Let's say you need some cold, hard cash, but all you've got is a big, fat pile of STEEM or SBD.
For most of us that means you need to go to a crypto exchange and trade those Steemit funds for something like Bitcoin or Ethereum to then sell at an exchange like Kraken or Coinbase.
For those of you who sell Bitcoin on exchanges like those know that it takes a few days for the legacy banking system to clear a Bitcoin sell.
But what if I told you that you could get that cash within a matter of minutes instead of days?
Well, here's my "4 Step Process" for getting those funds in CASH super fast.
What you will need:
- A Steemit account with some funds
Obviously, you've got to have some funds to start with. - A Coinbase account
This is where you will transfer your Bitcoin to when you exchange it. The reason it must be Coinbase is because of the next step. - A Shift debit card
The Shift card debits your affiliated Coinbase account for Visa transactions. They only use Bitcoin, and only from a Coinbase account. - A local bank or credit union account
In order to get the cash fast, you're going to have to go to a physical location.
and now...
Without Further Ado!!!
- Exchange your STEEM/SBD on for Bitcoin.
I explain how to do this easily and very quickly using @blocktrades in this post:
BlockTrades: My Exchange Of Choice For STEEM DOLLARS And How To Exchange SBD For Bitcoin - Enter your Coinbase address as the receive address.
@blocktrades is very fast, and whenever I've done this in the past it hasn't take very long to get into my Coinbase address... a few minutes, tops. - Be at your local bank/credit union with your Shift card ready.
You'll be able to use the Shift card with your Bitcoin loaded on it via Coinbase at your bank to withdraw cash. - Use your Shift card to get a "cash disbursement" at your bank.
Most banks will not charge for this, so make sure to do it in the bank and not at the ATM. The Shift card has a very low exchange rate compared to crypto exchanges.
And there you have it!
I know this might sound like a bit of an arduous process, but if you've ever tried to send or receive money via wire transfer, you know that it can take days or even weeks, so this process would actually allow you to send Bitcoin to someone via Coinbase and they can cash it out instantly at their bank the same day, hour, or minute.
Theoretically, you could do all the earlier steps while waiting in line at the bank.
You're basically turning your bank into a LocalBitcoins meetup :D
New technology over old infrastructure.
Cars used to have to deal with horse roads -- until they made car roads, which are preferable to cars and horses.
The Internet used to be run over phone lines -- until they started running phone calls over the Internet, which is preferable for both calls and online activities.
Cryptocurrencies have to deal with the legacy banking system -- until the legacy banking system is run on blockchain technology, which is preferable for both cryptocurrencies and legacy banking.
We just have to deal with this for a few more years. Our grandchildren will look at Banks and Credit Unions in the same way that we look at horse roads or dial-up connections.
I hope, one day, to be able to spend my Steemit earnings at the store and pay bills with it. But in the meantime, this is a technique that can help you.
What do you think?
Have you ever needed to exchange your Bitcoin or Steem Dollars for cash FAST and didn't know how to do it until now?
Share your thoughts below.
Thanks for the tips!!
Hey thanks, never hear of shift or block trade. Learning everyday. Gonna make it rain!
That gif is epic.
Thanks mate I will try this out when I start to accumulate some steem ! 👊🏼
i didnt know this... thank you @shayne
I am sure grandkids will ask, what is a bank grandpa?
Why would you need a physical place to put your money?
And then you will pull out a CD and tell them that there is information stored on it, and that a person carried it across the country to deliver it to a store so that you could buy it!
It's wild to think about.
I feel like I'm in between to eras of time, simultaneously letting go of the way things are and stepping into an invisible land of things that may be.
Your feelings are correct. There will be no more war in about three generations.
It is almost impossible for us to conceive of right now, but ask your great grandchildren and they will say why would anyone go to war? (as in, besides getting people hurt, its stupid on the surface of it because neither sides gets what they want)
Are you old enough to remember records? Our fathers had collections. Our children have a database.
We ARE on the cusp of great things.
too bad coinbase sucks
What did they do now?
They suspend people's accounts with no apparent reason.
They never reply to customer requests/service tickets.
I really appreciate this informative post. Years ago it was so hard for me to withdrawal bitcoins. I had to locally sell it for cash or pay huge fees for bitcoin atm. I didnt know they had a visa backed debit card. I will definitely look into it.
I got bitpay. Bordon network lag causes crazy delays some times but the fees are lighter and you don't need to worry about coinbase freaking out.
There are various apps that do similar things in different ways. This is simply one way that I've found to cash out my Steemit earnings much more quickly than waiting for my bank to receive payments from the exchanges.
Very helpful! Thanks！
I'm using bitpay myself. I have a coinbase account, but their fees are way high. Higher than bitpays even.
While I have had long delays with bitpay, I've had those same delays with coinbase as well. Really it's the bitcoin network lag that's killing itself.
Bitcoin is currently a choke point for the translation of the crypto markets into the rest of the economy. We shall see how long this lasts.
The market is there. The demand is there. It's already begun. Bitcoin must keep up or be replaced. There is no other option.
I vote heavily in favor of replacement. What's got a strong enough backend to handle that kind of traffic though?
Finally getting a shift card I guess
Thank you for this information. I knew there had to be an easy way to make such transactions.
Thanks for taking the time to explain things. My guy got me into this and I am still learning the ropes. It helps to have it spelled on paper.
Sounds like a nice way to go...
Now give me more... lol...
@pocketechange
Thanks, I didn't know about the Shift card so I'll be researching that!
Following, upvoted and bookmarked! This is great info and being new I need all that I can get haha thanks!
I have bookmarked this for informative reasons if I ever have the need to withdraw in the future. [:
Oh, thank you.
Thank you for the info , I was curious as how to convert it to cash.
Awesome thanks for this
Excellent information. Thank you for sharing.
would this work with paypal as well ?
I am not sure. I've managed to avoid PayPal except for one thing.
I don't have a fat pile of Steem or SBD (yet!) but thanks for the info. Hopefully I will have to refer back to this in the near future...💰
I'm not so fussed about having actual cash these days. There are places I'll use it for small purchases, but anything big goes on a card. I'll be able to spend my Steem soon when I get my Bitwala card. I know they charge for ATM withdrawals. Not sure if the cash disbursement is an option for me, but thanks for the info. I'll look into it
Hey @steevc!
I regret that there are still instances where someone would need cash, or where cash would be the most useful system of payment, but I also see those days vastly diminishing.
Things like the Bitwala card of Shift card are an unfortunate necessity that will soon be transcended.
Decentralized currency is the best option, and people are flocking to them like mad right now.
There's hardly anyone that I know who doesn't know about Bitcoin before I ask them about it.
The tide is shifting. The pendulum is beginning to swing back in our direction.
I see a bright future :D
I can't see cash dying out too soon. It's handy and pretty anonymous
This post has been ranked within the top 10 most undervalued posts in the first half of Jun 24. We estimate that this post is undervalued by $89.33 as compared to a scenario in which every voter had an equal say.
See the full rankings and details in The Daily Tribune: Jun 24 - Part I. You can also read about some of our methodology, data analysis and technical details in our initial post.
If you are the author and would prefer not to receive these comments, simply reply "Stop" to this comment.
Resteemed bud! this is the awesome stuff I like to resteem! helpful stuff that helps me out, and that I know will help people that read it :) nice job buddy!!!!!
Thank you so much for this info. I am planning for our roadtrip and want to aoply my SBD towards that. So excited to make my first payout!