Kraken vs Gemeni Advice

[illyTheKid]

Hi guys - i'm pretty new to the crypto game and have been reading your posts and advice on everything.

Silly me started an account with Coinbase, and I see from all your feedback they are pretty crap.

I have been using a middle man wallet, so i have never done a direct to book transaction from Coinbase. I have however, cashed out a small amount of $500 of bitcoin from Coinbase to my bank, mostly to see if it processed because I was paranoid.

I ordered a cold wallet that should be arriving today. In addition I want to move my funds from Coinbase to a more suitable exchange for what us degens are doing. I will continue to use a middle man wallet.

Would you guys recommend i move to Kraken, Gemeni, or somewhere else? Thank you all in advance and good luck this weekend!

[PharaohUB]

What do you mean you 'ordered a cold wallet'? A bitcoin wallet is just file basically. You just need like a $1 usb drive to store it and that's your 'cold wallet'. Hope you didnt get scammed.
Anyways - If you're not worried about Uncle Sam watching you then either of those are probably fine. Not sure what the fees are just pick the lowest one unless one has certain features you want. They are all pretty similar.

[illyTheKid]

What do you mean you 'ordered a cold wallet'? A bitcoin wallet is just file basically. You just need like a $1 usb drive to store it and that's your 'cold wallet'. Hope you didnt get scammed.
Anyways - If you're not worried about Uncle Sam watching you then either of those are probably fine. Not sure what the fees are just pick the lowest one unless one has certain features you want. They are all pretty similar.

The wallet I ordered was the Ledger Nano X. Was that not necessary?

I actually am worried about Uncle Sam which is why I am seeking this advice. Appreciate your feedback!!

[Roger T. Bannon]

Sign in to Coinbase Pro.

[illyTheKid]

Sign in to Coinbase Pro.

Hi Roger. Can you elaborate? Why coinbase pro?

[Roger T. Bannon]

Hi Roger. Can you elaborate? Why coinbase pro?

It is cheaper and you are already set up with your bank info and everything. You don't have to go through the hassle of the others.

[illyTheKid]

It is cheaper and you are already set up with your bank info and everything. You don't have to go through the hassle of the others.

Thanks for the feedback man. I’ll look into it!

My concern was I read several posts about how bad coinbase is in regards to IRS privacy etc.

[Roger T. Bannon]

They do not report anything so far. Maybe they are going to start. I don't know. Gemini will probably do the same. Don't know about Kraken.

If you are just sending, it is really not an issue. If you are going to hold and sell later, maybe something to think about.

[illyTheKid]

I was planning on holding. Not an insane amount. Between 10-20k usd

[Arky]

Coinbase Pro much better than regular Coinbase - same login..fees are better.

https://pro.coinbase.com/trade/BTC-USD

You should learn the ins and outs of how to buy on a real exchange interface - how to set a limit order and what not.

Coinbase, Kraken and Gemini all have a simplified buy/sell dealie. Coinbase Pro, Kraken Pro and Gemini Active Trader are "advanced" but they will save you fees over the simplified versions....

Most of these exchanges have a 20K and 200 transaction limit before they will issue 1099 forms. Coinbase didn't do that for a while, I think, and angered a lot of people. I don't use Coinbase anymore because after being a member for a couple of years, they wanted more KYC via webcam no less.

I use Kraken, now. They are picky about the KYC pictures when you sign up - took me about 3 hours to make them happy - but once you get in, very good exchange.

[illyTheKid]

Coinbase Pro much better than regular Coinbase - same login..fees are better.

https://pro.coinbase.com/trade/BTC-USD

You should learn the ins and outs of how to buy on a real exchange interface - how to set a limit order and what not.

Coinbase, Kraken and Gemini all have a simplified buy/sell dealie. Coinbase Pro, Kraken Pro and Gemini Active Trader are "advanced" but they will save you fees over the simplified versions....

Most of these exchanges have a 20K and 200 transaction limit before they will issue 1099 forms. Coinbase didn't do that for a while, I think, and angered a lot of people. I don't use Coinbase anymore because after being a member for a couple of years, they wanted more KYC via webcam no less.

I use Kraken, now. They are picky about the KYC pictures when you sign up - took me about 3 hours to make them happy - but once you get in, very good exchange.

Great thank you so much!

[PharaohUB]

They do not report anything so far. Maybe they are going to start. .

If you’re talking about Coinbase my letter from the IRS would beg to differ.

I wouldn’t trust any of these US based companies. Gemini is in NY and kraken is in Cali. Two of the most watchdog states in the country.

If you’re trying to avoid eyes of the IRS for large amount you will have to get creative and pay a premium for it. They’ll also probably figure it out anyway.

They know everything we’re doing but it’s expensive to chase people down. They won’t do it unless what you owe is higher than the cost for them to get you.but it’s getting cheaper and cheaper everyday for them to chase people as technologies improve. Long story short pay your taxes.

[Arky]

Also, Ledger Nano X is a good choice. Plenty of good tutorial videos on Youtube on how to get set up....

[PharaohUB]

Also, Ledger Nano X is a good choice. Plenty of good tutorial videos on Youtube on how to get set up....

Why is it necessary ? Also How do you know it’s secure when someone else is creating wallet for you ? Serious questions. Don’t know much about it.

[Roger T. Bannon]

If you’re talking about Coinbase my letter from the IRS would beg to differ.

I wouldn’t trust any of these US based companies. Gemini is in NY and kraken is in Cali. Two of the most watchdog states in the country.

If you’re trying to avoid eyes of the IRS for large amount you will have to get creative and pay a premium for it. They’ll also probably figure it out anyway.

They know everything we’re doing but it’s expensive to chase people down. They won’t do it unless what you owe is higher than the cost for them to get you.but it’s getting cheaper and cheaper everyday for them to chase people as technologies improve. Long story short pay your taxes.

If you are going to trade in bitcoin and you think bitcoin is a legit asset, I guess you better get used to reporting. These companies are banks, they are going to report.

If you are doing that much activity, you should be reporting. You'd also better be making a lot of money because if you are doing that much gambling, you really probably do not need to worry about reporting much.

[Arky]

Why is it necessary ? Also How do you know it’s secure when someone else is creating wallet for you ? Serious questions. Don’t know much about it.

Jump to 1:10

[PharaohUB]

If you are going to trade in bitcoin and you think bitcoin is a legit asset, I guess you better get used to reporting. These companies are banks, they are going to report.

If you are doing that much activity, you should be reporting. You'd also better be making a lot of money because if you are doing that much gambling, you really probably do not need to worry about reporting much.

I didn’t trade 20k worth. At some point I owned maybe fifty bitcoin when they were worth $10. Then lost them gambling. It was only $500 at time but then bitcoin exploded and I guess irs thinks I’m sitting on them or something and sent me a letter based on info Coinbase provided them. I wish !

[funnyb25]

I didn’t trade 20k worth. At some point I owned maybe fifty bitcoin when they were worth $10. Then lost them gambling. It was only $500 at time but then bitcoin exploded and I guess irs thinks I’m sitting on them or something and sent me a letter based on info Coinbase provided them. I wish !

What did the letter say? Was it the real letter, or the fishing ones? Did you even know?

[illyTheKid]

Long story short pay your taxes.

Oh believe me I pay taxes. My concerns are stemming from me wanting to protect myself from the off-shore book side of things. I have no problem paying taxes.

[Roger T. Bannon]

I didn’t trade 20k worth. At some point I owned maybe fifty bitcoin when they were worth $10. Then lost them gambling. It was only $500 at time but then bitcoin exploded and I guess irs thinks I’m sitting on them or something and sent me a letter based on info Coinbase provided them. I wish !

I've never gotten one. It is not a big deal. You just report the transaction and that's it. It is not something to be afraid of.

[illyTheKid]

Basically this is what I need to know. My entry into bitcoin was a payout from an offshore. I still to this day havent actually purchased any bitcoin.

Arent they going to want to know where my initial stash came from? I guess it could always have been a gift from a dead uncle lol.

[Roger T. Bannon]

No. It is just like selling a stock. If you sell any stock, you have to report it. You just report the trade. I'm not exactly sure how they qualify receiving bitcoin but I would assume that would be your purchase date and amount.

At this point the IRS is so underfunded, they are basically working on the honor system. They are not coming after you for a little bitcoin transaction.

[PharaohUB]

What did the letter say? Was it the real letter, or the fishing ones? Did you even know?

I don’t have it anymore. I threw it out. I don’t have any of my transaction info tracked anywhere and never made money on it so whatever. The betting sites I used were long gone and this was well before they regulated bitcoin. They just decided to retroactively regulate I guess. Kind of bullshit. If I remember correctly they sent out two types of letters for people who had bitcoin transactions before it blew up . One was more fishing but I got the more stern one basically saying they know I didn’t report stuff. I just ignored it. If they want to knock at my door they can. I’ve got nothing to hide and I pay a shit ton of taxes as it is.

[illyTheKid]

Thanks everyone for the discussion. It’s been really helpful for me!

[funnyb25]

I am not sure anyone fully knows. There are still arguments going online between websites (not forums) debating whether it is illegal for a US player to gamble offshore, or if it is just illegal for offshore books to accept US players money. I always thought it was never illegal to place a bet offshore, as the illegal portion was on the offshore book accepting the wager. It really doesn't make any sense either way.

[ping-pong-pop]

i said on another thread that i have found kraken very good, especially customer services.
i also like the profile of the founder, this is a good writeup- https://www.coindesk.com/jesse-powel...fluential-2020
however op seems interested in irs issues and i have no idea about that. not my country. hard to believe that any us based exchange will be able to hold out against govt for purposes of user tax reporting

[wombat]

Kraken just got approved for their own bank so they'll probably be integrating that into their exchange soon meaning you'll probably be able to get a debit card and draw funds off of that card through your balance at the exchange. With that however, they'll probably be some kyc restrictions.