Bitcoin Forum

I received a message on twitter from some looking to buy BTC.  Not a problem, I told them to PM me.  They tell me they are 15 and can't by coins since the local ATM was seized. 

I have no problem selling BTC, but to a kid seems a bit, well, odd.  Should I tell them Ill meet if they bring a parent along?

I'd say just do what you think is right.  I'd certainly have no qualms with making such a trade.  I'd always arrange to meet in a public, open setting but this goes for all of my trades with untrusted first contacts.

I  don't know what's  the provisions of your  state, if in  China you can sell it to a person who is 15 year old

As long as it's not illegal to do so in your country selling to a 15-year-old would be fine without a parent. Is it a large amount?

I was certainly dealing with dollars when I was 15 years old. :)

It shouldn't make a difference if it were by another currency, as a means of value storage.

If selling face to face with cash I'd probably ask them to bring a parent or even take a friend with you.
The kid is 15 you don't want them to end up being a weirdo, accusing you of being a pedophile etc.

I wonder what country r u in. Even a kid is interested at bitcoin. If the young generation is educated at school about bitcoin things, they will become bitcoin adopters when they grow up.

He is a child, you should  send a little Bitcoin to  him, in order to the  better future for Bitcoin

not sure what's the problem on selling to a minor really , I'am a Minor (17 years old) (adult = 19) & I always deal with bitcoin  :-\

Personally, I wouldn't.

But...

I wondered, why would they contact you on twitter -- then saw that you run meetups?

This may change the equation a bit -- In this case I'd compromise and have him come to one of those (preferably w/an adult) -- maybe?

At 15 I was happily buying things online and in stores, as well as meeting in person with people to buy second hand things (like my first moped at 13 years old)... Not sure why buying bitcoins should be any different. Make the trade :)

Maybe because in some jurisdictions law enforcement have been known to entrap regular people with stupid charges - e.g. assisting a minor to buy drugs online.

Personally I would sell to a 15 year old but if he starts volunteering weird information I never asked for then I'd back off.

A kid can go to the store and buy things without their parents coming along.

Bitcoins are just things you buy.

Yeh, it seems weird to me that he would state his age. Seems suspicious to me. Is it illegal to sell bitcoins to minors?

Did you sell successfully?

I say this has bad news written all over it...I doubt you could get into much trouble but just there is a chance of it and I wouldn't do it.

I am sure you can find another buyer or have him bring an adult.  The absolute last thing you want is something to go wrong and you be messed up for life.

In my country(Austria) it depends on what it is buying, what the price is. If it is an expensive item, than the merchant has to pay the money back, even if the kid broke it.
So, I guess in this case, you might have to pay it back, even when the kid sent it somewhere else and can't retrieve it anymore.

"ATM was seized" that's strange.

Even if it's not illegal, if you feel there's something odd with the kid, don't bother, just ignore him.


Also, this.

fine you sell to children aged 15 years, and if the child had stolen his parents' money to buy bitcoin nah I do not know what will happen, if purchase in bulk :)

Thats why you only take cash and anonymize your coins before you trade :P

I second this right here.   You just want to protect yourself, you don't want to get wrapped up in any sort of weird accusations....  You may end up meeting Chris Hansen from "To Catch a Predator"

I don't see this as a problem at all.  My kids transact in bitcoin all the time... as it should be.  Other kids should too.



What about an adult that has stolen a childs' money?

It's normal man. It's just a kid buying a 340 commodity like gold and silver that appreciate value overtime.

With a name like that I'm not sure I would take your advice on how to protect children.

I don't find any problems with selling btc to a kid. But before I do sell him that I will tell him the risks involved and find out if he understands everything about it to a degree before I even make the trade. I was selling and buying different things when I was only 14 years old.

Contact your lawyer to discuss the best solution. Generally there shouldn't be a problem if it is a low amount, but this depends on your country. 

Wow, what an insane statement.
Like if you sell a 2nd hand video game to a 15 year old it would immediately get you accused of pedophilia.

Damn, once you're an adult you can only have contact with adults anymore!

As long as the law says something isn't illegal to sell, you should not have a problem with it.

Is this in the US?  I wouldn't do it -- there were stories of Law Enforcement entrapping people on localbitcoins by buying BTC and saying they were going to do something illegal with it.  It sounds too risky.

Financial operation with minors can be tricky as they are not fully covered with all laws. It is not the bad thing to deal with kids but you need to be aware of these things. Better be safe and discuss this trade with kid's legal guardian.

Yeah, I've emailed saying bring a parent along.  Thanks for the advice.  As a dad, don't know if id want my son meeting strangers off the net and handing over cash.

Will never sell my btc for illegal use. I dont care if I am not from the states.

LOL good call.

Ignoring his creepy name, I would say there shouldn't be any issue with selling to people who are not of legal age, as there are not any rules against this AFAIK

Sell him the coin!

I think you should get their parents consent just in case.

Don't want to encourage any 15 year olds to be stealing from their parents or whatever other bad shit 15yr olds get in.

I don't see that as a problem. But bringing parents along would be good incase the kid plans to use silkroad with it.

Again, to me this does not sound safe.  Local ATM was seized??  I am 15 etc...Just way to many red flags popping out at the start. 

Bring a parent and be safe!

I don't think you have to worry about that, you are not responsable, you are here to sell.
Just one advice, verify if he looks serious and sell him discreetly.

There is always someone suggesting..."consult your accountant, lawyer, etc.."

If the laws are so complicated that you cannot figure it out yourself the law should be eliminated or revised. We should not have to rely on other people to live our own lives freely.

Amen

If someone was going to sell BTC to my child who was under 18. I'd appriciate them asking me first. 

Law or no law.

I'm 16 years old myself and I'm buying and selling BTC without any problems at all. I usually do bank transfers to an btc exchange and buy/sell them there. :)

I personally wouldn't interact with a 15 year old boy online.

I lol'd so hard. If it feels really sketch, then you should consider backing off. There will be other sales that can be made. As a 15-year old, I was buying/selling stuff, yes, but approaching strangers online for a bulky amount of cash? Not really, though I can imagine some people doing so. If your twittr has a lot of followers, and he contacted you because you're reputable, then that makes it a little better, since people are more likely to go to those people. In the end, it's better to be safe than sorry in this situation.

A name like what?

LFC Bitcoin? LFC is a soccer team in the UK, wow what a pervert.

I'm the one saying I wouldn't deal with a child online, not one of the people saying I'd meet to sell to a child.

Duhhh

If this was directed at me, I quoted the "ilovelittleboys" post exchange. Don't see how LFC could be perceived as perverted ::) haha, online dealings are always interesting.

Thought you were talking to me.

My bad.

But that other guys name is ******* weird I agree.

The fact that the kid told you his age is a good deed i guess,
bitcoins are digital goods, maybe he want to meet because he would like to earn trust
meeting up in public space would be a good idea both for you and the kid

I would sell them to him. Most kids today are pretty computer savy and are into stuff like this.

Unless he says something shady like "how do I transfer these to the silkroad, I want to buy some meth".

Minor doesn't mean that he isn't honest.

Reviving dat weeklong dead thread tho. If the guy meets in person, then it's alright, I think

This is an interesting question. I tutor some 13 and 14 year old athletes and this year they decided they wanted to learn about Anonymous and how to start collecting BTC. I have not found any law against it where we live, though I did get their parents to set up their accounts. It is very interesting, and exciting that young people are not only aware, but interested.

I have to agree with the general consensus of the group, if you do , protect yourself and remember that many states and countries have rules that say if you transact with a minor over a certain amount, they or their parents can cancel and demand refund no matter the cost to you!

Good luck and be safe!

Well that's the beauty of a free market, but surely it can be a downside too. If you want to be a honest person, check if the guy you're dealing with understands the technology and make sure he understands the money he's "investing" in Bitcoin can be lost overnight, so that he's not spending too much for his pockets.

+1

check your PM

I don't see anything wrong with it,
It's an asset, nothing wrong with a 15 year old buying
an asset like a toy or something,so why should there be a problem with him buying a
bitcoin?

There's nothing wrong with it, but anything that goes bad with the transaction is going to be amplified by the fact that he's a minor.

"Give me a bitcoin, or I'll say you tried to..."

Probably not worth it for a small transaction.

I see what you mean, well I'm sure if you are backed by enough evidence it should be fine.
I personally wouldn't do that.

I find it weird that the ATM was seized..But selling to a  15 year old isnt illegal, its not alcohol, lol...

And this is a pretty useful experience for you I guess...

Well, fairly simple for me to do. But I have to wait 2 days for the money to reach the exchange. So sometimes I do bank transfer to a btc dealer that are very trustworthy. OTC ftw.

I would think he would have difficulty passing the AML/KYC verifications of most exchanges as a 16 year old generally is not able to enter into contracts so any TOS would not be able to be enforced on him.

I guess the only way around that would be for him to use his parent's information/bank info