Bitcoin Trading In Ba - How To Get Started

[Caliexpat]

I am flying to South America in November and will make an effort to include Argentina in my itinerary. I am still figuring out what's the best way, for me, to transact bitcoins. One has a choice between transporting bitcoins on one's person using physical media like a flash drive, or storing them in an online wallet. I don't want to use physical media for the same reason I don't want to carry thousands of dollars on my person.
I keep my bitcoins with an online service, coinbase.com, which provides a wide range of services in addition to the wallet (you can buy and sell bitcoin from coinbase, among other things). Coinbase enacts pretty strong security; to log in, they send a text to your mobile phone with a passcode. So in order to use coinbase in Argentina I'll need to receive texts from the U.S. I'll work out a way to do that with Google Voice or something. If not, I might use encrypted online storage like SpiderOak or Wuala. There are lots of options, which require varying degrees of technical aptitude.
Caliexpat, how do you hold and transact bitcoins?

I hold my BTC in Coinbase and BTC-e exchange. I also use Bit Stamp from time to time. I used to use Mt. Gox but just got sick and tired of the website going offline all the time, not to mention the long wait times for bank wires. I like BTC-e because I've been dabbling in Litecoin lately as well. Supposedly, Mt. Gox has plans to add LTC to their exchange at some point in the future.

When doing transactions, I meet the buyer in a public cafe with my laptop. They hand over the cash and I transfer the BTC to their wallet. We chat for a bit until the coins appear in their wallet then we part ways. I typically charge whatever the blue rate is for the day, sometimes with a small premium above blue rate. Like I said, so far I've had good success with this and have met lots of interesting people.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

In a country where scams abound, Bitcoin's probably as good as any other.

 

[scotttswan]

I love the fact its "decentralised" yet almost every idiot stores their bitcoins in an online exchange/"bank"/whatever only for them to be shocked when the website is "hacked" (or the owner just decides to steal all the coins) and have all their Dunning-Krugerrands taken away from them. :lol:

 

[thanksmister]

I am using both Coinbase and LocalBitcoins to exchange currency at dollar blue. In fact I built an Android app called Coinbase Trader for buying BTC from Coinbase.

For Coinbase I use Google Authenticator rather than SMS verification. I have a high level of confidence in Blockchain.info as well for transferring BTC for local sales.

For currency conversion nothing beats BTC and you will find plenty of buyers here through Localbitcoins. Just set a good price and pick a Tiende with good WiFi.

I never had any shady dealings or met dangerous people trading BTC. Most are in the tech business, young and savvy. Anyone interested in knowing more about the market here can contact me in private.

 

[Sleuth]

I started to put together a list of all the "real-world" places in Argentina that accept Bitcoin. If anyone knows of any others, please let me know.

 

[thanksmister]

You can check out http://www.restocoins.com/ which lists local business that take Bitcoin. I would also contact the Fundacion Bitcoin Argentina (http://www.bitcoinargentina.org/) which is working to educate the public and government about Bitcoin. I would talk with Diego Gutiérrez Zaldivar who the president. They hold regular Meetup events where people who are interested in trading Bitcoin or taking Bitcoin at their business can discuss issues. I heard there is even a bus that takes Bitcoin now...

 

[Benji]

This Saturday the Fundacion Bitcoin Argentina has a Bitcoin Fair. For those interested here's the link in FB.

Lots of really interesting points flying around. Here's a couple that spring to my mind.

- Bitcoin can be used for small-time "crime", but nothing like on the scale of dollars and other currencies, and it certainly hasn't managed to break into the world of funding war and drugs cartels quite as effectively as entities such as HSBC and some governments.
- Because bitcoin has a small economy, it's more sensitive. When you sell a huge company or dump value on the dollar economy it's a drop in the ocean, where as bitcoins economy is more like a bath tub. But it's growing fast.
- "Real" money can be anything, it just needs people to back it. Dollars are backed by gold, at least until the 70's. Now it's just paper (but with billions of people to back it). Here's a nice video about that:
- Most if not all important technologies are originally judged as failures and slammed by a sceptics until proven otherwise.
Anyway, research is indeed key.

 

[Sleuth]

The first Latin American Bitcoin conference is going to be held Dec 7 - 8 in Buenos Aires. You can get the details at http://www.labitconf.com/index.php

$650 pesos for early registration.

 

[Tangerine]

Bitcoin ATM Set To Go....
in Bitcoin we trust

http://www.npr.org/2...9/business-news

> $650 pesos for early registration.

Pesos???
Pesos are only slightly more valuable than toilet paper.
Don’t they trust Bitcoins for registration???

 

[Sleuth]

> $650 pesos for early registration.

Pesos???
Pesos are only slightly more valuable than toilet paper.
Don’t they trust Bitcoins for registration???

Of course they take Bitcoin and USD, bit with the blue rate pesos are the best option...