Is it completely legal in the US to buy BTC on one exchange and sell on another?

[ProfessionalGoogler]

I couldn't find a completely straight answer on this when relating to Bitcoins..

If you push $10K/day doing this for example, IS IT completely legal within the USA? You of course are going to raise red flags (banks calling asking for information etc). So it would HAVE to be completely legal..

I appreciate your help, thank you!

[dothebeats]

If you have completely submitted yourself in the KYC regulations on each of the exchanges you might use, then you don't need to worry about raising red flags with ypur actions.

[Holliday]

Yes (as long as you do all of the appropriate reporting and pay your taxes).

IANAL.

[Possum577]

Yes, completely legal.

Any information provided in this post, while likely blanketed in brilliance, should not be interpreted as legal, financial, or tax advice. Please consult a legal, financial, or tax advisor to gain expert advice. To be graced with the brilliance that comes from the smartest possum on the planet, please continue to consult this Form.

[Harry Hood]

Yes (as long as you do all of the appropriate reporting and pay your taxes).

IANAL.

Just a guess here but IANAL stands for "I am not a lawyer", yes?

If you have completely submitted yourself in the KYC regulations on each of the exchanges you might use, then you don't need to worry about raising red flags with ypur actions.

...and KYC is "know your customer"...just in case anyone was wondering.

[bri912678]

Coinbase monitors its customer's accounts for high volume activity inconsistent with personal use, and closes then irrespective of whether selling on another exchange is legal or not. People who buy there and sell on Localbitcoins have been known to have their Coinbase accounts closed for it.

https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/1905681-localbitcoins-and-coinbase

Coinbase customers may not, however, use their Coinbase Accounts to engage as a business in the exchange of virtual currency for fiat currency, funds, or other virtual currency. Coinbase reserves the right to limit your account use if we detect activity which constitutes a violation of this policy and/or our User Terms. We further reserve the right to limit your account use if your account is associated with high-volume activity inconsistent with personal use.

[dothebeats]

Coinbase monitors its customer's accounts for high volume activity inconsistent with personal use, and closes then irrespective of whether selling on another exchange is legal or not. People who buy there and sell on Localbitcoins have been known to have their Coinbase accounts closed for it.

https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/1905681-localbitcoins-and-coinbase

Coinbase customers may not, however, use their Coinbase Accounts to engage as a business in the exchange of virtual currency for fiat currency, funds, or other virtual currency. Coinbase reserves the right to limit your account use if we detect activity which constitutes a violation of this policy and/or our User Terms. We further reserve the right to limit your account use if your account is associated with high-volume activity inconsistent with personal use.

Seems like not a good way to go if you can't mix your coins properly before selling them on lbc. You can avoid your account being closed only if you know how to hide the coins you bought.

[Harry Hood]

There's nothing that stops someone who has a Coinbase account to transfer their funds to another bitcoin address, on another exchange, and then sell those bitcoin for fiat.

The high activity is completely different, but that's probably because Coinbase doesn't want to support money laundering from fiat to BTC.

The OP is really asking "how much $ can I buy with bitcoin per day?" Coinbase will definitely put a halt to $10k per day. AND the US bank from which you make the transactions will have to report any transaction for $10,000 or more to the Feds.

Coinbase monitors its customer's accounts for high volume activity inconsistent with personal use, and closes then irrespective of whether selling on another exchange is legal or not. People who buy there and sell on Localbitcoins have been known to have their Coinbase accounts closed for it.

https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/1905681-localbitcoins-and-coinbase

Coinbase customers may not, however, use their Coinbase Accounts to engage as a business in the exchange of virtual currency for fiat currency, funds, or other virtual currency. Coinbase reserves the right to limit your account use if we detect activity which constitutes a violation of this policy and/or our User Terms. We further reserve the right to limit your account use if your account is associated with high-volume activity inconsistent with personal use.

[ProfessionalGoogler]

There's nothing that stops someone who has a Coinbase account to transfer their funds to another bitcoin address, on another exchange, and then sell those bitcoin for fiat.

The high activity is completely different, but that's probably because Coinbase doesn't want to support money laundering from fiat to BTC.

The OP is really asking "how much $ can I buy with bitcoin per day?" Coinbase will definitely put a halt to $10k per day. AND the US bank from which you make the transactions will have to report any transaction for $10,000 or more to the Feds.

Coinbase monitors its customer's accounts for high volume activity inconsistent with personal use, and closes then irrespective of whether selling on another exchange is legal or not. People who buy there and sell on Localbitcoins have been known to have their Coinbase accounts closed for it.

https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/1905681-localbitcoins-and-coinbase

Coinbase customers may not, however, use their Coinbase Accounts to engage as a business in the exchange of virtual currency for fiat currency, funds, or other virtual currency. Coinbase reserves the right to limit your account use if we detect activity which constitutes a violation of this policy and/or our User Terms. We further reserve the right to limit your account use if your account is associated with high-volume activity inconsistent with personal use.

Exactly which is why it must be legal since it puts you in the cross hairs of governments whether its legal or not.

I think coinbase is a joke anyway, you shouldn't call yourself a exchange if it cannot be used for business use, it seems they want to be a wallet more than a legit exchange. 

[e1ghtSpace]

You should be good as long as you aren't trading high volumes of bitcoin because that could be a red flag for drug related activities or something along those lines.

[dothebeats]

You should be good as long as you aren't trading high volumes of bitcoin because that could be a red flag for drug related activities or something along those lines.

Actually, you can do high volume trades PROVIDED that you will be submitting to all of the exchange's ToS and all the necessary regulations needed to make such transactions. You're all good once you did just that; no red flags or hassles.

[cjmoles]

I couldn't find a completely straight answer on this when relating to Bitcoins..

If you push $10K/day doing this for example, IS IT completely legal within the USA? You of course are going to raise red flags (banks calling asking for information etc). So it would HAVE to be completely legal..

I appreciate your help, thank you!

Are you talking about arbitrage?  Arbitrage is a completely legitimate trading strategy employed by some of the best in the market and it is legal.  However, if you're talking about some sort of laundering process or mixing maneuver, then I'd look to a professional to answer that question before committing large amounts of currency. 

[subwoofer12]

People who buy there and sell on Localbitcoins have been known to have their Coinbase accounts closed for it.

That's why you should always use a mixing service when transferring out of your Coinbase wallet. If your account raises red flags you'll start getting e-mails from their compliance team

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/30vbkn/coinbase_compliance_email_worse_than_any_bank_i/

[SwagGirl]

govt consider you suspicious just for doing high volumes?!  Regulations force you to become more legit than using fiat ie, pay more taxes get the gov nose in your business. nobody in their right mind would use crytpo for something illegal.

[Kprawn]

If you can explain your reason and if it is legal, you need not worry about the red flags. It is just a bit of inconvenience if you have to constantly explain yourself when you get

these calls. This is a example given by Coinbase --> " Suppose your daily buy limit is $10,000 and you transfer $1,000 to your Coinbase Exchange balance. Your remaining buy limit for the day will now be $9,000. However, if you then transfer $1,000 from the Exchange, your remaining buy limit will increase back to $10,000. Coinbase limits the amount of buying and selling you can perform each day both in order to comply with regulations, and as a security precaution. "

https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/1995990-coinbase-exchange-limits-explained

[makcik]

Yes, it is completely legal to buy btc in US on exchange ad sell on another. Very few people know about it, but this can bring a lot of benefits and profit for you. It's completely legal and authorised by govt. So no problems here.

[Arcteryx]

Would it be more profitable to buy on Chinese exchange and sell on US market?
It would be harder for US based exchanges to trace those trades there, due to high trading volume.

[Quickseller]

Coinbase monitors its customer's accounts for high volume activity inconsistent with personal use, and closes then irrespective of whether selling on another exchange is legal or not. People who buy there and sell on Localbitcoins have been known to have their Coinbase accounts closed for it.

https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/1905681-localbitcoins-and-coinbase

Coinbase customers may not, however, use their Coinbase Accounts to engage as a business in the exchange of virtual currency for fiat currency, funds, or other virtual currency. Coinbase reserves the right to limit your account use if we detect activity which constitutes a violation of this policy and/or our User Terms. We further reserve the right to limit your account use if your account is associated with high-volume activity inconsistent with personal use.

Coinbase TOS is not the law. What they are referring to is buying BTC on coinbase and then selling it at a premium on LBC, and are doing so because of the high risks associated with selling on LBC (both financial and legal).

If you were to engage in arb trading with coinbase as one of the exchanges then they might not be as upset as if you were buying on coinbase and then turning around and selling on LBC.

IMO, for the most part arb trading is probably not going to be profitable due to the length of time is takes to get fiat out on an exchange and because of trading fees charged for removing liquidity from an exchange's order book

[gentlemand]

Legality won't be your problem. Breaching the terms and conditions of the private companies you're using may well be. There are a lot of eyes on them.

[joecooin]

I find it crazy that someone from the land of the free is wondering if they will be jailed by the prince of peace for buying and selling digital tokens.

Juat sayin'.

Joe