Withdrawing Bitcoin off the radar

[Asiska02]

Not only do I want to avoid exchanges but also banks, which is currently the most convenient way to withdraw money, but if I were to move funds to a bank account, they'd get taxed at 24%, which is a huge percentage. I've also thought about Bitcoin ATMs, but the majority of them here require some sort of KYC and feature expensive fees, although they may still be a better option than bank transfers. Is there an actual, reliable way to exchange bitcoin for cash in hand? My best guess would be a P2P transaction in person, but that's quite unlikely.

One of the most difficult aspects of getting started with bitcoin is converting it into fiat currency. Those who live in countries that have strict regulation of bitcoin and collect large taxes from them have harmed the crypto world. A peer-to-peer transaction is the best option right now because exchanges have made it easier to do those transactions where they serve as the escrow.

Even so, one must be extra cautious when dealing with them because some of them can easily steal your coins, which would not be at the expense of the exchange. If bitcoin becomes a legal tender, almost everyone will have a wallet you can do transaction to without having to change it to fiat currency first.

[Lucius]

Believe me, spending 500EUR banknotes is the smallest issue you're going to face. There are so many ways to exchange it to smaller banknotes including deposit ATMs, bank branches etc.

Impossible. Euro is legal tender in the EU. The only reason they can refuse is because they have no smaller bills handy or some other technical reason. Otherwise, they're breaking the law and you can report them.

Legal tender aside, but each member of the EU has its own rules, so in some places you will even see a sign that clearly shows that you cannot pay with a 500 EUR bill. Today I read an article on a local portal about how a man filled fuel worth 50 EU and tried to pay with a 500 EUR bill, and not only that they did not accept that banknote, but he also experienced considerable inconvenience from the staff - some say that bill is called "Bin Laden" because of the assumption that it facilitated the financing of terrorism and money laundering.

Of course, after the banknote stopped being printed in 2016, it was not established that the financing of terrorism and money laundering had anything to do with banknotes of that value.

[Ultegra134]

how are you going to carry all that cash around? Let's assume you withdraw even $50,000. It will have to be declared when you leave the country.

If we think about 50.000 euros, it means 100 banknotes in denomination of of 500 euros. And yes, this amount should be declared when leaving the country. But if we only think about how to carry this amount, it's not too difficult to carry 100 banknotes, is it? They can easily fit inside a pocket.

My point was that you will most likely be questioned by authorities on the source of those funds and you'd have to admit that they were cashed out from cryptocurrency holdings or risk an arrest, or seizure of those funds.

Admitting that will of course lead to even more questions on where did you obtain the crypto from, since police deal with a ton of scammers that have a modulus operandi like that.

The distribution of €500 has stopped, but even if it hadn't, spending such a large amount is almost impossible. I remember having trouble even at the gas station, which handles quite a lot of money daily. Smaller notes, such as €50 or €100 ones, would be more preferable. Bringing a ton of cash through the airport is impossible without going through customs declaration; that's why GazetaBitcoin mentioned splitting the money into a few trips. On the other hand, having a decent amount of undeclared cash doesn't help at all, because you can't actually use them for large cash purchases.

Why do you think you will be questioned if you'll have this cash in your wallet? We're not talking about a suitcase full of money like they show it in movies, but a bunch of 500EUR banknotes in your wallet. Besides, you can rent a car and drive home and avoid all these security checks, customs etc.

Believe me, spending 500EUR banknotes is the smallest issue you're going to face. There are so many ways to exchange it to smaller banknotes including deposit ATMs, bank branches etc.

Large cash purchases is also not a problem. There are sellers and companies ready to do everything to make some profit. You can buy a $100k car with cash for example without an issue. The dealer will think of a way to do this. You certainly need to do research in which countries it's possible, in some countries you can get in trouble! 

Not really. I used to work at a gas station, and we generally avoided accepting €500 bills. Their distribution has stopped, and in order to exchange them for smaller bills at a bank, you have to declare how you acquired them and actually have a bank account with them; thus, your identity is somewhat given away. Moreover, as LoyceV already mentioned, the car needs to be registered and have its value declared. No new car dealership is going to declare it for a few thousand euros when there's documentation that they've bought it for way more.

Generally, everyone has the right to refuse to accept such a large bill, and as I've already mentioned, we usually didn't have the necessary change to return.

[molsewid]

Hello there,

As I was driving earlier, this thought came through my mind. I've been accumulating Bitcoin for quite some time now, and at some point eventually I'll have to withdraw it in fiat, at least some of it. I'm not sure when that time will come, and I'm definitely not selling for anything below $50,000, but that's another story. However, I've always kept my bitcoin away from exchanges, and I prefer that it stays that way for obvious reasons that have been discussed numerous times in the forum.

Not only do I want to avoid exchanges but also banks, which is currently the most convenient way to withdraw money, but if I were to move funds to a bank account, they'd get taxed at 24%, which is a huge percentage. I've also thought about Bitcoin ATMs, but the majority of them here require some sort of KYC and feature expensive fees, although they may still be a better option than bank transfers. Is there an actual, reliable way to exchange bitcoin for cash in hand? My best guess would be a P2P transaction in person, but that's quite unlikely.

A p2p is good thing and make sure it will happen personally but you should be careful of course, you are holding and want to trade a large amount of money and you will be dealing with most probably a person who doesn't know you and you doesn't know as well but I think some people I knew exchange their bitcoin inside the casino I knew someone here in our country. They are doing transactions inside the casino only. Withdrawing huge amount of money without having a big business is questionable to banks and you will be tag as launderer maybe try to withdraw little by little if you want bank I guess.

[cabron]

Seem difficult these days to keep your wallet out of the radar from exchanges and transactions that could link your account to a network that is KYCed.

I was thinking recently of just scouting for stores that accept BTC and just negotiating with the merchant itself for less than market price I guess. This is possible since the merchant is probably thinking the same completely out of the radar.