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Buying bitcoins

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Comments

  • #632
    Thargor
    Registered Users Posts: 17,863 ✭✭✭✭Thargor


    pH wrote: »
    At present by far the simplest way to just buy bitcoin in Ireland is circle. You can use a visa debit card you get the coin instantly, no 3 day ID checks with drivers licences and SEPA transfers.

    http://www.cnet.com/news/bitcoin-startup-circle-opens-to-the-public-around-the-world/

    https://www.circle.com/en
    Circle is telling me it only takes US cards or bank accounts, did that change since your post?

    Whats the cheapest place to buy Bitcoin in Ireland?


  • #633
    jamo2oo9
    Registered Users Posts: 5,780 ✭✭✭jamo2oo9


    Thargor wrote: »
    Circle is telling me it only takes US cards or bank accounts, did that change since your post?

    Whats the cheapest place to buy Bitcoin in Ireland?

    Probably using PayPal. I can't remember the site but it's like eBay really. I'll have to look for it in a minute!


  • #634
    pH
    Registered Users Posts: 4,188 ✭✭✭pH


    Thargor wrote: »
    Circle is telling me it only takes US cards or bank accounts, did that change since your post?

    Whats the cheapest place to buy Bitcoin in Ireland?


    Circle definitely works with my Irish visa debit card - just did another transaction a couple of minutes ago.

    If circle won't work for you then probably localbitcoins is the next best - especially if you want to use cash.


  • #635
    Thargor
    Registered Users Posts: 17,863 ✭✭✭✭Thargor


    Okay thanks Ill try the debit card when I get back on a pc, it refused my AIB Mastercard and put up an error message saying sorry we only take American Bank accounts and Credit Cards at the minute though.


  • #636
    pilotsnipes
    Registered Users Posts: 56 ✭✭pilotsnipes


    Thargor wrote: »
    Okay thanks Ill try the debit card when I get back on a pc, it refused my AIB Mastercard and put up an error message saying sorry we only take American Bank accounts and Credit Cards at the minute though.

    Exact same issue here.


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  • #637
    fuse
    Registered Users Posts: 691 ✭✭✭fuse


    Any update on places to buy with Irish cards? Circle is still American accounts only.


  • #638
    pH
    Registered Users Posts: 4,188 ✭✭✭pH


    fuse wrote: »
    Any update on places to buy with Irish cards? Circle is still American accounts only.

    I have bought quite a bit of bitcoin using circle with my Irish issued visa debit card.


  • #639
    Thargor
    Registered Users Posts: 17,863 ✭✭✭✭Thargor


    Circle refuses to work with any of my Irish cards and their customer service ignores all emails. I ended up having to go into GSM solutions across from Jervis shopping centre in Dublin and use their ATM to get mine, think it cost me €5-6 to get about 1 BTCs worth. Finished with them now anyway after I bought what I needed, too unpredictable as an investment.


  • #640
    Brussels Sprout
    Registered Users Posts: 6,466 ✭✭✭Brussels Sprout


    I'm looking to buy some bitcoin. I got a wallet and now I'm looking for a vendor. Googling brought me to Eircoin. They take a 5% transaction fee though. Can I get them for cheaper using Irish cards?


  • #641
    Brussels Sprout
    Registered Users Posts: 6,466 ✭✭✭Brussels Sprout


    pH wrote: »
    I have bought quite a bit of bitcoin using circle with my Irish issued visa debit card.

    I just signed up for Circle and the very first thing it told me was that they didn't accept transactions from my country (Ireland). However ti then gave me the option to hook up a bank account or credit card to the account.

    So you've been able to get money on. Have you been able to take it back out again?


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  • #642
    pH
    Registered Users Posts: 4,188 ✭✭✭pH


    Brussels Sprout wrote: »
    I just signed up for Circle and the very first thing it told me was that they didn't accept transactions from my country (Ireland). However ti then gave me the option to hook up a bank account or credit card to the account.

    So you've been able to get money on. Have you been able to take it back out again?

    I've *bought* bitcoins a number of times with an Irish Visa Debit card, but never tried to convert bitcoins back to euro.


  • #643
    Brussels Sprout
    Registered Users Posts: 6,466 ✭✭✭Brussels Sprout


    pH wrote: »
    I've *bought* bitcoins a number of times with an Irish Visa Debit card, but never tried to convert bitcoins back to euro.

    ok well what's your plan for eventually cashing out?

    Is it a case that you can buy from Circle but then transfer into a wallet and sell it back via a third party?


  • #644
    spix
    Registered Users Posts: 2,577 ✭✭✭spix


    I used localbitcoins for selling them last year, before I lost everything gambling on primedice.

    You might not get the absolute best price but its really easy to use. I got paid with SEPA directly into my bank account.


  • #645
    bucketybuck
    Registered Users Posts: 18,088 ✭✭✭✭bucketybuck


    Are there really people stupid enough to buy Bitcoins at this stage?


  • #646
    maki
    Registered Users Posts: 772 ✭✭✭maki


    bucketybuck wrote: »
    Are there really people stupid enough to buy Bitcoins at this stage?

    The market is extremely volatile, but yet also in a long term downtrend. There's plenty to be made with well placed shorts.


  • #647
    alb
    Registered Users Posts: 1,259 ✭✭✭alb


    bucketybuck wrote: »
    Are there really people stupid enough to buy Bitcoins at this stage?

    If you believe it's going down, short it on somewhere like bitfinex, you'll make a killing right? :)

    On an semi-related note, Morgan Spurlock (the guy who did Super Size Me) aired a good documentary about Bitcoin on CNN this week



  • #648
    Roonbox
    Registered Users Posts: 498 ✭✭Roonbox


    maki wrote: »
    The market is extremely volatile, but yet also in a long term downtrend. There's plenty to be made with well placed shorts.

    I would like to short it but the Volatility is ridiculous..

    If it rallied back to the 5 or 6 hundreds i would be more comfortable with a Short.


  • #649
    makeorbrake
    Registered Users Posts: 4,664 ✭✭✭makeorbrake


    If I'm looking at bitcoin 'buy' rates, through exchangers or online marketplaces, how do I know what's a good rate? Where can I access the real time base rate for the bitcoin and what % above this would be an optimal 'buy' rate?


  • #650
    alb
    Registered Users Posts: 1,259 ✭✭✭alb


    makeorbrake wrote: »
    If I'm looking at bitcoin 'buy' rates, through exchangers or online marketplaces, how do I know what's a good rate? Where can I access the real time base rate for the bitcoin and what % above this would be an optimal 'buy' rate?

    There is no 'base rate' for Bitcoin, it floats against other currencies in a free market on many exchanges. What you would call the 'current price' is determined by the last bid to match an offer on an exchange. This may vary from exchange to exchange, but they tend to be fairly close typically due to arbitrage.

    You can see the real time price on 4 of the biggest exchanges here: https://hypron.net/bitcoinwisdom/ If you click the 'markets' menu on any of the windows and select "Kraken BTC/EUR" you can see the biggest Euro denominated exchange price.


  • #651
    makeorbrake
    Registered Users Posts: 4,664 ✭✭✭makeorbrake


    Thanks for that, alb.


    I'm looking for a solution whereby small quantities (partial) bitcoins can be purchased via online banking/sepa, paypal or visa/mastercard - with very minimal fuss and cost effectively.

    I checked localbitcoins rates against the rates in the exchanges you mentioned and there seems to be a substantial differential in price. It's more complex to buy via those exchanges (for what I have in mind - as I'm sure you will think what's the big deal). Need something that is more user friendly - and yet, without losing so much on the fx exchange.

    Is there any such solution?


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  • #652
    alb
    Registered Users Posts: 1,259 ✭✭✭alb


    https://circle.com is the most convenient and user-friendly way IF you have a card that they accept and IF you don't mind the fee (exact fee depends on your card I think). Though they officially don't support non-US cards, I and some others have been able to use at least BOI Visa debit cards with it. I can buy up to $100 per week Bitcoin immediately through it. So in summary, it may not allow your card, but if it does it's quick but may have more fees than you desire and a purchase involves implicit conversion from euros to dollars.

    https://kraken.com is probably the cheapest way, the fee per trade is 0.35%, there's no eur-dollar currency conversion and the spot price is usually good. You can deposit money via SEPA (so it'll take a day or two to get there) with a 50euro minimum per deposit. kraken is an exchange for traders, so buying there involves knowing how to place a market order or limit order. It's not difficult, but it's not as simple for newbies as circle is.

    I've never used localbitcoins, but I understand that sellers on it typically have a higher mark-up than other methods of purchasing bitcoin. The same with bitcoin ATMs (there are two in Dublin).

    Be prepared to provide identity information to any legit online service selling Bitcoin, they're required by law to know who you are. Also, while both Circle and Kraken are as trustworthy as it gets in the Bitcoin ecosystem and have never had known security issues, I don't recommend keeping any significant amount of Bitcoins with a 3rd party - if you don't hold your own coins you have counter-party risk - an apt reference to this in post #4 of this thread 2 years ago, before MtGox went under.


  • #653
    gallag
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,355 ✭✭✭gallag


    I am looking to sell bitcoins, has anyone used localbitcoins.com?


  • #654
    makeorbrake
    Registered Users Posts: 4,664 ✭✭✭makeorbrake


    alb wrote: »
    https://circle.com is the most convenient and user-friendly way IF you have a card that they accept and IF you don't mind the fee (exact fee depends on your card I think).
    Circle looks very user friendly. What's the chances they'll provide official support for european customers any time soon?


  • #655
    alb
    Registered Users Posts: 1,259 ✭✭✭alb


    makeorbrake wrote: »
    Circle looks very user friendly. What's the chances they'll provide official support for european customers any time soon?

    I don't know, and I don't think they've publicly communicated a timeline. Their European HQ is in Dublin so they have an Irish presence, but I imagine the official support for Irish customers will be heavily dependent on what banks will allow them to operate. https://www.coinbase.com are the other large Bitcoin 'bank' and competitor to Circle. As I understand it, they've been rolling out in as many European countries as they can establish banking links in, but not yet Ireland either.


  • #656
    spix
    Registered Users Posts: 2,577 ✭✭✭spix


    gallag wrote: »
    I am looking to sell bitcoins, has anyone used localbitcoins.com?

    Yes I've used it several times without issue. Just choose a reliable buyer and don't release bitcoins until you receive payment and its 100% safe.


  • #657
    seklly
    Registered Users Posts: 769 ✭✭✭seklly


    alb wrote:
    are the other large Bitcoin 'bank' and competitor to Circle. As I understand it, they've been rolling out in as many European countries as they can establish banking links in, but not yet Ireland either.


    Just to add, Coinbase have accepted Irish customers since October and it's pretty user friendly. SEPA transfer takes about a day.


  • #658
    makeorbrake
    Registered Users Posts: 4,664 ✭✭✭makeorbrake


    seklly wrote: »
    Just to add, Coinbase have accepted Irish customers since October and it's pretty user friendly. SEPA transfer takes about a day.

    Has anyone here used safello?


  • #659
    seklly
    Registered Users Posts: 769 ✭✭✭seklly


    makeorbrake wrote: »
    Has anyone here used safello?

    Never heard of them but after a quick look they seem to be priced quite high and have a big spread (€23 at the moment) and they charge 3.75% on each side so I'd avoid myself.

    By comparison the Coinbase spread is currently €0.24 and they charge 1%, they also have a vault feature for added security (if you don't trust yourself to personally secure the keys) and recently took in $75m in investment from financial institutions including the NYSE, I'm just listing these as they were aspects that led me to use them myself, I am in no way affiliated with Coinbase!!


  • #660
    makeorbrake
    Registered Users Posts: 4,664 ✭✭✭makeorbrake


    alb wrote: »
    https://circle.com is the most convenient and user-friendly way IF you have a card that they accept and IF you don't mind the fee (exact fee depends on your card I think). Though they officially don't support non-US cards, I and some others have been able to use at least BOI Visa debit cards with it. I can buy up to $100 per week Bitcoin immediately through it. So in summary, it may not allow your card, but if it does it's quick but may have more fees than you desire and a purchase involves implicit conversion from euros to dollars.
    Tried to open a circle account. They came back with the followings;


    "At this time, bank accounts and credit cards from your country cannot be linked to Circle".


    Is this everyone elses experience?


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  • #661
    alb
    Registered Users Posts: 1,259 ✭✭✭alb


    You mean you could not open the account at all? This was not my experience. I think I did got some warning when trying to link my debit card but it let me do it anyway.

    On a separate note, the 50k coins auctioned by the US gov last week were just delivered: https://blockchain.info/tx/3e1754e8ea62dacb9a17d45a2e4c1acdcbbc1ce1b6c39f59b5336409a0adfa5e It's still an amazing thing seeing $14 million transacted like that with "Fees $ 0.00"


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