Trading bitcoins for other curencies than USD EURO?

[bitcointhrow]

It isn't so much of a question but I've been thinking of moving to Morrocco for a while. Like a lot of "developping" countries Morrocco is a place where the local authorities will let you bring in as much foreign currency into the country as you want, but won't let you exchange your local dirhams for USD / Euros that easily and generally won't let you take capital out of the country.
Now let's say I had a use for dirhams capital in Morrocco. Would it be feasable to exchange dirhams for bitcoins and then exchange those bitcoins for USD/euros? and then place that money offshore somewhere?
What would my main challenges be?
More importantly, does anyone know if there would be any risks in doing so?
Could anyone point me to some good articles / videos on the subject? Sucess stories?

[Birdy]

I think the biggest problem is finding someone there to trade your dirhams for Bitcoins, because they aren't that well known yet.
Once they are more known, it's quite likely that countries with trading limitations to USD/Euros will also try to target Bitcoin, because you are avoiding their law and I doubt they like that.

[bitcointhrow]

Maybe I wouldn't have to even tell them about bitcoins, I would just use the currency to get the money out.

Dirham -> bitcoin

bitcoin -> USD on a bank account in hong kong or wherever...


The guy I would be trading with would be tradoing dirhams for USDs on a bank account outside of Morrocco.

And I would of course take a commission.

[Birdy]

Maybe?
Obviously you shouldn't tell the authorities: "Hey look I'm using Bitcoins to get my money out, nana take that your stupid laws"
On a second thought they may not see it like you are getting your money out, the dollars are still in their country, so they could be fine with it.

[KornShell]

This was a long time ago, but it may be relevant.  I was once in Rome and found myself with a pocket
full of lira, and wanting to head east.  I went to a local Amex office and was able to buy travelers
checks, which were denominated in USD.  If bitcoin had had an exchange back then, perhaps I could have
converted the USD into bitcoin.

A few months later I was in Delhi, at a time when monetary restrictions prohibited the export of rupees.
Not surprisingly, a black market was flourishing in the USD/rupee exchange.  I could get double the rupees
for my USD from the black market than I could get from a bank or Amex.  So I would exchange a 100 USD Amex
check on the black market for, say, 1000 rupees.  That 1000 rupees would buy me 200 USD in Amex checks,
and that 200 USD would then buy 2000 rupees on the black market.  I'm sure you get the picture.

The point is that when countries put currency restrictions in place you can look for plays like this.

If I may ask...why Morocco?  I've been there twice, and loved it.  Especially Marrakech.  But the
current political situation keeps me away.

[bitcointhrow]

Maybe?
Obviously you shouldn't tell the authorities: "Hey look I'm using Bitcoins to get my money out, nana take that your stupid laws"
On a second thought they may not see it like you are getting your money out, the dollars are still in their country, so they could be fine with it.

Well the Dihrams still would be. I would be exchanging dihrams for Bitcoins, and then bitcoins to USD, which would mean I would end up with a lot of Dirhams on my hands.

Why wouldn't be a problem, if I can find a use for them.

If for instance I was also to set up a hotel. I could pay my costs with the rupees, but invoice my customers/travel agencies in euro/USD.

[bitcointhrow]

This was a long time ago, but it may be relevant.  I was once in Rome and found myself with a pocket
full of lira, and wanting to head east.  I went to a local Amex office and was able to buy travelers
checks, which were denominated in USD.  If bitcoin had had an exchange back then, perhaps I could have
converted the USD into bitcoin.

A few months later I was in Delhi, at a time when monetary restrictions prohibited the export of rupees.
Not surprisingly, a black market was flourishing in the USD/rupee exchange.  I could get double the rupees
for my USD from the black market than I could get from a bank or Amex.  So I would exchange a 100 USD Amex
check on the black market for, say, 1000 rupees.  That 1000 rupees would buy me 200 USD in Amex checks,
and that 200 USD would then buy 2000 rupees on the black market.  I'm sure you get the picture.

The point is that when countries put currency restrictions in place you can look for plays like this.

If I may ask...why Morocco?  I've been there twice, and loved it.  Especially Marrakech.  But the
current political situation keeps me away.

Interesting I did the same thing kind of thing in argentina last year. The bitcoin "black market" is flurishing in argentina, that's originally where i got the idea from.

Why morrocco? I think it's a pretty stable place. Cost of living is very low, and the weather is good. It's not too far from europe either.

The only trick is finding a way of still keeping some income in EURO/USD.

[KornShell]

I live in Asia and maintain accounts in the US.  I can withdraw funds in local cash from ATMs, but get hit with a 2% "ATM access fee" every time I do so.  Many US banks will tag a 3% "foreign transaction fee" onto that, but not all do.  I can move funds electronically between my various US accounts over the Web but, as of now, cannot do this internationally.

The only problem I've found with this is that most, if not all, US banks and credit card companies require a US-based mailing address.  I’ve made a few attempts at getting The UPS Store to set up a box for me, but so far they have been unresponsive.  So I have a trustworthy friend provide this service, who also forwards any physical mail, if necessary.  It’s a hassle and somewhat risky, but it works.

There are no places to spend bitcoin here, so my dabbling in BTC is for online purchases only.  At least at this time.  Hopefully that will change.  (I’m trying to get my doctor to accept bitcoin in lieu of cash – we’ll see how that effort goes…)