Wall Observer BTC/USD - Bitcoin price movement tracking & discussion

[fabiorem]

I was on the bus tuesday, going to a doctor, when I thought on Jeff Garzik and the S2X FUD in November.

I asked myself, what had happened to that guy.

Now I come here and read he is behind a new fork, and right that one where Satoshi is quoted as having said that we have to trust central banks.

The world keeps turning.

[kurious]

I hope you experienced guys can advise:

Which exchange is best to use to change a LARGE amount of BTC into USD and deposit it into a bank acc in the UK plz.
ie:  
It's important to try and keep the whole transaction  immune to the volatility of BTC so the the deposited USD amount is as close to the initial amount as possible.

I would have said Bitstamp.  BUT:

1. They can ask you to prove where the BTC came from at the point you try to withdraw cash.  I managed to satisfy them, but it took time and if they had not been satisfied I suspect they might have refused.  Scary while it was held in suspense, which it was.

2. They are now getting very slow for withdrawals - over a week now to even confirm (USD) withdrawal - let alone see it in your bank.  I don't know about SEPA, as I no longer use this method (see 3 below).

3. When you sell for USD and they withdraw USD for you, they change it into Euros via a Slovenian bank, then send it as Euros (via SEPA) to your UK bank (as Euros), who will then convert to GBP.  This friction is expensive.  In the end I found the best thing to do is set up a UK USD account and use 'International wire transfer' to transfer USD.  You can then use a Forex broker to give you a good rate for USD to GBP.

Not very helpful, but I think very few exchanges are easy right now for UK BTC - cash.  generally I trust Bitstamp - but the slowness is now concerning.

[bitserve]

I hope you experienced guys can advise:

Which exchange is best to use to change a LARGE amount of BTC into USD and deposit it into a bank acc in the UK plz.
ie:  
It's important to try and keep the whole transaction  immune to the volatility of BTC so the the deposited USD amount is as close to the initial amount as possible.

I would have said Bitstamp.  BUT:

1. They can ask you to prove where the BTC came from at the point you try to withdraw cash.  I managed to satisfy them, but it took time and if they had not been satisfied I suspect they might have refused.  Scary while it was held in suspense, which it was.

2. They are now getting very slow for withdrawals - over a week now to even confirm (USD) withdrawal - let alone see it in your bank.  I don't know about SEPA, as I no longer use this method (see 3 below).

3. When you sell for USD and they withdraw USD for you, they change it into Euros via a Slovenian bank, then send it as Euros (via SEPA) to your UK bank (as Euros), who will then convert to GBP.  This friction is expensive.  In the end I found the best thing to do is set up a UK USD account and use 'International wire transfer' to transfer USD.  You can then use a Forex broker to give you a good rate for USD to GBP.

Not very helpful, but I think very few exchanges are easy right now for UK BTC - Cash.  generally I trust Bitstamp - but the slowness is now concerning.

Hey kurious, can you elaborate more on the subject of proving where the BTC came from?

[kurious]

I hope you experienced guys can advise:

Which exchange is best to use to change a LARGE amount of BTC into USD and deposit it into a bank acc in the UK plz.
ie:  
It's important to try and keep the whole transaction  immune to the volatility of BTC so the the deposited USD amount is as close to the initial amount as possible.

I would have said Bitstamp.  BUT:

1. They can ask you to prove where the BTC came from at the point you try to withdraw cash.  I managed to satisfy them, but it took time and if they had not been satisfied I suspect they might have refused.  Scary while it was held in suspense, which it was.

2. They are now getting very slow for withdrawals - over a week now to even confirm (USD) withdrawal - let alone see it in your bank.  I don't know about SEPA, as I no longer use this method (see 3 below).

3. When you sell for USD and they withdraw USD for you, they change it into Euros via a Slovenian bank, then send it as Euros (via SEPA) to your UK bank (as Euros), who will then convert to GBP.  This friction is expensive.  In the end I found the best thing to do is set up a UK USD account and use 'International wire transfer' to transfer USD.  You can then use a Forex broker to give you a good rate for USD to GBP.

Not very helpful, but I think very few exchanges are easy right now for UK BTC - Cash.  generally I trust Bitstamp - but the slowness is now concerning.

Hey kurious, can you elaborate more on the subject of proving where the BTC came from?

They could tell a lot of it was direct from Polo (which I guess is easy enough for them to do).   I sent some evidence of my trading alts there - more than I would like to have done - but my money was locked in while they 'considered my withdrawal'.  I have been registered on Bitstamp since 2012, so I was concerned to be asked, but of course I was suddenly sending BTC in and selling it in fairly large amounts.  I am not sure everyone will be treated this way, but I was.  I am declaring profits for tax purposes and doing my best to stay legit, too. 

They were polite at all times (and I made sure I was, too) and I had a couple of small withdrawals first before I tried a larger one, which was the point at which they started to ask.

[aesma]

I hope you experienced guys can advise:

Which exchange is best to use to change a LARGE amount of BTC into USD and deposit it into a bank acc in the UK plz.
ie: 
It's important to try and keep the whole transaction  immune to the volatility of BTC so the the deposited USD amount is as close to the initial amount as possible.

I don't understand your question. Initially it seems you're talking about selling BTC, then by the end I get the impression you want to move USD around, using BTC. If the latter, I wouldn't use BTC right now !

If you're talking about selling, well, you sell at the price you're comfortable with, nobody can predict the price 10 minutes from now !

With such a transaction I would be more worried about KYC, anti-laundering regulations, what the bank will say when the large amount of money will arrive, what taxes might have to be paid, etc.

[Logic-Elliven]

Thx for the replies and advice guys.

I was phoned by a friend who does gold mining.  Plant setup etc.
He has an investor who wants to put in 700 BTC in a hurry. (Probably due to the ever present, almost universal price correction concerns)

He is worried about the volatility of BTC and wants to get it changed into USD and into a company acc (HSBC) in the UK asap.
(Personally I think he might be surprised at just how many businesses would be happy to accept BTC for the required equipment, but he does not think that way)

I found this:
https://news.bitcoin.com/otc-trading-whales-bitcoin/

And have contacted
https://www.itbit.com/
and
https://binaryfin.com

It goes without saying that these institutions need to properly checked out and be legit.
Does anyone have any experience here?

I am way out of my depth here and would not have asked so publicly had time not been of the essence.

[bitserve]

I hope you experienced guys can advise:

Which exchange is best to use to change a LARGE amount of BTC into USD and deposit it into a bank acc in the UK plz.
ie:  
It's important to try and keep the whole transaction  immune to the volatility of BTC so the the deposited USD amount is as close to the initial amount as possible.

I would have said Bitstamp.  BUT:

1. They can ask you to prove where the BTC came from at the point you try to withdraw cash.  I managed to satisfy them, but it took time and if they had not been satisfied I suspect they might have refused.  Scary while it was held in suspense, which it was.

2. They are now getting very slow for withdrawals - over a week now to even confirm (USD) withdrawal - let alone see it in your bank.  I don't know about SEPA, as I no longer use this method (see 3 below).

3. When you sell for USD and they withdraw USD for you, they change it into Euros via a Slovenian bank, then send it as Euros (via SEPA) to your UK bank (as Euros), who will then convert to GBP.  This friction is expensive.  In the end I found the best thing to do is set up a UK USD account and use 'International wire transfer' to transfer USD.  You can then use a Forex broker to give you a good rate for USD to GBP.

Not very helpful, but I think very few exchanges are easy right now for UK BTC - Cash.  generally I trust Bitstamp - but the slowness is now concerning.

Hey kurious, can you elaborate more on the subject of proving where the BTC came from?

They could tell a lot of it was direct from Polo (which I guess is easy enough for them to do).   I sent some evidence of my trading alts there - more than I would like to have done - but my money was locked in while they 'considered my withdrawal'.  I have been registered on Bitstamp since 2012, so I was concerned to be asked, but of course I was suddenly sending BTC in and selling it in fairly large amounts.  I am not sure everyone will be treated this way, but I was.  I am declaring profits for tax purposes and doing my best to stay legit, too.  

They were polite at all times (and I made sure I was, too) and I had a couple of small withdrawals first before I tried a larger one, which was the point at which they started to ask.

I see, I was thinking about something more on the line such as send me your previous years tax reports so that I can see you declare you have XXXX bitcoins. Or... send me a certificate issued from the exchange your bought it from and another one issued by your bank for each of your transfers to buy those BTC.....

What you are saying bassically looks like someone could just "launder" whatever passing it before through another exchange or something like that.... But my concern is... what happens if what I am trying to withdraw is some of the first Bitcoins I bought using localbitcoins? What if they have been in some paper wallets since 2013 and after sitting on a hardware wallet since just before sending it to Bitstamp?

Can I ask what was the quantity that passed and/or when it triggered their threshold? Of course, I would understand if you don't feel like sharing that info

[bitserve]

Thx for the replies and advice guys.

I was phoned by a friend who does gold mining.  Plant setup etc.
He has an investor who wants to put in 700 BTC in a hurry. (Probably due to the ever present, almost universal price correction concerns)

He is worried about the volatility of BTC and wants to get it changed into USD and into a company acc (HSBC) in the UK asap.
(Personally I think he might be surprised at just how many businesses would be happy to accept BTC for the required equipment, but he does not think that way)

I found this:
https://news.bitcoin.com/otc-trading-whales-bitcoin/

And have contacted
https://www.itbit.com/
and
https://binaryfin.com

It goes without saying that these institutions need to properly checked out and be legit.
Does anyone have any experience here?

I am way out of my depth here and would not have asked so publicly had time not been of the essence.

Let's see if I get it correctly... Your friend does not have the BTC, but someone wants to invest in his business using BTC and he wants to convert it to USD inmediately?

If that is correct, your friend better do the deal with a broker that could also carry on the due diligence over those Bitcoins or he could end up with some sort of "tainted" ones and be in big trouble. Maybe Gemini or any other of the big ones with dedicated OTC desks who will also be able guide him through all the steps of the transaction.

[HairyMaclairy]

is your friend a Nigerian prince?

[svdleer]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/7jpkpx/well_boys_hes_back_the_great_17250_wall_and_its/

[orpington]

is your friend a Nigerian prince?

thats what I was thinking. lol

[Phil_S]

Now I come here and read he is behind a new fork, and right that one where Satoshi is quoted as having said that we have to trust central banks.

You understand that first URL is real and another URL is satire, right?

[Logic-Elliven]

Thx for the replies and advice guys.

I was phoned by a friend who does gold mining.  Plant setup etc.
He has an investor who wants to put in 700 BTC in a hurry. (Probably due to the ever present, almost universal price correction concerns)

He is worried about the volatility of BTC and wants to get it changed into USD and into a company acc (HSBC) in the UK asap.
(Personally I think he might be surprised at just how many businesses would be happy to accept BTC for the required equipment, but he does not think that way)

I found this:
https://news.bitcoin.com/otc-trading-whales-bitcoin/

And have contacted
https://www.itbit.com/
and
https://binaryfin.com

It goes without saying that these institutions need to properly checked out and be legit.
Does anyone have any experience here?

I am way out of my depth here and would not have asked so publicly had time not been of the essence.

Let's see if I get it correctly... Your friend does not have the BTC, but someone wants to invest in his business using BTC and he wants to convert it to USD inmediately?

If that is correct, your friend better do the deal with a broker that could also carry on the due diligence over those Bitcoins or he could end up with some sort of "tainted" ones and be in big trouble. Maybe Gemini or any other of the big ones with dedicated OTC desks who will also be able guide him through all the steps of the transaction.

Thats correct.
He is worried about the volatility of BTC and also says his suppliers etc "haven't even heard of BTC!"  
(I think he should ask them before jumping to conclusions)
Thx for the advice.
Thx everyone who replied!  

Are
https://www.itbit.com/
and
https://binaryfin.com
legit as stated?

I am adding
Gemini
Bitstamp
to the list of possibles.
Any other recommendations?

[bitserve]

Thx for the replies and advice guys.

I was phoned by a friend who does gold mining.  Plant setup etc.
He has an investor who wants to put in 700 BTC in a hurry. (Probably due to the ever present, almost universal price correction concerns)

He is worried about the volatility of BTC and wants to get it changed into USD and into a company acc (HSBC) in the UK asap.
(Personally I think he might be surprised at just how many businesses would be happy to accept BTC for the required equipment, but he does not think that way)

I found this:
https://news.bitcoin.com/otc-trading-whales-bitcoin/

And have contacted
https://www.itbit.com/
and
https://binaryfin.com

It goes without saying that these institutions need to properly checked out and be legit.
Does anyone have any experience here?

I am way out of my depth here and would not have asked so publicly had time not been of the essence.

Let's see if I get it correctly... Your friend does not have the BTC, but someone wants to invest in his business using BTC and he wants to convert it to USD inmediately?

If that is correct, your friend better do the deal with a broker that could also carry on the due diligence over those Bitcoins or he could end up with some sort of "tainted" ones and be in big trouble. Maybe Gemini or any other of the big ones with dedicated OTC desks who will also be able guide him through all the steps of the transaction.

Thats correct.
He is worried about the volatility of BTC and also says his suppliers etc "haven't even heard of BTC!"  
(I think he should ask them before jumping to conclusions)
Thx for the advice.
Thx everyone who replied!  

Are
https://www.itbit.com/
and
https://binaryfin.com
legit as stated?

I am adding
Gemini
Bitstamp
to the list of possibles.
Any other recommendations?

Yes. I would ask the "investor" to send a signed message proving he controls that amount of BTC before initiating conversations with the broker/exchange. No need to lose more time or effort until at least that simple step has been satisfied.

That's all I can say, this is well over my direct experience.

[Logic-Elliven]

is your friend a Nigerian prince?

 
The mining operations are in Darkest Africa so its possible!

However; I have met and worked with these people, so doubt whether they are being led up the garden path.

[kurious]

I hope you experienced guys can advise:

Which exchange is best to use to change a LARGE amount of BTC into USD and deposit it into a bank acc in the UK plz.
ie:  
It's important to try and keep the whole transaction  immune to the volatility of BTC so the the deposited USD amount is as close to the initial amount as possible.

I would have said Bitstamp.  BUT:

1. They can ask you to prove where the BTC came from at the point you try to withdraw cash.  I managed to satisfy them, but it took time and if they had not been satisfied I suspect they might have refused.  Scary while it was held in suspense, which it was.

2. They are now getting very slow for withdrawals - over a week now to even confirm (USD) withdrawal - let alone see it in your bank.  I don't know about SEPA, as I no longer use this method (see 3 below).

3. When you sell for USD and they withdraw USD for you, they change it into Euros via a Slovenian bank, then send it as Euros (via SEPA) to your UK bank (as Euros), who will then convert to GBP.  This friction is expensive.  In the end I found the best thing to do is set up a UK USD account and use 'International wire transfer' to transfer USD.  You can then use a Forex broker to give you a good rate for USD to GBP.

Not very helpful, but I think very few exchanges are easy right now for UK BTC - Cash.  generally I trust Bitstamp - but the slowness is now concerning.

Hey kurious, can you elaborate more on the subject of proving where the BTC came from?

They could tell a lot of it was direct from Polo (which I guess is easy enough for them to do).   I sent some evidence of my trading alts there - more than I would like to have done - but my money was locked in while they 'considered my withdrawal'.  I have been registered on Bitstamp since 2012, so I was concerned to be asked, but of course I was suddenly sending BTC in and selling it in fairly large amounts.  I am not sure everyone will be treated this way, but I was.  I am declaring profits for tax purposes and doing my best to stay legit, too.  

They were polite at all times (and I made sure I was, too) and I had a couple of small withdrawals first before I tried a larger one, which was the point at which they started to ask.

I see, I was thinking about something more on the line such as send me your previous years tax reports so that I can see you declare you have XXXX bitcoins. Or... send me a certificate issued from the exchange your bought it from and another one issued by your bank for each of your transfers to buy those BTC.....

What you are saying bassically looks like someone could just "launder" whatever passing it before through another exchange or something like that.... But my concern is... what happens if what I am trying to withdraw is some of the first Bitcoins I bought using localbitcoins? What if they have been in some paper wallets since 2013 and after sitting on a hardware wallet since just before sending it to Bitstamp?

Can I ask what was the quantity that passed and/or when it triggered their threshold? Of course, I would understand if you don't feel like sharing that info

In the UK you don't declare assets, only capital gains and /or income.  I had no significant sales until early 2017, so no tax work on paper to prove anything like that.  I think they are just paying 'lip-service'/ to KYC /AML to be honest.   As long as you make some sort of effort to say you're legit and they have your passport and bank details, I don't see how much more information would prove anything.  My guess is, they don't want to ask, but feel they have to.  I opened up and said 'OK - here is some stuff, what else do you need?' and they basically said 'Ok, that seems ok - carry on'

I cannot say how they will deal with everyone, but since they froze withdrawals for me, you should be aware that larger amounts may involve delays and or hassle to get passed.

As someone mentioned earlier - don't stick a load of BTC in one exchange and wait until it's sold before finding out they won't send the cash.

Will PM you on your last question.

[bitcoinvest]

why price is 13.375€ on Kraken and on Gdax is 14.182€ ?
i see this the last days. why is that?

[svdleer]

why price is 13.375€ on Kraken and on Gdax is 14.182€ ?
i see this the last days. why is that?

Price on a exchange is demand driven. you can make a gamble to use multiple exchanges, thats called arbitrage, see : https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/04/041504.asp

[bitcoinvest]

why price is 13.375€ on Kraken and on Gdax is 14.182€ ?
i see this the last days. why is that?

Price on a exchange is demand driven. you can make a gamble to use multiple exchanges, thats called arbitrage, see : https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/04/041504.asp

i am in this crypto world enough to know this answer, yet thanks for answering.
i mean is something else behind that?

[HairyMaclairy]

Because Kraken is shit and institutions probably do not want to play in their sandpit.