Anyone got any bitcoins?

[FN-GM]

Where does one purchase bit coins?

[snagrat]

CoinCafe is where I got mine from

[Dos_Box]

Where does one purchase bit coins?

 

Try Coinbase - https://www.coinbase.com

That is the one I use (recommend to me by @ZeroHour).

If you choose to go with another make sure you read up on them first after the Mt. Gox debacle - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt._Gox

[jaminben]

What do you use to cash out your BTC?

[siuko]

I store all my bitcoins and altcoins on coinomi (wallet on my mobile where I control the private key) - coinomi also has an exchange built in so I can convert many altcoins to BTC

 

I then send the BTC to coinbase, sell them on coinbase to get euros and use the SEPA transfer to send those euros to my bank account

 

Took quite a bit of setting up but it now works fairly quickly

 

I would also personally recommend getting a separate bank account (as I've read a few horror stories where bank accounts have been closed due to cryptocurrency payments - and you wouldn't want your main account closing!)

[Blue_Cookeh]

They're a proof-of-concept toy designed to show how a decentralized virtual currency could work. For some reason people are exchanging huge amounts of cash for them, despite not being able to do anything with them except exchange them back into cash.

 

They're being used as real currency on a lot of nefarious websites, but also some legit physical shops (mainly hipster places, tattoo shops etc, still not common). BTC has a distinct advantage over real cash in that you can use it while being totally anonymous if you're careful enough.

[jaminben]

I store all my bitcoins and altcoins on coinomi (wallet on my mobile where I control the private key) - coinomi also has an exchange built in so I can convert many altcoins to BTC

 

I then send the BTC to coinbase, sell them on coinbase to get euros and use the SEPA transfer to send those euros to my bank account

 

Took quite a bit of setting up but it now works fairly quickly

 

I would also personally recommend getting a separate bank account (as I've read a few horror stories where bank accounts have been closed due to cryptocurrency payments - and you wouldn't want your main account closing!)

 

How long does the SEPA transfer take and would you mind telling me the name of the bank you use as mine (Nationwide) isn't supported apparently.

[siuko]

If it's fairly early in the day it can take as little as one day to arrive

 

I think most banks allow SEPA transfers as long as its a current account

 

But I opened a new account with the COOP bank

 

The biggest hassle was setting up coinbase (as they need quite a bit of verification, and they can be super slow verifying the initial SEPA transfer from your bank to them - minimum of 6 euros to they can verify the account info)

 

The biggest thing with BTC selling etc is taxes - as far as I understand (and someone let me know if I'm incorrect) - you don't have to pay VAT on cryptocurrency trading but when you convert your coins to real money it is classed as a Capital Gain - and you have an £11,300 allowance per year of Capital Gains before you need to pay tax on it (I'm never going to mine that much in a year so I should be ok)

Edited August 17, 2017 by siuko

[jaminben]

Cool, thank you for the info

 

I'll setup a new account with the COOP bank I think... when I tried to do it before Coinbase said they didn't support Nationwide.

 

Do you know if I convert my BTC to Euro with Coinbase and store it on Coinbase (I know, not a good idea but...) it won't loose its value? I have 1.5 BTC from recent trades and don't want it to lose value if the BTC price crashes.

 

If it's fairly early in the day it can take as little as one day to arrive

 

I think most banks allow SEPA transfers as long as its a current account

 

But I opened a new account with the COOP bank

 

The biggest hassle was setting up coinbase (as they need quite a bit of verification, and they can be super slow verifying the initial SEPA transfer from your bank to them - minimum of 6 euros to they can verify the account info)

 

The biggest thing with BTC selling etc is taxes - as far as I understand (and someone let me know if I'm incorrect) - you don't have to pay VAT on cryptocurrency trading but when you convert your coins to real money it is classed as a Capital Gain - and you have an £11,300 allowance per year of Capital Gains before you need to pay tax on it (I'm never going to mine that much in a year so I should be ok)

[siuko]

Do you know if I convert my BTC to Euro with Coinbase and store it on Coinbase (I know, not a good idea but...) it won't loose its value? I have 1.5 BTC from recent trades and don't want it to lose value if the BTC price crashes.

 

It's an interesting question...

 

I'm guessing once it is euros then it will stay the same amount? The main issue then is what the euro to GBP conversion rate will be when you send it to you bank (guess euros and gbp don't fluctuate quite as much as BTC does)

 

1.5 BTC! Nice - get it cashed out while its doing well lol (unless you believe all the BTC will be worth $10k soon stories lol)

[mdrabble]

I know Coinbase had an issue with some verifications not completing so you may have to raise a support ticket if that happens.

 

Did have about 7 coins but sold them last year to pay for honeymoon, bit gutted now but hey ho it was worth it [emoji3]

 

If you don't have any mining equipment you can always rent miners.

[Ant]

I know Coinbase had an issue with some verifications not completing so you may have to raise a support ticket if that happens.

 

I had issues with Coinbase verifying my account. In the end it took their Support department over a month to respond and fix the issue. I haven't tried to withdraw Fiat yet, but I am hesitant to use Coinbase based on this experience.

 

I still need to explore the alternatives, but getting your currency back into GBP doesn't seem straightforward. I've seen localbitcoins and Kraken mentioned a few times.

[jaminben]

I still need to explore the alternatives, but getting your currency back into GBP doesn't seem straightforward. I've seen localbitcoins and Kraken mentioned a few times.

 

I've used localbitcoins quite a few times for smaller amounts (£200-£300) and it worked great when transferring into my PayPal account but I'm not all that keen to try with larger amounts.

[Ant]

I've used localbitcoins quite a few times for smaller amounts (£200-£300) and it worked great when transferring into my PayPal account but I'm not all that keen to try with larger amounts.

 

That's useful to know, thanks!

[mdrabble]

Once you have verified and have SEPA setup withdrawing funds is very straight forward.

[jaminben]

Once you have verified and have SEPA setup withdrawing funds is very straight forward.

 

Cool, that's good to hear.

[Alis_Klar]

Are you declaring that income to the taxman?

[flyinghaggis]

I can see the appeal of mining them if you can turn a profit but what are folk's main reasons for converting currency like GBP OR USD into bitcoin to pay for goods/services?

 

Wouldn't it just be easier and safer to use a credit card?

Edited August 17, 2017 by flyinghaggis

[andydis]

Are you declaring that income to the taxman?

what tax?

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/revenue-and-customs-brief-9-2014-bitcoin-and-other-cryptocurrencies/revenue-and-customs-brief-9-2014-bitcoin-and-other-cryptocurrencies

[andydis]

I can see the appeal of mining them if you can turn a profit but what are folk's main reasons for converting currency like GBP OR USD into bitcoin to pay for goods/services?

 

Wouldn't it just be easier and safer to use a credit card?

 

some sites ONLY accept Bitcoin now. I have come across several.

[jaminben]

Once you have verified and have SEPA setup withdrawing funds is very straight forward.

 

Can you remember what fee's you paid? I've been reading that some people get charged > 3.5% which is just for the euro conversion by the bank.