Is it easy to sell your existing holding of Bitcoin?

Brendan Burgess

Founder
Messages
54,802
I assumed that if one wanted to sell one's holding of Bitcoin, it could be done at the click of a button . But this article suggests otherwise:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/10/buffetts-cryptocurrency-predictions-are-scary-heres-how-to-cope.html
If you own bitcoin, Buffett's cryptocurrency predictions are scary. How to cope

Jack Tatar, co-author of "Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond," ...

"It's very hard to realize the gains you see on your phone," Tatar said. "These markets are not as liquid as the stocks and bond market. You can check your phone and see you're up to $30,000, but if you wan't to realize that gain, you probably won't be able to do that."


That's because it can take days for a cryptocurrency transaction to complete, during which the value can change substantially.

I could understand why people who are Bitcoin billionaires might have difficulty realising their profits, but the ordinary punter who sold a few pizzas for Bitcoins and is now worth a couple of hundred thousand dollars, can he not sell them instantly?

Brendan
 
One that wants to sell should prepare his off-ramp first, make sure he has someone to sell to. Apparently 'Over The Counter Deals' are the way to go for large amounts but i wouldn't know about that.
Exchanges will work fine for the average holder, just make your account early, pass the verification early because these services are having trouble with the amount of new users they are getting.
Pass KYC, get your gains or losses, inform the taxman. Simple stuff that wouldn't cause the average person any issues.


Brendan Burgess said:
That's because it can take days for a cryptocurrency transaction to complete
Click to expand...
Its true fees are getting expensive and a low fee amount could see your transaction unconfirmed for days.
However, most wallets have pretty accurate fee estimations. Spend 5-10$ on the fee and you should be in the next 10 minutes, ready to sell with the crowd.

One that keeps his bitcoin on an exchange can indeed sell them instantly.
 

The short answer here is that yes its very easy and yes a few hundred grands worth can be done in a few clicks on any major exchange, all the big ones have more than enough liquidity for this nowadays.
 
Coinbase/GDAX is the largest US exchange...
Click on...
[broken link removed]
and you can see live trading....look at the order book and you frequently see 200 plus bitcoins bought and sold within seconds. Transferring funds from your exchange account to you Irish bank account takes only a few working days.
 
Hello,

I have traditionally been a big fan of Warren Buffet, but I think he may be a little wrong on this one. Perhaps he was thinking of some of the smaller "alt coins" ?

Granted, I don't deal in millions, but from my own experiences and those of others I know who are actively trading crypto currencies, there is absolutely no concern about the liquidity in the market for Bitcoin, or the other larger currencies (i.e. Ether and Lite).

Coinbase is one of the largest exchanges and is excellent, as Landlord correctly points out.
 
The bottom line here is that if you know what you're doing, it is easy to sell your bitcoin holding.

What is not easy is knowing when to sell bitcoin. The truth is that in spite of the earnest conviction of crypto sceptics that cryptos are worth nothing, they have been wrong for years and years. At some stage, they may well be right but the timing is unknowable - at least in advance!
 
MrEarl said:
I have traditionally been a big fan of Warren Buffet, but I think he may be a little wrong on this one.
Click to expand...

It was not Buffett who said Bitcoins were difficult to sell, it was Jack Tatar, co-author of "Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond," ...

Buffett said that he was nearly certain that Bitcoin would end badly.
 

Only holds true while there is an active market. But without market makers and a regulator, the first time there is a real panic, it will go down like a house of cards.
 
MrEarl said:
I have traditionally been a big fan of Warren Buffet, but I think he may be a little wrong on this one. Perhaps he was thinking of some of the smaller "alt coins" ?
Click to expand...

Buffet is spot on! If you read all his comments on this, you will see that he makes a difference between the usefulness of the technology, which he acknowledges and speculation in the currency, which he warns against.
 
Jim2007 said:
But without market makers and a regulator, the first time there is a real panic, it will go down like a house of cards.
Click to expand...
You say that as if it hasn't already happened at the end of 2013.... or any of the other times.
 
With the current fall off in Bitcoin prices, likely triggered by China's statements on their plans to block domestic access to cryptocurrency platforms and exchanges, and with some other media reports of banks increasingly refusing transactions to or from exchanges, is anyone here facing any challenges in cashing out?

It might be a worthwhile exercise to document any known issues facing Irish users and highlight viable methods for those looking to exit.

Users in the UK have reported problems using Nationwide bank, as Commerzbank, their correspondent bank for SEPA transfers has stopped processing transactions relating to Bitcoin.

Note I'm not suggesting this current fall is the end of bitcoin (yet...), but this may be of value to some.
 
Problems selling may be keeping the price up for now,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register