Selling BTC for foreign currencies

[Abiky]

If I want to travel to another country and want to have foreign currency beforehand, where can I sell my BTC? I'm talking about selling BTC to a foreign currency before leaving my home country. Is this possible? And of course, is it legal? Just curious to know.

Any suggestions and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[OmegaStarScream]

For the legalities, that depends on where you're from.

The process should be quite simple though. Sell your BTC in a local exchange to your local currency, withdraw that and use it at a currency exchange to buy whatever foreign currency you want.

This is assuming that you don't have a "black market" like some countries and foreign currencies are easily accessible from banks/currency exchange desks.

[The Cryptovator]

First of all, you can sell BTC in your country and convert it to USD or any other international currency. So you can exchange wherever you want to visit. Often, I do it since I am familiar with how to sell bitcoin in my country. The second option is to sell p2p where you visit. When I visited India, I got help from a travel agency. I directly pay on their account by selling p2p. I also got some cash from there, though they charge a bit extra, but it does work well. I use Binance for P2P sales since it supports a wide range of countries for P2P. Third option is use a crypto physical card. I have been using a RedotPay physical card. With that, I can pay for anything or withdraw from the ATM as well. But do your own research. 

[Mia Chloe]

Firstly, if we are talking about legality, it actually depends on the countries involved especially if the country your are migrating from has a crypto currency ban or hasn't fully legalized the use of crypto. However you can easily make use of P2P to exchange your Bitcoins to your local fiat currency. And just like Cryptovator mentioned, you could alternatively use your local banks to exchange for the currency you want. Well if both countries accept crypto, it may not be necessary to do an exchange between fiat since you can just sell the crypto in the country you are heading to.

Some KYC exchanges also allow your to exchange Bitcoin straight to any local currency of your choice which you can pick up as notes if you have a bank of That currency.

[Die_empty]

If I want to travel to another country and want to have foreign currency beforehand, where can I sell my BTC? I'm talking about selling BTC to a foreign currency before leaving my home country. Is this possible? And of course, is it legal? Just curious to know.

Any suggestions and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

If Bitcoin is illegal in the country you want to visit, your best option will be to sell your Bitcoin in your country. You can now change the local currency you have received from the sale to the currency of the country you want to visit. You can also change the money to US dollars because it is a globally accepted currency.

Even if Bitcoin is acceptable in the country you are visiting, you may have to go through some bureaucratic process to be able to exchange your Bitcoin. So it will be better to exchange your Bitcoin before moving to the country. Although it is not secured, you might also consider a physical P2P exchange with a trusted Bitcoiner in the country you are moving to.  

[tabas]

I haven't tried this yet but is this how the debit cards work that one can purchase from these exchanges? If not, you have to convert it first into USD or your local money before converting it to the country where you're arriving to. That's explained well by Omega. I'd be careful doing it though when you're in a country that has some hot laws about Bitcoin as not every country is Bitcoin friendly. So, before doing that, just make yourself safe by doing the transaction in your motherland and just do the fiat <-> fiat conversion for that currency you're going to.

[Adbitco]

This is simple what you would do is to confirm the currency where you are traveling to uses it could be ( USD, EUR, POUNDs ), then what currency do you guys uses in your country after which you can sell your bitcoin to your local currency and then buy the currency of the country you are traveling to. Let say i want to travel out and I am holding bitcoin, at first i have to sell out some of it to process my traveling document, then next I will have to confirm if bitcoin is legal in that country and if yes then I don't mind traveling with my seed phrase then when i gets over there I make account and then sell directly to my foreign account using p2p or direct bank transfer ( this may be if that country permits using bitcoin and transferring directs to bank).

[Darker45]

I don't see how it would be illegal. And it's probably possible as well, although I haven't tried it yet except with USD, which is foreign yet widely available. So it would also highly depend on the foreign currency you wish to convert your Bitcoin into. If you're in the US and ask for Thailand baht or Myanmar kyat or Mongolian Tugrik for your Bitcoin, that would be pretty difficult, but still possible as you may link yourself with their local communities in your country and transact face to face.

However, these are all unnecessary hassles.

[hugeblack]

It depends, if the country you are traveling to has Bitcoin ATMs or you can get P2P traders easily, then you will definitely not need to transfer Bitcoin in your country, and if you can create a bank account or digital wallet in that country, it will be easy to find P2P.
If Bitcoin is not legal in that country or there is not widespread adoption, it is better to sell it in your country for the dollar or any local currency used by the local population in that country.

[m2017]

For the legalities, that depends on where you're from.

Not only. Legality also depends on regulators, who may adopt a new bill tomorrow and any actions with bitcoin will become illegal.

The process should be quite simple though. Sell your BTC in a local exchange to your local currency, withdraw that and use it at a currency exchange to buy whatever foreign currency you want.

But there is a nuance. Some countries have limits on the export of currency (for example, $10,000), if exceeded, they face a fine and confiscation of the amount exceeding the limit (anything above $10,000). That is, if amounts exceed the limit for export from OP’s country, it is better to travel to another country with BTC (partially) rather than with cash.

This is assuming that you don't have a "black market" like some countries and foreign currencies are easily accessible from banks/currency exchange desks.

I assume that any exchanger with bitcoin (crypto) for currency will be classified as a “black market”, since it is unlikely that this exchanger is licensed and provides legal exchange services. This is also due to the fact that many countries pretend that bitcoin doesn't exist and this asset doesn't have legal status (there are no laws determining the status of this).

[dkbit98]

If I want to travel to another country and want to have foreign currency beforehand, where can I sell my BTC? I'm talking about selling BTC to a foreign currency before leaving my home country. Is this possible? And of course, is it legal? Just curious to know.

It all depends in what countries exactly you are traveling , but don't asks us to be your lawyers and tell you what is legal and what is not.
In Europe most countries are using Euro currency (with some exceptions) and good non-kyc option is to use Peach Bitcoion app with your smartphone.
There are some daily limitations with Peach, but you can do p2p exchange for cash and it's very simple to use it.
 

[SamReomo]

If that foreign country which you're going to visit allows p2p traders to trade crypto then you can possibly do that. In order to convert your Bitcoin to that foreign country's currency, you'll need to first deposit your Bitcoin to a p2p exchange that you trust.

You should also have a solution to receive that foreign currency. You may either have a bank account in that country, or a digital banking solution to receive the fiat currency of that country. Then at that p2p exchange you may sell your BTC for that country's fiat currency.

It's going to be better if you first convert your BTC at that p2p exchange to stable coin like USDT and then do p2p trading to convert it into the fiat currency of that country and receive it in the bank account or digital banking solution of that country.

[Abiky]

I don't see how it would be illegal. And it's probably possible as well, although I haven't tried it yet except with USD, which is foreign yet widely available. So it would also highly depend on the foreign currency you wish to convert your Bitcoin into. If you're in the US and ask for Thailand baht or Myanmar kyat or Mongolian Tugrik for your Bitcoin, that would be pretty difficult, but still possible as you may link yourself with their local communities in your country and transact face to face.

However, these are all unnecessary hassles.

I think P2P or F2F is better. Especially if I want to avoid KYC and whatnot. I live in a Western country, so crypto laws are much more flexible than places like China or Russia. I don't think it would be illegal to exchange BTC to a foreign currency in my home country. Laws are constanly changing, so who knows what would be of foreign crypto exchanges in the future?

I've wondered if people sell their foreign currencies for BTC, wouldn't that classify them as a "money transmitter"? Doing such a thing without a money transmitter license could be considered illegal. I dunno. Perhaps, it's best to sell BTC into your local currency, then exchange your local currency at a bank for a foreign currency. The only problem is the fees. But at least, you'll get the job done in a legitimate manner.

[electronicash]

why don't you buy the local currency before going to the country of destination?  airports usually have a foreign currency booth for travelers, it's the safest thing you can do and you need the local currency just when you arrive at the airport. it's best if you know an expat, your fellow countrymen for a guide.

you don't wanna go there unprepared or meet up with someone to trade to local fiat, it's going to be the riskiest attempt. you might wanna visit the local forum of the country.

[Husires]

why don't you buy the local currency before going to the country of destination?  airports usually have a foreign currency booth for travelers, it's the safest thing you can do and you need the local currency just when you arrive at the airport. it's best if you know an expat, your fellow countrymen for a guide.

you don't wanna go there unprepared or meet up with someone to trade to local fiat, it's going to be the riskiest attempt. you might wanna visit the local forum of the country.

If you want to go to a country with a fluctuating exchange rate, or what is known as the black market, it is better not to transfer everything you have at the ATMs at the airport, as exchange rates are usually bad compared to abroad exchangers, and the difference may be more than 10%.
If you go to a country and are not sure of the Bitcoin exchange rate, it is best to convert it before traveling, otherwise you may be exploited at a very low exchange rate.

[Wapfika]

I suggest to find a local app that accepts Bitcoin and has a feature to cash out in fiat using local money remittances. Or do a research if there’s a services in that specific country that converts Bitcoin directly to cold cash because we have that services in our country.

It’s a case to case basis depending on the country you are going but it’s much better to convert your Bitcoin to your fiat then exchange it to the currency you are using on local exchanger to avoid encountering hassle once you are already on the foreign country.

[Abiky]

why don't you buy the local currency before going to the country of destination?  airports usually have a foreign currency booth for travelers, it's the safest thing you can do and you need the local currency just when you arrive at the airport. it's best if you know an expat, your fellow countrymen for a guide.

you don't wanna go there unprepared or meet up with someone to trade to local fiat, it's going to be the riskiest attempt. you might wanna visit the local forum of the country.

Oh yeah. Forgot about that. If I can't find a safe way to buy foreign currencies without KYC, I'll have no choice but to do as you've told me. It would be an option of a last resort, though. I don't think selling BTC for foreign currencies would be considered "illegal", but I'll ask my laywer just to be safe.

Another option I've been exploring is Forex trading with BTC. But that's more in the investing side than anything else (like using foreign currencies as real money in a foreign country). Perhaps, it will be much easier to get access to foreign currencies once the world switches to CBDCs. Our society advances quickly, so who knows?

[electronicash]

why don't you buy the local currency before going to the country of destination?  airports usually have a foreign currency booth for travelers, it's the safest thing you can do and you need the local currency just when you arrive at the airport. it's best if you know an expat, your fellow countrymen for a guide.

you don't wanna go there unprepared or meet up with someone to trade to local fiat, it's going to be the riskiest attempt. you might wanna visit the local forum of the country.

Oh yeah. Forgot about that. If I can't find a safe way to buy foreign currencies without KYC, I'll have no choice but to do as you've told me. It would be an option of a last resort, though. I don't think selling BTC for foreign currencies would be considered "illegal", but I'll ask my laywer just to be safe.

Another option I've been exploring is Forex trading with BTC. But that's more in the investing side than anything else (like using foreign currencies as real money in a foreign country). Perhaps, it will be much easier to get access to foreign currencies once the world switches to CBDCs. Our society advances quickly, so who knows?

CBDC i guess will make it easy for anyone to switch currencies as all are digital and swapping currencies will just be a click away.

i have traveled to a country that i have no idea myself, just going to experience it because of the vlogs i see on youtube. currency was the biggest problem i had that's why just in the airport, i already bought their currency regardless of the rates. just bear in mind that there are scammers everywhere especially when you are a stranger in a country.

not an expert as i have not traveled to countless countries but don't mention BTC. scammers know their money and they know how BTC works.

[BitcoinVN_official]

If I want to travel to another country and want to have foreign currency beforehand, where can I sell my BTC? I'm talking about selling BTC to a foreign currency before leaving my home country. Is this possible? And of course, is it legal? Just curious to know.

Any suggestions and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

In Vietnam, you can sell your BTC (Lightning & Liquid accepted as well) for VND ahead of time:

https://bitcoinvn.io/?deposit=btc&settle=vndbalance


You can either keep the VND in your account, withdraw to any domestic bank account in Vietnam or pick up cash at one of our cash office locations (the last option of course requires you to be on the ground  ).

For selling BTC - no sign-up required. 

[EarnOnVictor]

If I want to travel to another country and want to have foreign currency beforehand, where can I sell my BTC? I'm talking about selling BTC to a foreign currency before leaving my home country. Is this possible? And of course, is it legal? Just curious to know.

Any suggestions and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Regardless of the many replies from people I'd read on this thread, I must say that you baffled me with this question. Judging by your question, you did not mention whether you are new to the cryptocurrency world or not because you would have directed it towards that angle, so I assume that you are dealing with cryptocurrency already and know how to buy and sell your coins. But why is it now different when you are travelling outside your home country?

You made it clear that it is not the confusion of selling Bitcoin in another country you are travelling to but yours, which makes it awful in my view. Are there no travellers in your country you can learn how they convert their fiats to the currency of the country you are travelling to, or at least change it to hard currencies like the USD and other popular ones for subsequent changing to the currency of the country you are heading?

If you can change your Bitcoin to fiat in your country, then the problem is solved. You can simply and easily change it to the currency of your choice. It must not be about changing your Bitcoin to USD outrightly like that, it doesn't matter. Also, if you have a USD-dominated account, it is possible you make the conversion directly through P2P.