How safe are physical exchanges in your neighborhood.

[Iranus]

Physical exchangers are not a thing here in Venezuela. Our authorities are corrupt and they will likely harrass merchants and even clients, knowing they have Bitcoin holdings.

See, one of the main reasons for any Venezuelan to embrace Bitcoin and Stable coins is to protect our assets from inflation and also to have a safe and stealthy way to keep our money off the hands and sight of crooks.

So, in short, there is no physical exchanger here and if there was they would not be safe, sadly, but it is how things are.

not seeing any physical exchange where i am currently residing as well. if you are into crypto, it is always convenient to trade via online exchanges. just few taps on your phone and you're good to go. so don't know why people will use physical exchange if you can easily access them online?
also, you don't need to worry about your security as no one will know your transactions online, if you will keep your txs discreet.

Some people don't like online exchanges because they need KYC, which will affect their privacy, while a physical exchange is simpler without personal information. I have also never used physical exchange, but each has its pros and cons, in my opinion. Physical exchange is a P2P exchange, it also has disadvantages like vulnerability if someone tries to trap you, you don't reveal your identity to exchanges, but you need to make sure that the person P2P exchange is trustworthy...Otherwise, you will also be in more trouble if you are living in a country where cryptocurrency is not legal yet.

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[Lorence.xD]

From my experience, it's always included a risk and when I say risk it's literally a super risky thing to do. Because it's prone to illegal activities such as scamming which I have experienced, they might gave you an ID as a proof of legitimation but that is not enough especially if you already have the feeling of doubt to the person. Also crime might be present in this kind of transactions since they could easily harm people when they see them physically or worse given them threat as they saw their identity of the person already. This is what I love in Bitcoin where you could have a transaction anonymously.

[Z390]

Most physical exchanges in my country turned into a scam business within a short period of time and this have made people not to trust any such businesses again.

Being physical doesn't make it safe and in fact, it's more risky, crypto is safer because it's online, no one will know how much Mr John's crypto worth, we can't see each other in real life, and I could be a millionaire and nobody will know, this makes crypto way safer for investors and holders.

You can easily get tracked back to your home if you have a lot of cryptos, and anonymity is broken if you do business with any physical exchange.

[irhact]

~Do you think those dealers are safe?
~And what's the fate  of physical  cryptocurrency exchanges(r) in your country?

Physical exchange aren't advisable because they're not safe, they would prevent you from been scammed but also exposed your info to authorities and other government officials that needs your information. This exchange has to be registered and the government could be tracking transaction going on over there to prevent money launderers from making used of the exchange to wash their dirty money .

Your safety is not guaranteed when you make use of physical exchange as you could be tracked back to your apartment and those who were monitoring you could do harm to you to steal your money from you hand. Physical exchange doesn't provide privacy which is needed.

[sokani]

I believe  the topic speaks volume for itself as it is already self explanatory.
This question was born out of a real life experience  where a petty trader was publicly  harassed by some uniformed security  personnels claiming  to be some police  officers and after some investigations the security  personnels claimed that the woman aided some criminal  activities  as well as some internet fraud simply because she made her private exchanges public and the government as some point also frowns  at the use of bitcoin  in my country.

Now my worries is that, this singular act has driven alot of fear to some low key bitcoin holders in my neighborhood  even myself and there are shops I hope in town that operate physical  exchanges.
~Do you think those dealers are safe?
~And what's the fate  of physical  cryptocurrency exchanges(r) in your country?

Personally I have not come across any physical exchange before and I don't think I would want to trade my asset with one since I can always carry out my trade using my phone and wherever I am. But you and I know that police are hustlers. The arrest was not genuine because they did not produce an arrest warrant, they probably wanted to scare the woman and collect some money from her. The assertion that cryptocurrency has been ban in Nigeria is not true because their has not been a formal statement from the government about the ban of cryptocurrency. The central bank only warned other banks to distance themselves from crypto-related activities.

[bayu7adi]

The first thing to consider is the regulatory environment surrounding Bitcoin in your country. If there are no restrictions whatsoever, owning Bitcoin wouldn't cause much concern. When Bitcoin has clear regulations regarding its usage by residents, small-scale sellers will gain more confidence in introducing their own exchanges, knowing they are not breaking any rules.

~Do you think those dealers are safe?

Now, let's talk about the reputation of the dealer. Trusted dealers usually have fair regulations for both parties involved in a transaction. This includes how identity and reputation can serve as guarantees.

~And what's the fate  of physical  cryptocurrency exchanges(r) in your country?

Digital exchanges are more dominant here, as only about 5%-7% of the population is aware of Bitcoin. Personally, I prefer exchanging cryptocurrencies for fiat using exchange platforms. The prices are more up-to-date, and the process is relatively quick. After that, I withdraw the funds from an ATM for daily needs.

[Faisal2202]

~Do you think those dealers are safe?
~And what's the fate  of physical  cryptocurrency exchanges(r) in your country?

First of all, if crypto is banned in your country and you still doing it then you should avoid making it public. But still, there are many cases i have observed in mine too, like when crypto was banned last year maybe it was 2021 (idk which year was that) but at the time, crypto was banned in my country and authorities caught many traders in big cities only and they blocked more than 1000 websites directly related to cryptocurrency exchanging activities. But that ban was removed in 2022's last quarter and then again crypto is declared banned the previous month and there has been much unofficial news about catching those who are involved in cryptocurrency even Binance said on its Twitter that, we are working on it. This indicates that this time our government is serious and they really want to catch someone (involved in crypto). But still, many YouTubers are making live trading videos while sitting in the country where it is banned and using the cryptocurrency publicly and even sharing signals and other ideas plus advice for traders and holders and for any crypto geek. And no one is asking them.

The point is, i do not think that sharing your exchange on which you trade crypto in a country where crypto is banned will get you caught. I think that the trader might be involved in something. i hope that's not true but still, the government needs an excuse to put someone in.

[Kakmakr]

Well, I always make sure I go to a place where they have CCTV for the exchange... so that the people that I trade with will know that they are on CCTV, if they want to do something funny. I also do not go alone and I make sure that I am not followed after the exchange took place.

The best thing to do is to go to Bitcoin meetups, where you build trust with small exchanges with other people that you meet there. We do this in a local pub or restaurant... so we make a lot of new friends. 

[Sim_card]

I can only say about myself,I have a physical exchange close to my street but it is run by my neighbour. What I do is that anytime that I want to exchange fiat to bitcoin or vice versa,I communicate with him on phone and he will tell me to hold on till when he is back from work. When he is back,he calls me to his house and we have our transaction in his place. It is either I will transfer some fraction of btc to his wallet and he gives me cash or I give him cash and he transfers the fraction of bitcoin that I paid for. This is the safest way I run my transaction with physical exchange. I guess because he is my neighbour that is why,everything goes smoothly or I am just lucky to have a good guy.

[leonair]

I have never used a physical exchanger because there is no physical exchanger in my city in my country.  So I have no experience in this matter.  Because of this I cannot provide any effective or potential feedback here. I mostly exchange my bitcoins from online centralized exchanges and cash out bitcoins using P2P services.  It is very risky but I have to use it as there is no better way to exchange or convert bitcoins in my country.

[retreat]

In my own country, private exchange is allowed, either for crypto or fiat, but only if it's done online, if it's offline and opens it publicly of course it will be prosecuted by the government for violating the law. Moreover doing exchange online is much more efficient than offline. I'm quite surprised why she opened it offline knowing that she doesn't have permission for it. So it's not surprising that she was immediately prosecuted by the government.

[kryptqnick]

I've seen some people meeting up and performing crypto-to-fiat exchange in person, I believe, but it was a long time ago, and I haven't done it personally. Also, it's not really an exchange as a place/company, even though an exchange of currencies is taking place there. I've also looked into actual physical exchanges as places where you come to something like an office, and perform an exchange. The reviews were positive, the photos looked safe, but in the end I decided against going there. I just feel like online exchanges are more detached and thus much easier to perform, so I stick to those.

[Texac]

I have never used a physical exchanger because there is no physical exchanger in my city in my country.  So I have no experience in this matter.  Because of this I cannot provide any effective or potential feedback here. I mostly exchange my bitcoins from online centralized exchanges and cash out bitcoins using P2P services.  It is very risky but I have to use it as there is no better way to exchange or convert bitcoins in my country.

I am also using online exchanges to buy and sell my bitcoins and use their P2P service to convert bitcoin to my national currency.  but I don't see any risk, as long as we're not using centralized exchanges to store assets for a long time and we're using CEX for the purposes they were made for.
For identity, the comparison between online exchange and physical exchange is not different.  when you use an offline exchange, other people will also know you have bitcoins, and if it's unfortunately, a government person, you'll be in more trouble.

[serjent05]

I have never used a physical exchanger because there is no physical exchanger in my city in my country.  So I have no experience in this matter.  Because of this I cannot provide any effective or potential feedback here. I mostly exchange my bitcoins from online centralized exchanges and cash out bitcoins using P2P services.  It is very risky but I have to use it as there is no better way to exchange or convert bitcoins in my country.

I am also using online exchanges to buy and sell my bitcoins and use their P2P service to convert bitcoin to my national currency.  but I don't see any risk, as long as we're not using centralized exchanges to store assets for a long time and we're using CEX for the purposes they were made for.

I also prefer online transactions to physical transactions because I feel more secure doing transactions online.  Since there is no physical appearance we know that we are far from harm unlike going to physical exchanges.  It saves time and effort doing transactions online aside from being safe doing transactions at home.

For identity, the comparison between online exchange and physical exchange is not different.  when you use an offline exchange, other people will also know you have bitcoins, and if it's unfortunately, a government person, you'll be in more trouble.

This depends on which country you are. If you are in a country that banned Bitcoin and yet you indulge yourself in Bitcoin transactions and the government person knows about it, then you will really get in trouble because you are doing an illegal trade.  While in my country, even if you are seen by government personnel transacting in Bitcoin, that person won't bother since Bitcoin is allowed in my country.

[qwertyup23]

I have never used a physical exchange so I don't have useful feedback to contribute to the topic. But if you are worried about your security, try to exchange amounts where you don't have to show an ID or fill in paperwork that leave a trail that could be used against you. Shops like that usually have a threshold where no KYC is required. If you want to exchange more, you can always go in twice, use several different shops in town, or have a friend help you out and exchange a bit in your name.

Before, there used to be a physical ATM where you can convert your BTC/cryptocurrencies to our desired currency.

Though I have seen some people used it, I have never used or utilized such ATM. In addition, I also read in our local tabloid that majority of these ATMs consisted of errors that will not dispose of your cash but eat your BTCs in the process.

To answer your question OP, physical exchanges in my country are almost impossible to witness due to the existence of our local exchange. This local exchange converts our cryptocurrencies to our local currencies in which you can cash out to different pawnshops that offer money services.

[CarnagexD]

I have never used a physical exchange so I don't have useful feedback to contribute to the topic. But if you are worried about your security, try to exchange amounts where you don't have to show an ID or fill in paperwork that leave a trail that could be used against you. Shops like that usually have a threshold where no KYC is required. If you want to exchange more, you can always go in twice, use several different shops in town, or have a friend help you out and exchange a bit in your name.

Before, there used to be a physical ATM where you can convert your BTC/cryptocurrencies to our desired currency.

Though I have seen some people used it, I have never used or utilized such ATM. In addition, I also read in our local tabloid that majority of these ATMs consisted of errors that will not dispose of your cash but eat your BTCs in the process.

To answer your question OP, physical exchanges in my country are almost impossible to witness due to the existence of our local exchange. This local exchange converts our cryptocurrencies to our local currencies in which you can cash out to different pawnshops that offer money services.

And if there is any physical shop where you can have or withdraw your BTC, then it just basically via a centralized exchange or bank. And that right there just violated the main purpose of BTC in the first place, there should not be centralization. BTC's main purpose is to be used by P2P.

If there is any shop, it could be a physical shop as goods and the means of transaction between the shop and the buyer is crypto. Having bank in the middle on my opinion is unideal. It just don't sound the way how crypto is fundamentally be used originally.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Until 2 weeks ago I never had any experience with physical exchanges.
I bought and sold only p2p or on some online exchange or something like that.

2 weeks ago though I was in Hong Kong and was suprised how big crypto is there.
I found SO MANY ATMs where you can buy crypto, the price wasn't really good to get excited about it though.

So I was looking for some real exchange shops and found one ned Admiralty station on HK island.

The shop was quite small with 2 counters but the price was awesome.
I bought crypto with just a 1-1,2% fee, on ATMs you would lose between 10-15%.

The transaction was smooth and I had my crypto in just some minutes. I bought for 1000 US$ and though it would be a "big" transaction and then I saw the next next tome getting out millions of HK$ to buy btc, haha. 8HK$ is around 1US$.

So I felt really small but also relieved as well. If somebody trust a shop with so much money it must be legit, and it was.

[Texac]

For identity, the comparison between online exchange and physical exchange is not different.  when you use an offline exchange, other people will also know you have bitcoins, and if it's unfortunately, a government person, you'll be in more trouble.

This depends on which country you are. If you are in a country that banned Bitcoin and yet you indulge yourself in Bitcoin transactions and the government person knows about it, then you will really get in trouble because you are doing an illegal trade.  While in my country, even if you are seen by government personnel transacting in Bitcoin, that person won't bother since Bitcoin is allowed in my country.

but identity disclosure is not a good thing, your country legalizing bitcoin is great, but we won't know what they want and think in the future. they could also re-impose a ban or increase personal taxes on those who invest and use bitcoin.  So even if my country legalizes bitcoin, I would be more cautious about letting others know about my bitcoin ownership, especially government employees. People who work in government should not be trusted.

[KingsDen]

I have never used a physical exchanger because there is no physical exchanger in my city in my country.  So I have no experience in this matter.  Because of this I cannot provide any effective or potential feedback here. I mostly exchange my bitcoins from online centralized exchanges and cash out bitcoins using P2P services.  It is very risky but I have to use it as there is no better way to exchange or convert bitcoins in my country.

Let me take it that what Op described as physical exchange is offline exchange. It it is so, I do sew some of those exchanges or trading offices where they will paste the logos of bitcoin and some popular altcoins and ask you to come and trade your bitcoin and gift cards.
If this is what Op explained, I will not operate such kind of business in a country that bitcoin transactions are banned.
It is not advisable and I will not do any business that I do not have a legal back up to perform.

[Magic-Money]

Bitcoin business is a very lucrative business that is very safe and neighborhood can never know the business you're doing accept, when you open up to you're neighbors and besides, it add many advantage to compare to other traditional business doing, No shop rent being paid, while working out home.