Bitcoin Forum

I know this question has probably been asked a bunch of times before, but with the ever-changing crypto landscape, I'm curious to hear everyone's latest thoughts.

What method do you find most convenient and cost-effective for converting your crypto holdings to fiat currency? CEXs, P2P, Debit Cards... ? Also curious if any new or up-and-coming techniques are on your radar.

I usually exchange my crypto through exchanges but since some exchanges added P2P then most of my crypto is exchanged into USDT first on CEXs and then exchanged USDT into fiat through P2P on the same site sample like Binance or OKX.

Another option is to use Exch exchange I've tested this a few times exchange BTC from Exch into USDT in the Ethereum network receive it to my local exchange and exchange it into fiat.

I would say Binance P2P if you're from a supported country and have access to the payment methods that are widely used there. You could basically get 1:1 in certain cases (Binance doesn't have any escrow fees). I don't believe that's something you could get when dealing directly with a CEX.

P2P works like magic to me since banks won’t be suspicious on fund transfers on my bank account because I have business which frequently gives me multiple transactions from other people for payment. P2P transactions from crypto makes it looks like a regular business transaction which gives me a space to breath from audit.

Choosing Centralized services is proven hassle when dealing with high amounts since they frequently notify banks about the transaction that it involves crypto which creates problem. I experienced freezing of bank assets just because I received too much fiat from crypto assets which bank doesn’t allow as part of their ToS.

p2p is the choice. cheaper fees since the existence of the digital wallet of our fiay system. and the exchanges we have today such as binance and kucoin do have p2p options already. if one day those dexes will have p2p, people might just be moving to dexes.

but iff you are to also go into p2p, make sure you know how to spot a scam. there are lots of them trying their way to make money as well.

I have used three methods to trade my bitcoin to fiat and the first I use was to convert the bitcoin to fiat straight in remitano. Then transfer the money to my account and withdraw. The the second one I used normal p2p with a well known vendor in my location. I sent him the coins and he paid me as agreed then the third one was the exchange p2p  which is also popular in everywhere. These are the three methods I have use to convert bitcoin to fiat.

And all the three ways the normal peer to peer is the best if you k ow people that can buy your coin directly from your wallet. But it is very difficult to see someone who is trustworthy to buy you coin. And make sure that you received your funds before releasing the coins.

The government in my country has made us to want to exercise more caution while exchanging crypto to our local currency, they have instructed banks to report account holders who they find to be converting crypto to fiat, so we are usually more careful now if we want to change crypto to naira.

Due to the actions of out government, many exchanges that were very popular like Binance and Kucoin have delisted Naira P2P from their platform. Remitano has become my option because it is still functioning properly. I am careful though of traders I trade with on their platform, because apart from scammers, there are also government officials who have come on to this platform to get people like us who have ignored the government and still go about exchanging crypto to fiat and hiding it from banks by putting a different description in the space provided for what the transaction is for.

Off-ramp methods will differ by country but where I'm from, P2p is the best way to convert crypto to fiat. There are no debit cards that support direct withdrawal of crypto to fiat over here so that's leave P2p as the predominant choice. I don't think any other methods will provide an experience close to, or superior to that of P2P but who knows? We might get something better in the future. Until then, P2p gets the jobs done for me without any hitches.

Nop, there’s no any and I don’t think the existing one is much of a problem to use that I would want a change to the system of conversion for now. I basically convert by Bitcoin to USDT then to my fiat on p2p platforms on the exchanges. It is very easy and stress free that I wouldn’t want a new change to occur as to how to change my coins to fiat. I have not also seen a better method that I so much believe in like this method, they may be other simpler and stress free way of doing it, but this I find more convenient and trust to use at anytime I wish to.

P2P no doubt is the best but the convenience really differs compared to the actual exchange that you'd just sell on the spot and then withdraw it but there's more process to it. The cons of dealing on p2p is if you're always on the go and you've got not that much waiting for the other end to end the deal and make the payment to you. But that's not really a big cons to be worried with. So for those traders that have a great community through their p2p, it's one of the best but it varies from other users that deals directly with centralized exchanges.

I have been using centralised exchanged to trade my bitcoin and/or crypto to fiat, some of the CEXs that I have used in the past are ; binance, bybit, Kucoin, Huobi etc and I have also used one if my favourite DEX which is bisq but I recently stopped for some personal reasons. On all the CEXs I still use the P2P options which recently have been facing regulations in my country.

Since we have been facing regulations in Exchange operating in my country I opted for P2P, which is just with someone I know very well. He sends the fiat directly to my accounts and I send him the coins.

This depends on the policies of your country and depends on the exchange you use. As long as we have a policy that does not make it difficult for the exchange to withdraw money, we can directly use the withdrawal function from the exchange. But if there are policies that make it difficult or direct withdrawals are available then we can use the P2P method.

Well, the easiest way to convert fiat to any crypto currency is through P2P, and there are many exchanges offering this kind of service. It's easier than any other option, and the platform I would use is Binance because it is popular for those services and many sellers and buyers are legit on that platform, so rest assured that converting your fiat to crypto or vice versa is secured on Binance. And the good thing is that you could also start this kind of business on Binance, wherein you will become a seller and buyer. In P2P, you just have to be verified and comply with many applications in order to operate; you just need a huge amount of money to start. I know there are other exchanges that offer P2P, but for me, the best is Binance, or maybe just Binance, which is my most comfortable platform. Anyway, it's up to you on what platform you will use; just make sure their P2P is safe.

To me, it has been P2P, all the way from the time I joined crypto. Never used debit cards or linked my bank accounts to an exchange. With the quick death of "semi P2P" services (like LocalBitcoins, localcryptos, agoradesk etc.) there is going to be need for us to embrace the likes of BisQ. So many people seem not to like it because it involves a bit of technical knowledge, but with the Bisq 2.0 version, things are a little bit simplified, and it loads much quicker than the old version

I think those CEX P2Ps or C2Cs are going to get wiped out just like what happened to localbitcoins, localcryptos.... It's just a matter of time under the ever-increasing law enforcement pressure.

What is the P2P platform you use?

Because some P2P platform can have a template for their users in a bank transfer between two peers. The template can be one of hints that data analysts can look at and it's not easy to detect a common bank transfer template in many transactions.

Does your P2P platform give you a template information to use?

How did they know you receive your fiat from crypto assets?

I would like to know, but if you think it's secret, I understand if you don't share and I respect your privacy.

I use the P2P methods on Centralized exchanges. It is not my most preferred but it is what the government of my country has made it to be because of their regulation on crypto transactions. Very soon, we would need to invent another method to convert our bitcoin to fiat when they ban the remaining centralized exchanges from doing business in my country. However, for the time being P2P on CEXs is preferred because it is done on a system with strict compliance policies from both sellers and buyers. Although there are many scams there, it is not as rampant as it would have been if it were done outside of centralized exchange.

Previously used P2P in the local community but obviously, the price would be cheaper than the real price on the exchange but at that time it didn't matter to me because of the speed of transactions with that person until finally it was no longer possible because there were many rule changes so he no longer accepted crypto transactions to fiat, so whether I like it or not I have to change it to CEX, to be honest, it's not a problem moving to CEX because my account has been verified a long time ago and has also been KYCed (which is something I don't like but it's hard to refuse). Both are not a problem for me because I don't experience any problems at all so P2P or CEX are the same

I'm using P2P. Not only are they easier than getting it on bank account through some business but I also get better rates. I don't even have to think of calculating about my crypto taxes as I'm getting it on bank as fiat but it's not linked to crypto. In both case I'm getting the money into my bank account, one has more paperworks, more tax and commission while other have less commission. There are people talking about the bad experience they had while doing P2P but I never had that experience as I go only with highly rated traders.

Yes,ever since i do make or earn money in crypto space then this is what i've been doing on which making up some conversion from any coins Bitcoin and other alts to USDT then making up some
P2P which it would be directly be converted to local fiat on which of course it would really be that corresponding with the current fiat conversion basing up on USD value on which this is really something
that brings up that convenience when you do make up that conversion but of course you wont really be minding about the fees and other converisions on which those people who do make out that p2p
buy and sell rates on which this isnt really that bothering that much. This is the most convenient and the most fastest so far rather than on making up some use with other platforms only offers
bank transfers which it is really that too far on where these exchangers been offering about the versatility and tons of options.

(COINS/TOKENS) -> Sell USDT Pair -> Sell USDT in P2P -> Set Preferred payment account -> FINISH!

Well, I use the P2P service on some centralized exchanges like Binance, Bybit, and the like. Most of the time, too, I can find a direct P2P deal with someone in my residential area who wants to get my coin and pay in the required Fiat. It just depends on what is readily available to me. I have the contact information of a few friends who usually like to buy crypto most of the time, so if I want to convert to fiat, I can just chat the dude up on WhatsApp and ask for the rate he will offer to get my coins, and if I am comfortable with the rate he offers, I can just trade with him, but if his rate is lower compared to what I am getting on CEX, I will decline him and use CEX. 

Centralized exchanges and P2P like Paxful can be best option if you're not worried about your tracks and taxes, while most of the users who try to avoid the taxes really likes to use no KYC exchanges.

I am sure Binance P2P is most convenient of all but people forget that it's the same platform abused by the scammers to buy cryptos via hacked bank accounts so anyone dealing with P2P should be very careful when picking their partner for trades.

Thank you all for your comments. 

It seems like P2P on centralized exchanges is a preferred method here.  Since KYC is likely unavoidable with centralized exchanges, how do you people handle the tax implications? Do you report all your crypto income to the tax office?

Don't have much option since localbitcoins got shut down as we have to be dependent on centralized exchanges and their P2P services which is becoming bit riskier because a lot of scans are taking place and a friend of mine who regularly uses P2P had his bank account freezed as the seller of USDT was involved in illegal activities and was wanted in criminal offences.

Centralized exchanges are the best place you can have efficacy of conversation of your Bitcoin to any other options be it Bitcoin or other cryptos and fiats. Exchanges like Binance and Kucoin has been tasted and they are save because the exchanges act as the middleman, you will hardly run into scam but if you don't put caution into place while trading, there are some ways scammers might still scam you but they are rare because their insurance deposit merchants must made before they are allow to trade, so you are good to go but my problem is that centralized exchanges are not safe other like risk of custody.

If you need money to for spending, you will need fiat but don't forget you will py tax if you leave in a country where crypto are tax but if you need conversion to buy other coins, there is no need to convert from fiat to crypto, you can simply use centralized exchange conversion to convert into any crypto of your choice.

Basically, I use P2P. The procedure is that I have Bitcion in my holding assets, so first of all I convert Bitcion to USDT for as much Fiat money as I need and then I transfer that USDT to Binance P2P which is allowed in my country with no restrictions. Not on it. So I sell out my USDT there, the merchandiser sends me fiat money in Banks accounts and I release USDT to him and Binance as a third party provides the service. 
 
So this is my procedure for converting my Holding asset to fiat currency. So if there is no ban on Binance p2p in your country then I think it will be the best option for you I have seen the majority of crypto users they prefer Binance p2p the rest is up to you to make a decision according to that, because I am not a financial adviser. DYOR! 

If you are living in a country that is not that really strict, P2P is the best. You can save more money from fees or spread. Because some methods are very expensive, you can lose more compared to using P2P.
First what I am doing is converting to stable coin then sell it to P2P or direct from what I hold and supported in P2P and immediately sold it for fiat.

Recently has several ways to to convert our cryptocurrency assets from bitcoin or altcoin to fiat by using P2P transaction feature supported all exchange, sell to third trusted person in my community with small fees until withdrawing to local exchange market. I used last way for converting my cryptocurrency assets after getting profitable from trading withdraw USDT to my local exchange and selling with our local currency to withdraw into Bank account. Get faster process withdrawing to Bank account without five minutes make me comfortable converting all profitable in cryptocurrency to local exchange indeed have to pay some fees taxes transaction.

All exchange currently have required with KYC procedure and make easy for some one want to sell trough P2P transaction, in Binance and other exchange I think has local community or buyer for selling your USDT stable coin with lower rate than market.

There are plenty of P2P options and direct transfers are also available you can easily google them but the most important thing is that don't go with the chains that are not being used frequently in the market.

Nowadays chains and networks offer a small transaction fees or better exchange rate just to trap you in a scam and most of the people just go get rid of high transaction fees fall in to their traps. So my advice would be to use networks with good and established reputation.

To convert bitcoin to fiat like selling it directly to a merchant or someone who needs it will be expensive in fees because it can take you as high as $3-5 depending on the time so if you have it on exchange, you can convert it to usdt and then sell to fiat with a fee of $1. However there are variants of stable coins that you can do that on if not usdt , example you can convert to BnB smart chain bep20, you can convert through polygon, through solana, avex chain, EOS, Tezos, Ethereum erc20 etc

For me, converting BTC to Fiat is more expensive on the Binance exchange and it is no longer functional for my country residents who use the exchange since the government has done well to investigate the exchange and others who have customers in the country and have restricted many of these exchanges services by removing the local fiat from the exchange.

A stable coins like the USDT is a more preferred option for me and I have to accept the fees rate upon converting from BTC to USDT and then trading P2p to get my funds in local currency.

Just like many have said above, I use p2p on CEX and I don't have a particular exchange that I use because of the problem our government is having with exchanges in my country. It is easy and faster, and not traceable.

However, the one that I enjoy must was when I use to have a physical vendor down the road, I go to him and make the exchange fiat to bitcoin, but he relocated to another state, so I just use only CEx p2p. Maybe if our government stops all the exchange and Naria is delisted, I think I will switch over to telegram p2p or our local exchange p2p.

We mightn't like it because it's centralized but centralized exchanges has being the most convenient way for me to trade my cryptocurrency to faits. I haven't use debit cards therefore I can't give an honest opinion on them but I have use decentralized P2P and I was almost scammed therefore I prefer to use centralized exchanges or their p2p were all the individuals on the exchange would had gone through verification therefore they won't want to scam or they'll get their account banned.

Centralized exchanges has P2P but selling to them directly is more faster and safer. Their P2P can also be slow sometimes as the individual selling or buying on the exchange wouldn't be fast to respond to your order. The rate on the exchange is slightly better than those on the P2P because some individual will want to manipulated the price by bringing it down so they can make more profits when they sell to you.

I suppose we have to but it really depends on the nation we reside though, some government don't take any actions against tax evaders or some government don't even keep track of income tax trails so unless the individual reports they have no idea how much he/she owe to the government in the name of tax but this applies only you are belong to middle class but if you are rich tax authorities will be looking at you for any reason to take away your money while the policies are made in the favour of the rich so one who knows how to handle it can get away with paying less taxes.

In the past (many years ago) I have done a lot of p2p transaction or just used a "dedicated" debit/credit card like wirex/advcash etc...
Nowadays I am using a local bank here in Italy that supports exchange btc/fiat. This is mine preferred method even if they have not the best rates but it's an immediate transaction and I have immediately money available on my bank account/debit card.

I'm selling BTC for EUR to a company located in Switzerland. No KYC and the fee is 1.3%. Never had any problems with them(so far).
I used a Croatian company to sell my BTC for Euro in the last 5 years, but they started demanding KYC so I left them.
I'm avoiding P2P marketplaces, because there are many scammers(some scammers even have good reviews) and some traders require KYC.
Centralized crypto exchanges are also a thing from the past, the biggest reason for me to dump them is the ID verification requirement.

I have seen someone tried buying Bitcoin with Debit card before hand and it was really success, it came smooth e even and that was in year 2021 if I recall correctly. I wasn’t really this interests in buying/selling/holding of Bitcoin as I am today. I think I can still recall who the individual was but, not the site.
So buying with debit card virtually played out like you having to pay for a product you bought online of which, Bitcoin was that commodity here. You don’t get to buy from an individual here but the site itself, at there rate and you pay by inputting the necessary details on your debit card, while you receive an OTP for authentication. That follows after you must have imput your receiving Bitcoin address though.
I can’t recall it in detail but, it ain’t a bad idea except,

This would be you having to expose your debit card details to a site you aren’t entirely assured of its security and safety. There is always a risk factor as this is part of your private detail.

Yes I had already stated it that it is expensive to sell bitcoin directly to fiat because of the high fees and this is the reason that many have turned to  stable coins for transaction because they are sure that they are only parting with a dollar to cover for the transaction fee unlike using the bitcoin route that will take you more dollars. Moreover exchanges like binance charge very high in bitcoin transaction and so to take away P2P for a local currency means either you have to convert to usdt and sell out of binance platform if you are having your coin there but I hope there are other exchanges that still transacting on P2P.

Some have already said which method they prefer and use but I still use CEX to convert it into fiat currency. The technique hasn't changed and that's still how I do it when converting to fiat. The coins in the wallet will be sent there. From there you will choose a fiat pair that can be withdrawn directly to the fiat bank.
The reason why I use a method like this is because I cannot avoid KYC. Every exchange that operates in my country's jurisdiction, KYC is required for those who want to use it.

I don't think the exchanges notify the bank, but the bank proactively locks your account when they suspect your account has unusual transactions. You don't have to be a cryptocurrency investor, your bank account will also be frozen if you make unusual transactions such as too large amounts and you have never made any similar transactions before. This is the bank's regulations and way of working, don't blame the centralized exchanges.

In my country, Binance does not have a business license while banks have issued regulations that do not allow people to trade cryptocurrencies. After that, Binance itself also issued a warning to us , asking us to limit writing the content of transactions related to bitcoin and crypto, to avoid being frozen by banks. That shows there is no connection between the exchange and the bank.

I prefer to convert my crypto holdings to fiat using a CEX or through a third party with which I am familiar. Usually I use a third party if I don't want to use CEX. I also often use P2P on CEXs like Binance, which can be done at any time. But I have never used a Debit Card.

You have to pay attention to the costs, which will vary. People who make exchanges often want fees that are not too expensive and can be sent quickly to their bank account. For this reason, we must find the method we want and make us comfortable using it.

Because my country applies a crypto tax so most of us prefer to withdraw proceeds from Bitcoin via P2P and even then at a rate that is still below the CEX withdrawal fee to Bank account. In my opinion when it comes to withdrawals you really need to calculate at least comparing the costs between P2P and CEX. Although there are several points that I often apply in the withdrawal amount, for example in P2P the most is under $2000, while above that I prefer to use a local exchange, besides being safe because it is regulated and the process is also quite fast. Even though taxes have to be covered, it doesn't matter because I'm a little careful if a withdrawal transaction via P2P is above the specified limit. Undesirable things happen, some of my friends experienced cases of theft.

I use my exchange to be fair, it has the option to convert it and I do that as much as I possibly can, that makes it a lot easier for me. I am not saying that we are going to make a lot of money, but we shouldn't really do anything crazy, and we should consider this as normal, without any moral issues as well.

I believe that crypto exchanges are taking a good cut, and they have a big piece, and I understand that putting all that much money into these  exchanges gives them a power that goes against the logic of bitcoin ownership, but none of that matters when the alternative is so bothersome and the exchanges are so easy. This is why I do not get any ethical questions in my mind when I do it, I just do it in a few minutes and I am done.

I do convert crypto using the exchanges or P2P option most of the time and this is more convenient to us since it can also be sent directly to your bank account using our local crypto wallet. You have to explore your local exchanges to know if you have other option because in our local wallet we have a lot of option to convert crypto using a centralized platform. P2P can also be your option, though its more risky especially if you prefer to look for this outside the market.

There are several methods of converting your crypto holdings into your local fiat currencies, and these methods are similar or almost the same for most countries that are yet to accept cryptocurrency and Bitcoin as a legal tender. The CEX p2p method is what I mostly use to sell my crypto into fiat because our government has restricted all crypto transactions across the country.
Physical p2p would have been the best option, but trust and security reasons made it uncomfortable, which is why I prefer to use exchange.

Peer to peer trading is the most convenient mode for me to convert the cryptocurrency to fiat currency. I mean I have been using it since 2017 and never faced any significant challenge. Yes there are risk factors involved. But if you know how to find a reliable person to trade with, you should not face any challenge.

People need to be very cautious about the pricing being offered. The highest pricing quotation may not be safe every time. Rather look for rating of a trader and the time of the last trade.

      To me, p2p is more useful than centralized exchange when it comes to converting crypto from our fiat to an e-wallet or digital bank. Because if it is sent directly to the bank when a large amount is deposited, they will question where the profit came from or the amount of money deposited into their bank.

     After you enter the large amount that they will accept 100%, all of a sudden you will be asked with a mixture of suspicion, which for me is the thickness of the face that we trusted them, and they will still hold your account or ours with them. So you can't blame others who don't trust the bank. So I prefer e-wallets that are related to cryptocurrency.

I agree, you only need to see some signs if the person you're trading with has got some red flags. But if you've been trading in the p2p for how many years, you'd notice some slight info that shall stop your trade.

And you'd only do this on a reputed p2p platform.

+

Look at the rates and trading history instead.

Usually i use p2p in the exchange but if there is no option of it then i can use local platform since fortunately there are some regulated local crypto platform in my country which is actually safer option than p2p in random foreign exchange

P2P have random foreign exchange and scare after transaction process but not received the money although Binance or other exchange with P2P support can help us but need time waiting for. Instant withdraw all cryptocurrency assets from global exchange not support direct withdraw to Bank by converting with local exchange, I don't know has any country restrict with this feature because my country have allowed for longer time deposit and withdraw cryptocurrency assets to Bank with short term process around five minutes.

I scare when making transacting trough P2P between seller or buyer not get online and we must waiting long term moment how our transaction its complete, better convert with local exchange by deposit our fiat if want buy cryptocurrency or withdraw our crypto to the Bank by converting firstly to local fiat.

Pretty interesting to see that there are still people who stick with P2P because this is the oldest method in the book, right? And maybe this is the reason why OP ask a question like this because with the lots of changes we have through the years, I'm sure many people are now using CEX or fiat for withdrawals as banks now legalized cryptos.

If in terms of P2P again, I think that's right that local ones are best to use because you can also do physical meet ups to trade but that's contradicting if they are regulated when P2P stands for decentralization although no doubt that it adds security and confidence to us, so we might still like it that way.