Topic: How safe are physical exchanges in your neighborhood. - page 5. (Read 966 times)

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.

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.

Trade in person is risky.

Trade in Bitcoin ATMs is expensive in fees for both buying and selling. In addition, Bitcoin ATMs will be regulated more, KYC requirements on users and Bitcoin ATM operators will be challenged by local governments.

I bet to differ that why we need to trade in person, trade with Bitcoin ATMs when we can have many options that can help our privacy as well as physical security.
Centralized exchanges are a lot, we can trade on them with fiat currencies, cards.
Decentralized exchanges, peer to peer marketplaces, without KYC, are available, why don't use them.

https://kycnot.me/

They talking about physical exchange and I would assume, there cash is king and since crypto is also attractive for the unbanked living in developing countries, it would make sense there would be some proliferation of exchange houses and it's Most especially when it concerns Bitcoin, a real Bitcoiner is always stubborn about any law that will hinder him or her from accumulating it and  The safety of physical cryptocurrency dealers depends on the legal and regulatory environment in your country.

Physical exchanges in neighborhoods can vary in safety depending on different factors. Some neighborhood may have higher crime rates and are less safe compared to others. One way to ensure safety is to meet in public place with good lighting and a lot of people around. It is also important to let someone know where you are going who are you meeting. Important to trust your instincts and avoid situations that make you feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Physical exchanges can be safe it is important to take precautions and be aware of one's surroundings to ensure personal safety.

We are talking about a physical exchange, pay directly at the store. This means you are doing a person to person transaction, once you make a transaction with anyone and any amount of bitcoin, your partner has to know you use bitcoin. How can you continue to hide your identity? And what if the operator of that physical exchange is a government agency installed to monitor all investor activities in that locality? In my opinion, once you have used bitcoin to pay directly at the store, at least a few people will know your identity.

If I had to guess on it, I would say that OP is likely from a place where cash is mostly used as medium of exchange, instead bank transferences or electronic money wiring. It is common in unbaked communities, I would assume, there cash is king and since crypto is also attractive for the unbanked living in developing countries, it would make sense there would be some proliferation of exchange houses.

It is easy for both of us to say it is better to use online services, because we are banked. We need to put ourselves on other's shoes. It is not an choice for them but rather the only option to get liquidity or wire money through long distances.

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.

Well, I will start by saying that a good citizen of a country is always law-abiding, but the truth is that there are some government policies that citizens do bend to their satisfaction because they know the benefits that come along with them. Most especially when it concerns Bitcoin, a real Bitcoiner is always stubborn about any law that will hinder him or her from accumulating it. In my country, there are few physical crypto exchanges, but I don't even trust them because there are a lot of scams through those exchanges. Well, even with physical exchange in my country, it's not mostly used by Bitcoiners, but a lot of people here are very educated when it comes to cryptocurrency dealing, so instead of going through physical exchange, they mostly ask their friends to assist them, and they will just buy from CEX.

The person who got harassed should have been more careful about keeping her crypto transactions private so that she wouldn't have got caught by the police. Now that there have been a lot of attacks on Bitcoin, it's not even very safe to involve yourself in physical exchange; instead, the DEX platform is available to carry out one's Bitcoin transactions.

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.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not legally recognized in my country, making physical exchanges impossible. Consequently, I am wary of engaging in physical crypto exchanges due to the potential risks. Both criminals and government authorities can swiftly target individuals involved in such transactions, leading to significant troubles in their real lives. Thus, it is advisable to utilize online trusted exchanges for cashing out or purchasing cryptocurrencies. It is imprudent to willingly subject oneself to unnecessary troubles.

First and foremost, in a country like Nigeria where cryptocurrency transactions are still under a ban, it makes no sense to operate a physical crypto currency exchange, any body doing otherwise is simply being disobedient to the law of the land, and may end up being punished by the government if the person is arraigned and taken to court for judgement.

And secondly, I think how safe a physical cryptocurrency exchange is largely depends on the country and region where the exchange is situated, like what I said above, a physical exchange is not safe for a country like Nigeria at this very moment, but there are other crypto friendly countries where it is absolutely safe to operate a physical crypto exchange.

Operating a physical business that accepts Bitcoin carries certain risks, but it also has its advantages, particularly in promoting the concept of Bitcoin as a legitimate form of currency. To mitigate these risks, it is advisable to set up the business(physical exchange) in a location that is visible to the public, preferably in a busy area where potential assistance from bystanders is readily available in case of harassment or attempted theft of Bitcoin.

On the other hand, there are individuals and businesses that conduct their operations by accepting digital transfers and fiat currency through inter or intra-bank transactions and they are very okay, and when you consider the security features with Bitcoin, Bitcoin has a big merit because, with Bitcoin, the highest level of security lies in the possession of your private key, without this key, it is virtually impossible for anyone to access your wallet. In contrast, many bank applications only require a PIN to initiate a transfer, which may not provide the same level of security as Bitcoin's private key.

I have no experience with this as I'm having a hard time finding a physical exchange for bitcoin. If there is, maybe I will deliberately ignored it because of security and privacy. I tend to prefer using a centralized exchange even if it requires me to complete KYC instead of using a physical exchange for something I don't feel comfortable with.

I don't think i have ever come across any physical exchange here in my country and lets assuming i some how come across one, i highly doubt i will be transacting with such exchange physically because of security reasons which is most important, transacting crypto physically can make you appear vulnerable to criminals and that's very risky.
I like the secured or no physical contact way of online exchange much better.

The problem is in countries like this, the authorities don't really care if the dealer committed a crime or not. Most of the time they see the dealer as a fraud because they don't really understand how all this works.
Other times, these traders receive money that was gotten through fraud or money from an account that was under red notice by the authorities. What's worst is these traders may not know anything about the source of the money or the account the money came from. Things can get really messy for them at this point.
They all just gotta be careful if they are in countries where Bitcoin and other crypto activities are frowned upon.

Of course, I fully understand your point of view and I understand that when it was launched there were difficulties but now I also understand that Bitcoin is no longer what it used to be and it has a value and a physical exchange is risky since you never know who you can encounter. I am well aware that many countries do not have access to bank accounts and this makes it very difficult to be able to do them online both with and without kyc. I hope a solution is found soon, I know that Jack has started Stripe even in the most remote countries of this planet, it could be a good opportunity.

Well I don't of your country but I don't think the buyer from a physical exchange might be at risk except the exchanger but most times I think these physical exchanges works more better for people who have serious trust issues or persons who want to trade very huge amount of money and want some form of guaranty  which might be offered  my most physical exchanges.
I'm basically  worried over the safety of the operators.

There are thousands  and as well as millions of persons who don't have access to local banks for some several reasons and don't be surprised because there are persons who even in my local community don't have a bank account  and they're way old enough to have an account.

And physical  exchanges  is on the other hand fair with their kyc terms and there are possibilities  of someone traveling  from a different  neighborhood  to another justbto use their exchanges and by so doing,  I think he or she might stay really anonymous.

@mendace, when bitcoin  was first launched, there were several  difficulties with exchanges and that also prompted some physical exchanges and some of them are still in active service regardless of the presence of traditional banks and most of their customers  still trade with them for either convenience or trust or even both.

Do people still operate physical exchanges today? That's sad, because it's not going to be easy even if the government of that country supports crypto, exchanges are better run online than offline and it's way safer and well protected, for your sake and for the future of the exchange business. If there is a physical exchange in my city I will never use it because of my safety, more people will get to know that I am into crypto, and those people working in such exchange can even side to do you wrong because they know your face, physical exchange is not advisable, please reconsider.

I have never heard of someone who doesn't have access to traditional banks because banks are always in need of customers, they will always welcome anyone to come to them unless you are underage to use their services. Maybe KYC is part of why many people don't like using online exchanges, but a physical exchange also doesn't guarantee complete anonymity since it's a person-to-person transaction. You also won't be able to tell if the person you are dealing directly with is a government member.