best circle alternative?

[deadstare]

Well, circle is utterly useless now. Who's the next best to turn your bitcoins into cash?

[Optional]

Have you tried Coinbase?

[deadstare]

Have you tried Coinbase?

signed up for it. we'll see how it goes.

[Optional]

There are lots of alternate ways to go but Coinbase is the most similar thing to what Circle was.

[gregmav1]

Coinbase was okay... They take a decent fee on everything which is pretty annoying. I cashed out about $900 and received only $882. The reason I used bitcoin for payout was to get as low a fee as possible and they make it seem like bitcoin will give you zero, but not quite the case. Still probably the best option but yeah, would love to find something with no fee. Relatively hassle free though.

[Memento]

Coinbase was okay... They take a decent fee on everything which is pretty annoying. I cashed out about $900 and received only $882. The reason I used bitcoin for payout was to get as low a fee as possible and they make it seem like bitcoin will give you zero, but not quite the case. Still probably the best option but yeah, would love to find something with no fee. Relatively hassle free though.

order a $10 bitpay card and then use card to purchase $ order from wal-mart for under a $1.

[Optional]

Coinbase was okay... They take a decent fee on everything which is pretty annoying. I cashed out about $900 and received only $882. The reason I used bitcoin for payout was to get as low a fee as possible and they make it seem like bitcoin will give you zero, but not quite the case. Still probably the best option but yeah, would love to find something with no fee. Relatively hassle free though.

That's exactly 2%, which is at the upper end but I think anything up to 2% loss is still reasonable.

Before the internet took off banks used to charge 1.5%-2.0% for currency conversions (now they have turned it into a cheap profit centre and generally take 4-5%)

So personally I think that range is the 'real' cost we should expect if just using a bank like exchanger. Although all fees can be avoided if you are prepared to muck around a bit more with a trading exchange or P2P options. 1-2% for convenience is worth it to a lot of people though.

[gregmav1]

That's exactly 2%, which is at the upper end but I think anything up to 2% loss is still reasonable.

Before the internet took off banks used to charge 1.5%-2.0% for currency conversions (now they have turned it into a cheap profit centre and generally take 4-5%)

So personally I think that range is the 'real' cost we should expect if just using a bank like exchanger. Although all fees can be avoided if you are prepared to muck around a bit more with a trading exchange or P2P options. 1-2% for convenience is worth it to a lot of people though.

I tend to agree with you, the convenience is worth something. Still, today, Thursday, I withdrew to my bank and they said it would get there Monday, so I'm paying 2% for a 4 day transfer fee? For a selling of bitcoin that took half a second? Just seems giving them too much and they are being greedy. They do very little work and I hope a competitor comes in and can do 1% or something.

[evo34]

Do people use gemini.com at all? It doesn't really seem very complex to use -- just send BTC to your account there, convert to USD (for a 0.25% commission), and send via ACH or wire to your bank account.

I have not actually tried it yet, so curious if anyone has and if there are any drawbacks?

[evo34]

...

[Optional]

Do people use gemini.com at all? It doesn't really seem very complex to use -- just send BTC to your account there, convert to USD (for a 0.25% commission), and send via ACH or wire to your bank account.

I have not actually tried it yet, so curious if anyone has and if there are any drawbacks?

Saw you ask before about this one.

Sounds like a good alternative for US people.

[big joe 1212]

I had to crawl back to coinbase today. Only to find out that I had to update my card expiration date (bank recently sent me card with a chip)

Coinbase said the only way to do this is to remove the old card, THEN WAIT 5 DAYS, then activate my new one.

Jesus friggin Christ!

Hope I still have my 1k instant limit when my new card is activated. I'll be pissed if they send me back to the Stone Age of $50 a day

[raiders72001]

That's exactly 2%, which is at the upper end but I think anything up to 2% loss is still reasonable.

Before the internet took off banks used to charge 1.5%-2.0% for currency conversions (now they have turned it into a cheap profit centre and generally take 4-5%)

So personally I think that range is the 'real' cost we should expect if just using a bank like exchanger. Although all fees can be avoided if you are prepared to muck around a bit more with a trading exchange or P2P options. 1-2% for convenience is worth it to a lot of people though.

I don't think there's much of a loss. Coinbase is now GDAX (Global Digital Asset Exchange) and the spread is very low. It's fluctuating between 1-15 cents right now but volume does have to be considered.

https://www.gdax.com/trade/BTC-USD

https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/2109597-buy-sell-bank-transfer-fees

[littlekona]

Do people use gemini.com at all? It doesn't really seem very complex to use -- just send BTC to your account there, convert to USD (for a 0.25% commission), and send via ACH or wire to your bank account.

I have not actually tried it yet, so curious if anyone has and if there are any drawbacks?

I have used them for selling and they are very reliable and fast normally get funds next day with ach..

[lonegambler23]

what happend with circle?

[UBNVS]

I have used them for selling and they are very reliable and fast normally get funds next day with ach..

Sucks they are not able to use in Wisconsin yet.

[Nittany Lion]

Circle didn't charge any fees for buying bitcoin or sending it as far as I know, Coinbase charges a 4% fee when you buy Bitcoin using credit/debit card.....ugh that's expensive.

[DroopyDog]

Circle didn't charge any fees for buying bitcoin or sending it as far as I know, Coinbase charges a 4% fee when you buy Bitcoin using credit/debit card.....ugh that's expensive.

you didnt notice a fee because Circle built their fee into their bitcoin price...

[i love gold]

i sighed up to coinmama.com that might help

[grantingyou]

BitQuick.co is absolutely the best! Super easy and you can actually make 1%-3% margin on others buying your bitcoin. I've cashed about $18,000 over the past 5-6 days in two different banks.

[cloverfield]

what happend with circle?

closed their bitcoin exchange to focus on being a normal payment provider.

[deadstare]

coinbase took about $20 from my payout. with circle, my payout was always greater than what i originally withdrew at 5D. Damnit.

[Optional]

coinbase took about $20 from my payout. with circle, my payout was always greater than what i originally withdrew at 5D. Damnit.

Maybe give Gemini.com a try and let us know how that compares for you too?

[Memento]

Still working through gemini....so far I had to send a wire to them to set up account with bank after passing id verification. They cover up to $20 of any wire fee incurred to do this. Deposits and withdrwals are free...as is sending btc. The only fee is converting usd to btc...which is .25 cents per $100. The rate lowers with larger volumes but that is cheap. They buy and sell at what appears to be market rates. I am now waiting on ach transfer verification so i make auto deposits/withdrwals to checking instead of wires. I will then check timimg of that process. So far so good...some hoops but the low fees may make it worth my while.

[Stackzilla]

Opti, have you heard of paxful? Not for buying but for selling. Pretty easy set up, book to blockchain to paxful. People are buying and selling 24/7, selling is pretty easy you can set it up so when someone wants to buy you get a text/email, buyers have to have a verified USA paypal account, then after a short chat I tell the buyer where to send it and has 45 mins to send and the BTC goes into escrow, if it's paid I release the BTC, if they cancel or don't pay in time I get the BTC back. I havew mine set to sell @ .79 cents on the dollar but you can name your own price and people can buy using paypal, debit, cc, there's a lot of options. Had someone buy w/ a Chipotle Gift Card @.69 on the dollar. There's a 1% fee for the amount of sale but other than that I'm actually make more than my original w/d some days are slow but it's always steady. I keep my selling limit max 100 min 25 but I've seen some 300min 4k max selling @.89 cents.

[Optional]

Still working through gemini....so far I had to send a wire to them to set up account with bank after passing id verification. They cover up to $20 of any wire fee incurred to do this. Deposits and withdrwals are free...as is sending btc. The only fee is converting usd to btc...which is .25 cents per $100. The rate lowers with larger volumes but that is cheap. They buy and sell at what appears to be market rates. I am now waiting on ach transfer verification so i make auto deposits/withdrwals to checking instead of wires. I will then check timimg of that process. So far so good...some hoops but the low fees may make it worth my while.

Great info

Opti, have you heard of paxful? Not for buying but for selling. Pretty easy set up, book to blockchain to paxful. People are buying and selling 24/7, selling is pretty easy you can set it up so when someone wants to buy you get a text/email, buyers have to have a verified USA paypal account, then after a short chat I tell the buyer where to send it and has 45 mins to send and the BTC goes into escrow, if it's paid I release the BTC, if they cancel or don't pay in time I get the BTC back. I havew mine set to sell @ .79 cents on the dollar but you can name your own price and people can buy using paypal, debit, cc, there's a lot of options. Had someone buy w/ a Chipotle Gift Card @.69 on the dollar. There's a 1% fee for the amount of sale but other than that I'm actually make more than my original w/d some days are slow but it's always steady. I keep my selling limit max 100 min 25 but I've seen some 300min 4k max selling @.89 cents.

Heard of it but not used. Several people have mentioned it as better than localbitcoins.

One thing to remember is that Coinbase terms say no use of person to person exchanges like Paxful and LBC, so keep your transactions separated from Coinbase like you would with a sportsbook. (if you use Coinbase)

[Stackzilla]

Thanks I've used Coinbase in the past but not recently. I haven't had any problems with paxful I have my payment method usually set to paypal. They pay, when I know it's in my paypal I release the BTC. I've only done a few GC transactions some at 3/5 of what the GC is worth. Win/Win.

[Optional]

Thanks I've used Coinbase in the past but not recently. I haven't had any problems with paxful I have my payment method usually set to paypal. They pay, when I know it's in my paypal I release the BTC. I've only done a few GC transactions some at 3/5 of what the GC is worth. Win/Win.

Oh I see... you pay or receive directly from the other person rather than Paxful holding funds in escrow and paying from their account?

If so, that is good in terms of privacy but would worry me that someone who knows how to scam a payment systems could catch me out somehow and reverse the paypal later.

Also, don't forget that most people offering things like 60 cents on the dollar giftcard payments are probably supplying cards purchased with stolen info. I know most giftcards cant be cancelled but personally I don't feel comfortable with that.

[Stackzilla]

Oh I see... you pay or receive directly from the other person rather than Paxful holding funds in escrow and paying from their account?

If so, that is good in terms of privacy but would worry me that someone who knows how to scam a payment systems could catch me out somehow and reverse the paypal later.

Also, don't forget that most people offering things like 60 cents on the dollar giftcard payments are probably supplying cards purchased with stolen info. I know most giftcards cant be cancelled but personally I don't feel comfortable with that.

I figured this out pretty quick after seeing how others were selling, for instance when a buyer clicks to buy from me there's a prompt explaining everything I require to make the sale. It's not much buyer needs to upload a pic of id and a pic of them holding the id and the all info on id must be visible and a verified paypal account with the name that's on the id. Haven't had any problems also buyers are given cred based on feedback and successful transactions so if someone has 100+ transactions and + cred it's simple and easy. I typically don't do transactions with new accounts. Same rules apply for GCs with a few extras, pic of GC f/b clearly visible, pic of a cash receipt for the GC with my username written on it(if someone posts a receipt paid w/credit I won't do the transaction). You just have to be smart and well informed when selling. Also the prompt isn't something I have to write every time a buyer wants to buy you just set it up once.

[Optional]

Great info Stackz

[Stackzilla]

No prob, the extra $$ def does help esp on weeks on the down swing.

[raiders72001]

Paxful and Localbitcoins are great. There are some things that you should be aware of. Some will make 100s of micro-transactions so it looks as though they have a lot of buys/sells. Then they will scam using Paypal or gift cards such as Amazon. Some gift cards are reversible.

Check how long a person has been trading and the dollar amount. If you do that, you should be safe.

[Stackzilla]

Thanks, wow I didn't even think about that.

[chosen4th]

If your going to use a "deposit at bank" service ive used bitquick and they are ok. Cashtocrypto is extremely quick, and they reply to anything quick and answer the phone.. fees are fairly low, if i deposit 1k i usually get about 960 in.. getting new accounts with depositing companies like coinbase is a friggin nightmare. I have to make 8 $50 deposits ( only allowed 1 per week to start) just to get a $400 CC limit... you can start with a $250 limit for ach but thats not instant.. Circle going down sucks, they only allowed me $400 per week but thats more than any company that you can start out with

[PharaohUB]

I'm trying Gemini out and will report back. Looks legit. They accept New York customers, so they have their bitlicense and most places don't.