One of the common questions we have from Bitcoin investors is: How to turn your coins back into cash?

When selling your Bitcoin the process is always the same; first you need to agree to a price. Using the spot price on coinmarketcap.com is usually a good starting point.

Secondly you need to arrange a way to get paid, whether it’s online via bank deposit, over Paypal or even an old fashioned cash transaction in person.

Lastly, you need to deliver the Bitcoin to your buyer. This involves collecting the Bitcoin address of the buyer and sending the coins to them using your private key.

There are various places to do this, all with different pros and cons – some are cheaper, some are more convenient, some will get you better/worse prices and so on.

Below is a list of the current recommended places to turn your Bitcoin into cash:

Local Bitcoins

Local Bitcoins is a peer to peer Bitcoin exchange that matches buyers and sellers in different regions around the world.

The New Zealand region is very active and you’ll definitely be able to find a buyer. One advantage is Local Bitcoins often favours sellers, as prices are usually slightly inflated over market. The reason is there is less red tape on the site in terms of ID verification and proof of address when compared to traditional exchanges. Buyers are willing to pay a premium due to this convenience.

To sell your Bitcoin on Local Bitcoins, simply head to their page and set up an account. Create a listing and select your conditions: you can decide if you want to sell in cash or via bank transfer, what kind of information you want to collect from your buyer (drivers license, passport etc) and then post your listing.

If you’re new to the site you will have no feedback, meaning you will probably need to utilise the site’s escrow service to give confidence to the buyers. Either way this is probably the quickest way to turn your Bitcoins into cash in New Zealand.

You can sign up for Local Bitcoins here.

Independent Reserve

Independent Reserve is an Australian cryptocurrency exchange, which has NZD, USD and AUD markets.

Independent Reserve is always highly recommended here because it’s easily the best designed Bitcoin exchange available for Kiwis. The UX is superb and it offers several currencies on top of Bitcoin, including Ethereum, XRP and Litecoin.

One thing to note about Independent Reserve is the verification process can take some time – you will need to submit ID and proof of address before you can withdraw to your accounts, and getting approved can take up to 48 hours. However the support team is excellent and you shouldn’t have any problems.

Once your account is approved, simply deposit your Bitcoin into your Independent Reserve account and list it on the market. If you sell at market the sale should go through instantly and funds are available for withdrawal instantly as well. Can’t ask for more than that!

Of course you still need to deal with the banking system, so while your Bitcoin deposits and withdrawals are completed within the hour, your NZD withdrawal may take up to 2 business days.

You can get a free Independent Reserve account here.

EasyCrypto

EasyCrypto is a full service brokerage owned and operated in New Zealand.

While you can buy over 50 cryptocurrencies on EasyCrypto, they also have a sell service. Simply deposit your Bitcoin (or other cryptocurrency) into the address they give you and they will send the NZD to your nominated bank account.

EasyCrypto is also under NZ financial regulations, so you will need to supply proof of address and identity before you can start making transactions on their platform.

You can get a free EasyCrypto account here.

Reddit

Reddit might sound like an odd place to sell Bitcoin, but part of the beauty of Bitcoin is it operates peer to peer. No third party is required to match buyers and sellers, meaning technically you can sell your Bitcoin anywhere if you can find an interested buyer.

The obvious place to do this is in Bitcoin related communities and Reddit is great for this.

The NZBitcoin subreddit has around 2k subscribers and I’ve seen several people successfully selling Bitcoin there. Simply post a thread asking if anyone is interested in buying Bitcoin in cash and see how you go. If you’re lucky enough to find a reliable buyer quickly, it can literally be the fastest/easiest way to sell your Bitcoin in New Zealand!

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Looking to buy Bitcoin? Check out our listing page of all Bitcoin operators in New Zealand.