Topic: Need help selling BTC in Iran while travelling (Read 367 times)

In Iran you cannot cash out from International Creditcard at ATM. Bad advice.

I would take enough USD-Cash, but also BTC. So if you can exchange some satoshis, you should get a better rate than with cash. If not, keep your BTC.

keep your bitcoin and find real currency for the mean time. just wait and see and you will smile abundantly when bitcoin boom up.

well, the OP wants to take advantage of the high rate for BTC in Iran, the best thing you can do is the following:
1- take some cash with you to Iran
2- find someone in Iran at the market and as you are foreign  they will be happy to talk to you , and say hey i was trying to get a payment for some work i did in (Isfahan) that if you are in another city, and i don't have Iranian bank account, can you receive the payment for me and you will have some pocket money for your help, they will be more than happy to do so
good luck

As per OP, he doesn't have any bank account so that's already disregarded.


Yup, booking.com is a trusted site when it comes to booking hotels however OP still needs to confirm from the site if he can pay with USD or probably local currency. Though the best OP can do is to join groups of local in Iran so he can get answers first hand. Too bad we don't have a local subsection here.

Are you sure that bitcoin is legal in Iran? Be careful since Iran have very strict laws and you can even go to their jail where people are tortured sometimes. Why not just buy auto converting international debit card working with crypto as balance? Like revolut.com you can load it with BTC and pay in Iran or payout their local currency from ATM with very good exchange rate.

I think all hotels now have online communication system so that you can connect them with mail from your present residence and you can pay your bTC in wallet. But in outside like new country, its very difficult to touch BTC selling centre.

Recently I have found MAH Prepaid Travel Debit Card. They can give you local card and you can top up it with your credit card. After that you will be able to pay using this card.

If you search some good hotel booking sites like booking.com, you will find few hotels even confirm your booking before hand and you can confirm the payment once you reach there. This will be the best option for you. Meanwhile you can convert your bitcoins to USD or local Iran currencies from your current country, so you do not face any issue once you reach your destination.

Try to ask at couchsurfing.com groups, maybe people could help you out or would be interested in buying small amounts. Enjoy this beautiful country!

P.S. yesterday i have met a fellow traveler from Iran and we spoke about the country, man its a paradise. I miss sunflower seeds!

OP's been put in contact and hopefully things work out =)

It is true that if you're from a country that's sanctioned Iran (US and her EU allies, which OP is likely from, given the favourable exchange rate), you will have to declare any currency you bring in, and given the type of travel it sounds like, you'll probably put yourself at some inconvenience and security concerns if you brought a lot of foreign currency. I'd say that using Bitcoin to pay in advance is probably the only way you can pay without cash (and without transacting in country),,, you just can't use any international wires and there's no Visa/MC/Amex/Discover etc.

I'd definitely bring cash anyway but I'm sure there is better advice from people on the ground.

Most large commercial and business hotels in the cities are linked to sanctioned entities but as a tourist, the regulations are relaxed, plus anyway you have the normal customs declaration that you have to do in any country, as well as for declaration of stay. As a non-commercial party, you're not required to do due diligence on who you transact with. In fact, the US exemptions (OFAC, which is mirrored by EU, and EU is less strict in any case) on sending money to Iran include noncommercial family remittances and travel-related remittances. So, EVEN if the Bitcoin network were deemed a third-party financial entity used to facilitate remittance, the reason of transaction appears to be legal.

(My opinion of course).

@buwaytress may be a member who can help you but be careful of transacting in Iran, I think they are preventing remittances inside so it is better to have cash better than to be BTC.
The exchange rate is good because there are two prices for the dollar in that country.

You may deposit on trading sell your btc into dollars..you can withdraw also via Paypal to get fiat.you can find the app also avail to your country for cash out..

Hey there, I spoke several months ago to a local startup IranbyBit.

More information here.

They not only can arrange accommodation for you by Bitcoin, they can even help you with transport, and they can load up debit cards (local ones that are only accepted in Iran, basically, the only cashless way you can spend or pay for thiings in Iran)... all for Bitcoin.

Very capable young people (and Bitcoin capable too), you can PM me for a contact of the owner herself, if you want:)

If the exchange rate is extremely favorable, as you said already, i don't understand why to try and find a local.
You can easily make the deals/books that you want with fiat by the time of your arrival there...

This is more on Services(https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=52.0). I saw someone before asking for same offers as he travels on Europe(?). You can try asking someone on that section or move this thread there.

I'm traveling to Iran next month and noticed that many hotels only accept local currency. The exchange rate is extremely favorable and would like to take advantage of it. Localbtc however only allows selling for bank transfers (I obviously do not own a bank account) and getting cash would be complicated. I'd like to find someone local who'd like to help m book some hotels in exchange for btc.

If you can help also trade for cash in hand that would be incredible, thanks.

Please help!