty for an early withdrawal.
How to sell bitcoin for USD?
If you are looking to trade BTC for USD and not sure about the best way to sell bitcoin, then review the exchanges that we suggest below. The exchange you choose will depend on what type of holder you are: small investor, institutional holder or trader?
1.CEX.IO
CEX.IO is a London-based cryptocurrency exchange platform founded in 2013 with more than a million active traders. You can sell bitcoin in a matter of just a few clicks on this website. This is a solid company which is trusted by a massive user base, and which has taken the proper steps to ensure the security of customer data and financial information. CEX has a Level 2 PCI DSS data security clearance meaning that this site is extremely trustworthy with users’ data and money. However, the exchange has relatively high fees.
2.Coinbase
If you are a retail client, you can sell BTC at exchanges such as Coinbase. This exchange is reputed to be the world’s largest Bitcoin broker, currently serving a total of 32 countries, that provides direct sales of BTC at, or close to, the current average market rate (plus a 1.5% fee). The company has also invested a lot of time and money into making their user experience smooth and painless.
3.Kraken
Kraken is another popular exchange that allows fiat currency deposits and withdrawals. It has been around since 2011 and processes the most BTC to Euro transactions. However, they also support other major currencies like USD, CAD, and JPY!
Kraken charges very reasonable fees: fiat & cryptocurrency trades/withdrawals are much cheaper than on other exchanges. The exchange also provides excellent security initiatives: two-factor authentication is encouraged using Googles 2FA app. And it takes between 1-5 working days for Kraken withdrawals to reach your bank account.
4.Gemini
Gemini is aimed more at large orders from institutional investors and traders. It is aptly named after its two founders the Winklevoss twins and it holds a New York State limited liability Trust status. This gives the exchange the ability to deal both with institutional clients and individuals.
It allows users to withdraw and deposit directly to and from their bank accounts while deposit and withdrawal fees are 0 and trading fees are 0.25% off both sides of the trade.
How to Sell Bitcoin for Cash?
If you wish to avoid all the hassle associated with withdrawing from an exchange, you could sell your BTC for cash directly to another person. Read further to find out how you can do it.
1.LocalCoinSwap
For those of you looking to trade your coins directly for physical cash and cash out large amounts of bitcoin LocalCoinSwap may be a better solution. It is a person-to-person trading site where people can post their own bids for buying and selling Bitcoins for USD or other fiat currencies.
LocalCoinSwap provides an escrow service, and the transactions are instant, as long as both parties have sufficient funds in their accounts. Moreover, the platform also gives you an option to contact the other party directly for a face-to-face transaction offline.
2.Paxful
Paxful helps to connect buyers and sellers to easily exchange bitcoin, accepting more than 300 different payment methods. Sellers will have to pay a fee equal to 1% of the transaction amount.
Paxful is a legitimate crypto exchange that competes with P2P bitcoin marketplaces like LocalCoinSwap.
It has solid security measures in place to safeguard the bitcoins in your wallet. These include SMS verification, 2-factor authentication, security questions, and heavily-encrypted servers.
3.Meetup
You can also use Meetup.com to find your local Bitcoin related meetups, where you can meet other BTC enthusiasts and trade directly with them in a safe environment.
4.Bitcoin ATM
If you are in a hurry and want to sell coins instantly, then Bitcoin ATM would be your best option. The first ATM appeared in 2013 and its number is still growing. will guide you to bitcoin ATMs in your area.
Bitcoin ATM is one of the fastest ways to cash out. It really depends on the machine type, but some machines like Lamassu support a 15-second operation.
One can argue that bitcoin ATMs are less available than online cryptocurrency exchanges. They have a physical location, which you need to visit, compared to just using your computer or mobile phone connected to the internet from anywhere. Also, coin machines are usually only available during business hours, which is far less than 24/7 availability of online exchanges.
How to sell bitcoin for PayPal?
If you want to know where and how to cash out BTC for USD cash like exchanging to PayPal, then you have come to the right place. However, it might be hard and confusing.
1.Coinbase
Since 2016 you are able to withdraw your USD balance to your PayPal account via Coinbase. This means that you can move coins into your Coinbase account and withdraw them as USD straight to your PayPal account.
In order to sell your Bitcoins:
- move the Bitcoins you want to sell into your Coinbase account.
- Go to “Buy/sell bitcoins” and choose “sell Bitcoins
- Decide how many coins you want to convert to USD
- Choose PayPal as your payout method
- Click “sell Bitcoins”
2.Bitpanda
BitPanda is an Austrian start-up company that specializes in selling and buying Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. Even though BitPanda doesn’t allow you to buy BTC with PayPal, you can still cash out your coins in order to fund your PayPal account.
- Sign up to BitPanda
- Choose “sell” and “Paypal” as your payout method
- Once you send the Bitcoins to BitPanda you will be sent a payment via PayPal.
3.VirWox
VirWox stands for Virtual World Exchange, which is a centralized Austria-based digital convertible currency exchange, founded in 2007. VirWox is the only website that allows instant buying and selling of Bitcoins with PayPal.
- Initial deposit – After you deposit a certain amount of BTC, you’ll receive an e-mail directly from VirWox. Also, calculate in a small confirmation fee. The operation is instantly fulfilled.
- Posting – The expected posting time is 1 hour.
- Purchase – Buy the max quantum of L$ at the ongoing market price, which incurs extra commissions of 2.9% plus the conversion of L$ into SLL.
- Flat currency – In this step, you’re buying the max USD amount at the ongoing market rate, which, again, leads to 2.9% in exchange fees, plus your L$ conversion to USD. You’ll receive a second order confirmation email from VirWox.
- PayPal withdrawal – Final USD withdrawal to your PayPal account will come with another 2% alongside 1$ for PayPal fees. It posts instantly to PayPal.
Conclusions
Bitcoin is much more widely known and used today than just several years ago. However, it is still not easy to acquire coins in the first place, and selling it in exchange for fiat currency might even be harder. But if you read the article, you should now know how to cash out Bitcoin! We have showed you different options of how to sell BTC online and P2P, you can also sell bitcoin instantly using a bitcoin ATM or transfer money to your PayPal account using the VirWox platform. And now it’s up to you to make a decision.
Read also: TOP-10 best places to buy Bitcoin
Sources:
Handbook of Digital Currency, Chapter 28 Bitcoin Exchanges
Bitcoin Basics: A Primer on Virtual Currencies
Bitcoin: The Trade of Digital Signatures