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Looking for what Bitcoin OGs actually use if it isn't a CEX. Just the methods people here consider the safest practical ways to turn some Bitcoin or cash into BTC. What works, and what would you avoid?

OGs generally turn Bitcoin into cash, not cash into Bitcoin. The way how you do that is your friend tells you they wanna buy some Bitcoin off you and you sell them some for cash.

The other way around, you get yourself an OG friend and you tell them you wanna buy some Bitcoin off them.

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You rise a good point, yet let's say the OG has a business, consequently has cash coming in.

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If you have a fiat business, you're most of the time on the hook for some compliance stuff so non-KYC doesn't really do it then.

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7 sats \ 2 replies \ @kpa OP 22h

I do private business, the only one I need to comply with are my values and ethos. Sometimes customers just want to pay cash.

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38 sats \ 1 reply \ @optimism 22h

deleted by author

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132 sats \ 0 replies \ @kpa OP 22h

I'll record the "starting one". Right now, driving a few hours and initiating new connections is probably the easier option.

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278 sats \ 6 replies \ @k00b 12 Sep

I hear Bisq’s cash option is pretty good. Otherwise, if you have local friends that are bitcoiners that don’t mind cash you can always buy from them (depending on the amount).

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local friends?

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294 sats \ 3 replies \ @k00b 12 Sep

I recently learned about them. If you leave your home/office, on occasion you might come face to face with another human being and become friends.

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So it's like you /follow them and they /follow you, but IRL

I heard if you get many friends and hang out with them it's like a group chat, but IRL

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jokes on me, my home is my office lol

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Some people are wild enough to leave both for short stints.

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Yes Bisq is the most established. I like it too, however I want an alternative.

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29 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 12 Sep

Nice try, fed

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lol

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I’d probably go with a local trade if I had someone I trusted. Less complicated, and meeting another Bitcoiner in real life is always a bonus.

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The issue is here is finding the other bitcoiners, and even if I found one, it is always hard to know if is trustworthy.

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Robosats.
There's an active telegram channel.

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This kinda depends on which country you live in! I regularly convert some BTC into cash, but where I live people prefer USDT on a fucking Tron (((

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You're right. Cash is king here and even is was not, I'd never touch that green telemetered shit.

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7 sats \ 13 replies \ @SkyLords 12 Sep -30 sats

I am curious about this too. It is one of those questions I keep coming back to. Especially from a privacy point of view, I would like to understand what people actually use when they want to move between cash and Bitcoin without relying on a centralized exchange. I will definitely be following the replies here.

7 sats \ 1 reply \ @AilliA 12 Sep -30 sats

I recently wrote a reply to a similar (same?) question about Monero here: https://stasher.news/items/338537/r/AilliA?commentId=338565 and I'm not a Bitcoin OG - I arrived too late to this world for that :))

I’ll quote the relevant parts:

  • Bisq (https://x.com/bisq_network, https://bisq.network): BTC/XMR over Tor + multisig. Platform fees + security deposit and on-chain fees.
  • RetoSwap (https://x.com/RetoSwap, https://retoswap.com): https://haveno.exchange/ is the Monero-native Bisq fork. Same model as Bisq, Monero at the core, Tor.
  • Private XmrBazaar seller (https://x.com/xmragora, https://xmrbazaar.com/search-category/buy-exchange/other/): use ONLY with multisig escrow or a bonded user. ALWAYS. (I try to weed out suspicious offers proactively, but better safe than sorry.)

Avoid:

  • Private / local meetup cash trades work ONLY if you already know people: random unescrowed "meet at the park" from a random listing is what I’d 100% avoid.
  • Most Bitcoin ATMs: cameras(!), shrinking no-ID limits, high fees, and a growing paper trail.
  • Unescrowed cash-by-mail with a no-rep seller.
  • Gift-card / "I send you a code", e.g. I do not mediate gift card transactions (and it's in my terms https://xmrbazaar.com/mediator-listing/Mhj9z/!) "because it is impossible to determine the cause of disputes when a buyer claims a card is empty or the code is invalid".